BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND

Exactly three months to the day after Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company premiered its ambitious dance film, The Fantasyland Project, the film screens again for four days only. The re-release is timed to both coincide with the spirit of Halloween and to provide an escape route on the road to Election Day. A viewer described the film as "a balm for your soul in these unsettling times," commenting on its timeliness as "a break from election fever." A collaboration between choreographer Daniel Gwirtzman and a cast of sixteen dancers, this virtual project investigates the notion of fantasy through a range of lenses. The screening is a fundraiser for the Company’s Dance With Us platform, a comprehensive educational resource currently in development and poised to launch in March of 2021.

HOW TO JOIN

To gain access to the film, please make a contribution of any amount to the nonprofit’s PayPal Giving Fund page. 100% of the funds will be earmarked to the Company. At 12am EST October 30, one will receive a link via email, valid until 11:59pm November 2, 2020.

ABOUT THE FILM

Through this very socially-distant process, each of the dancers were charged with responding to a series of written prompts to spark the conceptual kernel that interested them most. Working with Daniel to distill the intellectual ideas and ground them in a concrete scenario, the process of creating a unique fantasy necessitated finding a location and collaborating with the choreographer, costumer, and composer. The project reflects this moment in time as a springboard from which to explore the mundane, comedic, dramatic, and the horrific. At the time of its premiere Time Out New York highlighted the film as one of "the best live theater to stream online." Family-friendly, highly accessible and entertaining, the 24-minute film moves along at breakneck speed. 

MORE INFORMATION

Visit the Company’s dedicated Fantasyland Project site: www.gwirtzmandance.org/fantasyland

Visit our PayPal Giving Fund page to gain access to the film.

CREDITS

The Fantasyland Project features the work of Daniel Gwirtzman (Director, Choreographer), Jeff Story (Composer), Company members Mariah Anton, Dwayne Brown, Jacob Butter, Derek Crescenti, Vanessa Martínez de Baños, Sarah Hilmon, Madeline Hoak, and apprentices Neftali Benitez, Maddy Hertel, Usman Ali Ishaq, Kaitlyn Jackson, Lydia Kelly, Colin McKechnie, Joel Oliver, and Julia Zoratto. 

THOUGHTS FROM THE DIRECTOR

I think this moment in time is one in which we all are fantasizing: about life before, and after, the pandemic; about systemic changes and reforms that will bring racial and economic justice; about being in the company of others without concerns, distance, or masks; of returning to school as ’normal.’ Fantasy to me does not suggest only happy emotions - in light especially of this moment, I think of the fantasies of the full dismantling of racism, the understanding and action of anti-racist policies and practices, the acknowledgment by all in the U.S. of the indigenous lands we live on, the eradication of disparities in wealth, education, access, the fantasy of harmony and true equity, the fantasy of healthcare for all, etc...There could be the fantasy of rage, revenge, grief, protest, darker and uglier themes. To the extent that this project can reflect the urgent events shaping all of our lives - how this theme of utopia and harmony fits against the current climate - is something the Company is interested in investigating. The dancers have explored fantasies that resonate with them. As the director I have coaxed and conversed with the dancers to aid in the process of discovering effective ways to communicate their stories.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKER

Celebrating his 26th anniversary as a NYC company director and choreographer, Daniel Gwirtzman co-founded Artichoke Dance Company after touring as a member of both Garth Fagan Dance and Mark Morris Dance Group. Reviewing this debut concert in 1995, Elizabeth Zimmer wrote in The Village Voice, “It’s hard to believe Mark Morris has already spawned imitators, but Gwirtzman seems headed in Morris’ direction, moving dancers to music with acute sensitivity” under a headline The Next Generation: Young Companies With Strange Names. Since then his work has been presented without pause. Daniel has been creating films consistently over the past decade. No Trespassing screened at the American Dance Festival, his joyful Brazil series - Pier, Rock The Boat, and Into The Streets - were all filmed in Bahia, and have screened in numerous dance film festivals. Sisyphus is particularly resonant now for its metaphoric weight. Stranded and Street, both filmed in Key West, show off his quirky, humorous side. His most celebrated film, Terrain, filmed in southern Spain, was featured in the IV International Meeting on Videodance in Valencia, Spain (2017) among several other dance film festivals. Recent films include The Chronicles of Camo-Man, The Performer, and Dandelion.

ABOUT DANIEL GWIRTZMAN DANCE COMPANY

The acclaimed New York-based Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company, celebrating its 21st Anniversary, is known for its playful virtuosity, musicality, accessibility and charisma. “A troupe I’d follow anywhere” (The Village Voice), a “troupe of fabulous dancers” (Backstage) that “can’t help but smile” (The New Yorker). Visit our website to learn more.