While Maya Deren can be called the mother of modern day screendance practice, Amy Greenfield can be seen as its godmother.
Throughout a career spanning over five decades, Greenfield has developed a practice and visual style scaffolded on ideas of agency and the dissolution of hierarchies within traditional film work.
She is also influential with her work in curation. In 1983, she and Elaine Sumners curated the Filmdance festival event which included reflections on the dance film form from other artists creating work in that vein at the time.
The precedent she set as an independent artist-curator is one followed by many today. We discuss her work, her legacy, and the challenges of access to information on the rich and varied history of dance film.
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Films
Transport (1970)
ELEMENT (1971)
DP. Hillary Harris
TIDES (1972)
DP. Hillary Harris
Nine Variations on a Dance Theme (1966)
Director/DP: Hilary Harris
Performer: Bettie de Jong
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Sources
Flesh Into Light: The Films of Amy Greenfield
Robert A. Haller (2012)
Women's Experimental Cinema: Critical Frameworks
Ed. Robin Blaetz (2007)
Amy Greenfield, Elaine Sumners, et al.
(Check Worldcat Library listings, currently available on Amazon for $80)
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Screenings
dança em foco - Festival Internacional de Vídeo &Dança
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Nov 2, 2020
Online
5th Annual Dance On Screen Festival
Graz, Austria
Nov 20 - 21, 2020
Live In-Person Event
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