Cucalorus Film Festival's Dance-a-Lorus is like catharsis, in motion, for Wilmington

The one event that sets Wilmington's Cucalorus Film Festival apart from other film festivals is the one night dedicated to merging sight, sound and live on-stage, movement. It’s called Dance-a-lorus, and it happens at 7:30 Thursday, Nov. 17, on the main stage of Thalian Hall downtown.

This is the 16th time in the festival’s 28 years that dance and film meet up in an evolving cross-disciplinary feast of film techniques and dance traditions. Festival director Dan Brawley worked with Dance-a-lorus coordinator Linda Ann Webb to curate the 2022 edition of the event, resulting in a refreshed program showing the work of three regional and nine local collaborations.

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“This balance of local versus regional has evolved over the years based on our capacity as well as the availability of touring groups to stop here in Wilmington,” Brawley said via email. “But the focus has always been on experimentation for anyone who wants to explore the boundary between dance and film. Linda and I were both very happy that every local piece that was submitted this year is going to be included in the final performance.”

The subject matter for this season is as varied as life itself, from spiritual emersion and social and racial justice, to love and loss, family and memory, and American identity.

Webb said the curation process evolves along with the art each year: “We never really know what kind of ride we're in for. It's always interesting to see the ebb and flow, and keeping in mind that those of us who have done this since 2005 are watching this new generation of choreographers that are starting to surface.”

New blood, Webb said, is "really exciting ... We have a lot of new choreographer/filmmaker teams as well as some of our standards."

Also, "We have USIB (United States International Ballet, formerly Wilmington Ballet) appearing for the first time this year," she added. "So there's beautiful ballet dancers and we've never had any pointe work in the concert before, so that's exciting. We also have a team, Rachel Sanford and Rachel Taylor, who are former USIB members but have decided to branch out on their own and are creating work.”

“It's always a wildly successful concert,” Webb said, filled with a unique array of visions. “People that are tackling social issues, personal issues. There will be some political snark, I'm sure. At least for me, there will be."

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Much of what the audience will see is catharsis, Webb said.

“I'm not even religious. But it’s cathartic to be in the studio and work through those issues in the studio, and then see them represented in your dancers and on the film and watch that vision come alive ... meeting and hopefully meshing in a way that looks like one symbiotic creature, not two separate entities. Because that's also the point, right? It should be working in a symbiotic relationship.”

Dance-a-lorus 2022

“60” by Kevin Lee-Y Green and Damien Capps – 60 is the number of times Jayland Walker was shot by law enforcement in Akron, Ohio, leaving Black men with many questions about safety, trust, protection and mental health. "60" explores how to strengthen our sense of brotherhood and community to uplift and protect one another.

“Gone” by D’mitri Cápri and Jamie Hansen – A man loses the one he loves and learns to let go. Each dancer represents each stage of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

“hallowed places” by Kate and Harris Muhlstein – Memory is fluid, ever-changing and no matter how much we believe, the details remain the same.

“Apuntes Americanos” (American Notes – excerpt) by Roxana Barba – An investigation into the constructs of Eurocentric views of ancestral Peru, focusing on written and illustrated accounts by French explorers from the 19th century, and archaeology as a symbolic process of the study of cultural processes.

“The Trash Trout Motion Picture Show” by Tom Hansell – Water protectors collect refuse from the New River in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Community members taped river trash to 16mm film strips for the creation of a silent film. Musicians and dancers steeped in mountain traditions perform the live soundtrack.

“Mother: Womb” by Mirla Criste, Rachael Crawford, Sorsha Masters – “Not every seed that falls to the ground germinates, not every seed that germinates makes it above ground, not every seedling thrives, not every sprout matures into a tree, not every tree bears fruit and gives seed. Such is nature, our Mother Nature that both creates and destroys but always sustains and continues life.” — Umka Pele.

“Unseen/Unheard” by Rachel Sanford and Rachel Taylor – “Unseen/Unheard” conveys the different sides of empathy through the eyes of a woman. This piece shows that to see someone, you don’t always need eyes, and to be understood is more than being heard, it’s being felt.

“La Lucha de la diosa del sol, gracias te amo” (The Fight of the Sun Goddess, thank you, I love you) by SheaRa Nichi – A sun goddess struggles to remain pure through these defiled times. Inspired by a recent trip by the artist to Cusco, Peru and an Ayahuasca journey.

“Friends Revisited” by Tracey Varga and Patrick Ogelvie – An exploration of childhood friendship as seen in dreams, coordinated with imagery from “Only in Sleep” by American poet Sarah Teasdale as read by Rhonda Bellamy.

“Pays des Merveilles” (Wonderland) by Linda Ann Webb and Patrick Ogelvie – So many of us struggle with depression and anxiety as we manage today’s unique challenges. Follow Alice down the rabbit hole as she navigates these personal hurdles.

“Unity” by Sara Todd and Eduardo Flores Ochoa – A contemporary ballet, “Unity” is based on ideas about coming together in times of uncertainty and hardship. It is performed by 12 members of the USIB company.

WANT TO GO?

What: Cucalorus Film Festival presents Dance-a-lorus

When: 7:30 pm Thursday, Nov. 17

Where: Thalian Hall, 310 Chestnut St., Wilmington

Tickets: $ 25.68, or with festival pass

Details: 910-632-2285 or Cucalorus.org

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Dance-a-Lorus at the 2022 Cucalorus Film Festival in Wilmington