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Flatlands Dance Film Festival
Spurlock Museum of World Cultures
600 S. Gregory St.
Urbana, Illinois 61801
(217) 333-2360
Category
Hours
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Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana,
Cost: $10 general admission; $5 students and seniors
- Festival Curator: Laura Chiaramonte
- Feature Films by Rena Butler, Endalyn T. Outlaw (Taylor), and Irishia Hubbard Romaine
The Flatlands Dance Film Festival is dedicated to supporting and presenting the art of Dance Cinema, a medium that explores and innovates the intersections between filmmaking and dance-making. The festival builds educational platforms, encourages dialogue, and promotes a diverse range of cultural perspectives from around the globe, showcasing a variety of films and shorts dedicated to dance performance, dance for camera, influential artists in the field, and the social impact of dance across the world.
The festival opens on Thursday, September 11, with films that align with Dance at Illinois’ 25–26 season, Black on Black: A Celebration of Black Dance. In addition, there will be a panel discussion after the screening.
About the Films
A Tale Of Two
Rena Butler hails from Chicago, IL, and received her BFA from SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance. Rena has performed with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, AIM by Kyle Abraham, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, David Dorfman Dance, The Kevin Wynn Collection, Pasos Con Sabor Salsa Dance Company, and Gibney Company. A Tale Of Two was created, filmed, and scored in Chicago and danced by Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. The work is filled with tension and tenderness, reflecting the vulnerability of youth in a violent world. Dreams amidst despair. Hope amidst hatred. Joy amidst injustice. In a work that speaks powerfully to our present moment, the Hubbard Street Dancers capture both the intimate and the universal.
Hubbard Street Dancer Alysia Johnson and choreographer Rena Butler in A Tale of Two by Rena Butler. Film still courtesy Talia Koylass/HSDC.
I Am a Woman
Dancer, choreographer, and educator Endalyn T. Outlaw (née Taylor) presents I Am a Woman, based on the poem by Mikenzi Masiah Barrow. Outlaw is the dean of the School of Dance at UNCSA. She has held the positions of director of Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) School in New York—a company she joined in 1984, becoming a principal dancer in 1993—and director of the Cambridge Summer Art Institute in Massachusetts.
F3VER
Irishia Hubbard Romaine is a choreographer, filmmaker, and educator from South Carolina. She is an assistant professor in the School of Dance at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania and a 2024 Mellon Arts & Practitioner Fellow at Yale University’s Center for the Study of Race, Indigeneity, and Transnational Migration (RITM). Romaine’s research examines the unwritten history of Black moving image arts through the lens of Africanist Aesthetics in dance, photography, and film. F3VER follows the journey of Andrew "3D Dance Fever" Jones, a native of Bakersfield, who defies societal expectations as a professional street dancer, high school substance abuse counselor, and globally recognized dance fitness instructor. As Andrew navigates the challenges of his hometown, he discovers the power of dance as a transformative tool, using its rhythms to overcome personal adversity and inspire others. Through movement-based scenes and heartfelt moments of reflection, the film shines a light on Andrew's resilience and showcases the universal language of dance as a means of healing, self-expression, and empowerment.
Image credit: Irishia Hubbard Romaine
Arthur Mitchell’s Love Letter: Dance Theatre of Harlem and its Legacies
Arthur Mitchell’s Love Letter: Dance Theatre of Harlem and its Legacies—A TRIC/Mellon Grant Project, is a film that features a panel discussion with the co-editors and writers of the forthcoming anthology titled Dance Theatre of Harlem: A Multivalent Portrait. This anthology project aims to bring together researchers and legacy stakeholders in the Dance Theatre of Harlem historiography to provide a comprehensive view of the company, school, and neighborhood. The presentation focuses on several key aspects, including the portrayal of ballet as a Black dance practice within the broader context of the African Diaspora, the exploration of the geographic and cultural influences on the company's artists during their global tours, and the examination of Harlem as both a physical location and a cultural hub that shapes the company's identity and artistic practices.
Image credit: Irishia Hubbard Romaine