Featuring Desmond Richardson
Music by Dav Koz & Steve Hackman
Choreography by Jacob Jonas

Premieres Monday, February 22, 2021

Films.Dance, a groundbreaking global film series produced by and under the creative direction of LA-based Jacob Jonas The Company continues on February 22 with EDGING NORMAL, the fifth of 15 short dance films to be released – to the community at no cost every Monday through May 8, 2021. EDGING NORMAL will be followed by 正念 – NOW on March 1, DADU on March 8, ANOTHER SERIOUS DANCE FILM on March 15 and SAME SKY on March 22, 2021. The films will premiere at 9 a.m. PST on the Web at Films.Dance, on Instagram on the @films.dance account, and the Films.Dance Facebook page. Films.Dance is co-presented by the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts, the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts and Chicago’s Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater.

Here are the list of the films:

February 22, 2021
EDGING NORMAL
Desmond Richardson, Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Complexions Contemporary Ballet, dances a new work choreographed by Jacob Jonas.  Edging Normal is a metaphorical tale of a man’s struggle to shed his past in order to feel completely free.  Directed by Andre Bato, Edging Normal features music co-composed by visionary Steve Hackman and jazz icon Dave Koz, a nine-time Grammy Award-nominated saxophonist.
Director: Andre Bato
Choreographer: Jacob Jonas
Featuring: Desmond Richardson
Composer: Dave Koz & Steve Hackman
Cinematographer:  Arseni Khachaturan
Stylist: Tracey Nicholson
Produced by: Jacob Jonas The Company
 
March 1, 2021
正念 – NOW
Shanghai-based director Robin Mahieux focuses the lens on a young woman, Li Kehua (Lico), dancer with BeijingDance/LDTX company, as she awakens to the fullness of the present moment,. Choreographed by Gypsy Snider, Co-Founder and Artistic Director of The 7 Fingers, and set to. original music from Rosie Lowe, singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist based in London, 正念 – NOW steps into now, forsaking the past and mindfully moving into the future.
Director: Robin Mahieux
Choreographer: Gypsy Snider
Featuring: Li Kehua (Lico)
Composer: Rosie Lowe    
Cinematographer: Marcus Tang
Produced by: Jacob Jonas The Company
 
March 8, 2021
DADU
Captured on Super 16 mm film and utilizing natural light, four dancers explore abstraction through the framing of movement set against the terrain of the Dutch hamlet of Spaarnwoude.  Ian Robinson, former dancer with Israel’s Batsheva Dance Company, directs Kele Roberson, Annika Verplancke, Jesse Callaert and Mikaela Kelly, members of Nederlands Dans Theater, with cinematography by Amsterdam-based Sam du Pon and music composed by Awir Leon, singer songwriter, producer and former dancer with Emanuel Gat Dance.
Director: Ian Robinson
Choreography in collaboration with dancers
Featuring:  Jesse Callaert, Mikaela Kelly, Kele Roberson, Annika Verplancke    
Composer: Awir Leon
Cinematographer: Sam du Pon
Produced by: Jacob Jonas The Company
 
March 15, 2021
ANOTHER SERIOUS DANCE FILM
New York City Ballet principal dancer Sara Mearns performs tongue-in-cheek choreography by Andrea Miller, founder of GALLIM, at the East River Park Amphitheater in a witty short film directed by Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost, directors of the current Netflix film Project Power, to an original score from five-time Grammy Award-winning composer Antonio Sánchez.
Directors: Ariel Schulman + Henry Joost
Choreographer: Andrea Miller
Featuring: Sara Mearns
Composer: Antonio Sánchez
Cinematographer: Paul Daley
Wardrobe: Prada
Produced by: Jacob Jonas The Company
 
March 22, 2021
SAME SKY
Directed by Grammy-nominated director Andy Hines, Same Sky explores the world in front of us, the differences amongst ourselves, and a likeness we see in others.  With music composed by Steve Hackman, Same Sky features the original choreography of Rauf “RubberLegz” Yasit, a German break-dancer living in Los Angeles, and is performed by Jacob Jonas The Company members Joy Isabella Brown, Miguel Alejandro López, Mike Tyus and Jill Wilson.
Director: Andy Hines
Choreographer: Rauf “Rubberlegz” Yasit
Featuring: Joy Isabella Brown, Miguel Alejandro López, Mike Tyus, Jill Wilson
Composed by: Steve Hackman
Cinematographer: Frank Mobilio
Wardrobe: OAMC
Produced by: Jacob Jonas The Company
 
March 29, 2021
SIT STILL
Alone in a vacant school, Montreal-based filmmaker Vincent René-Lortie directs seven-year-old Adeline Kerry Cruz on an intimate and exhaustive journey of self-expression. With choreography by Russell “Gutta” Ferguson, she navigates her emotions through the free and expressive street dance style Krump and to the original score by Brady Kendall of Alaskan Tapes.
Director: Vincent René-Lortie
Choreographer: Russell “Gutta” Ferguson
Featuring: Adeline Kerry Cruz
Composer:  Brady Kendall
Cinematographer: Alexandre Nour
Wardrobe: Geneviéve Boiteau
Produced by: Jacob Jonas The Company
 
April 5, 2021
GALOPE
New York City ballet principal dancer Gonzalo Garcia’s energy is like a hundred thousand horses as he delves inside the earth, inside himself. Directed by Barcelona-based Nur Casadevall, it features original music from Alex Somers, composer for films including Captain Fantastic (2016), Honey Boy (2019) and Miss Americana (2020).
Director: Nur Casadevall
Featuring: Gonzalo Garcia
Composer: Alex Somers
Produced by: Jacob Jonas The Company
 
April 12, 2021
XENO
Xeno is the smallest measurable unit of human connection, typically exchanged between passing strangers—a flirtatious glance, a sympathetic nod, moments that are fleeting and random but still contain powerful emotional nutrients that can alleviate the symptoms of feeling alone. Mexico City-based choreographer and founder of contemporary dance company Nohbords, Diego Mur created an original work on Montreal-based circus-artists Natasha Patterson and Sabine van Rensburg. Xeno is directed by Amy J. Gardner, with cinematography by Kristof Brandl and original music by Berlin-based Alice Phoebe Lou and Thor Rixon.
Director:  Amy J. Gardner
Choreographer: Diego Mur  (Nohbords)
Featuring: Natasha Patterson +  Sabine Van Rensburg
Composer: Alice Phoebe Lou + Thor Rixon
Cinematographer: Kristof Brandl
Produced by: Jacob Jonas The Company
 
April 19, 2021
TORN
In this visual exploration of the expectations of manhood, three men fight for dominance while exposing the internal fight and dialogue with the self, embodied by the three protagonists. While each of them fights for dominance, they simultaneously expose their weaknesses, tearing each other down, lifting each other up and struggling to find support in moments of fading strength. Berlin-based director Torben Loth captures the original choreography of London-based Waddah Sinada, founder of FUBUNATION. The work is performed by Conal Finn Francis-Martin, Robert Robinson and Jamal Uhlmann, all dancers with State Ballet Hanover, and features an original sound design by Peter Duffy, original score by Pete Fraser and wardrobe by Chinese-born, London-based designer Feng Chen Wang.
Director: Torben Loth
Choreographer: Waddah Sinada
Featuring: Conal Finn Francis-Martin, Robert Robinson, Jamal Uhlmann
Sound Design: Peter Duffy
Score: Pete Fraser
Cinematographer: Lasse Liebelt
Wardrobe: Feng Chen Wang
Produced by: Jacob Jonas The Company
 
April 26, 2021
PLUME
21 acrobats from around the world, from Australia to the United States to Russia, performed and filmed their unique movement styles which were then layered with animation to create Plume.  Despite clipped wings, the artists in Plume perform in full flight underscored by the brilliant music played by noted violinist Hillary Hahn. Co-directed by Francisco Cruz and Beren D’Amico, the film features an original score by Gaelynn Lea, an American folk singer, violinist, public speaker and disability advocate, with arrangement by Steve Hackman.
Directors & Editors: Beren D’Amico + Francisco Cruz
Animation: Beren D’Amico
Featuring: Tia Balacey, Kristián Mensa, Aurélien Oudot, Kevin Beverley, Joy Isabella Brown, Kaisha DW, Seirian Griffiths, Beren D’Amico, Luca ‘Lazylegz’ Patuelli, Nic Walton, Quentin Greco, Yvonne Smink, Brin Schoelkopf, Keaton Hentoff-Killian, Sadiqua Bynum, Francisco Cruz, Mathieu Forget, Daniel Liddiard, Chernih Denis, Louis Gift, Dominic Cruz
Composer: Gaelynn Lea
Arranged By: Steve Hackman + Hilary Hahn
Violin Performed By: Hilary Hahn
Produced By: Jacob Jonas The Company
 
May 3, 2021
WEAKNESS OF THE FLESH
Los Angeles-based Jacob Jonas virtually co-directs with Ireland-based Kevin McGloughlin, intersecting dance and visual design. Performed by Jacob Jonas The Company’s Emma Rosenzweig-Bock, Weakness of the Flesh features original music by Max Cooper, working at the intersection between electronic music, visual art, technology and science, the vocals of Hindustani Classical trained Samad Khan, and the cinematography of Shaun Boyte.
Directors: Jacob Jonas & Kevin McGloughlin
Choreographer: Jacob Jonas
Featuring: Emma Rosenzweig-Bock
Composer: Max Cooper
Vocalist: Samad Kahn
Cinematographer: Shaun Boyte
Produced by: Jacob Jonas The Company

About the Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance (The Harris)
Opened in November 2003 in Millennium Park, the Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater was the first multi-use performance venue built in downtown Chicago since 1929. As Chicago’s home for music and dance, the Harris features the most diverse arts and culture offerings of any venue in the city, and is a distinctive model for artistic quality, collaboration, and making the performing arts relevant and accessible to the widest possible audience.
 
About the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (The Wallis)
The Wallis is a dynamic cultural hub and community resource where local, national and international artists share their artistry with ever-expanding audiences. The campus, located in the heart of Beverly Hills, CA, is committed to robust and distinctive presentations and education programs curated with both creativity and social impact in mind. Distinguished by its eclectic programming that mirrors the diverse landscape of Los Angeles and its location in the entertainment capital of the world, The Wallis has produced and presented more than 300 dance, theater, opera, classical music, cinema and family programs since its doors opened in October 2013.
 
About the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (The Soraya)
Celebrating its 10th Anniversary in 2021, The Soraya has quickly become one of the cultural jewels of greater Los Angeles.  Under the leadership of Executive Director Thor Steingraber, The Soraya continues to expand its programming and outstanding multidisciplinary performances both onstage and online. The mission of The Soraya is to present a wide variety of performances that not only includes new and original work from the Los Angeles region, but also work from around the world that appeal to all of LA’s rich and diverse communities.