Festivals and screening venues:

"African Dance; Sand, Drum and Shostakovich" is an official selection of
    • Documenta Madrid Intermational Film Festival (Madrid, Spain), May 6-15, 2005
    • Jackson Hole Film Festival (Jackson Hole, WY), September 22-26, 2004
    • Roxbury Film Festival (Boston), August 2004
    • Denver Pan African Film Festival (Denver, CO), March 2004
    • Melbourne International Festival of the Arts: Body On Screen (Australia), October 2003
    • Black Harvest Film Festival (Chicago, US), August 4 and 7, 2003
    • Woods Hole Film Festival (Woods Hole, MA) July 2003
    • Maui International Film Festival (Maui, Hawaii, US), May 26, 2003
    • Dance on Camera Festival 2003, January 2003
      (Lincoln Center, New York City)
Other screening venues:
  • Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), February 28, 2004
  • University of Florida at Gainesville (Gainesville, FL, US), February 11, 2004
  • University of Arizona in Tucson (Tuscon, AZ, US) Feburary, 2004
  • 651 Arts Screening (Brooklyn Academy of Music, BAM, Brooklyn, New York City), January 28, 2004
  • Brooklyn Public Library Central (Brooklyn, New York, February 5, 2004)
  • Society for Visual Anthropology, American Anthropological Association, (Chicago, IL, US), November 2003
  • Rhode Island College (Providence, RI, US) October 6, 2003
  • Wesleyan University (Middletown, Connecticut, US), July 2003
  • Chatham Cape Cod Film Society, Chatham Theatre (Cape Cod, US), April 2003
  • State University of New York (Rochester, New York, US), March 2003
  • Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ, February 2003
  • Cape Museum of Fine Arts (Dennis, Massachusetts, US) October 2002

Press Quotes and Reviews:

… ''African Dance: Sand, Drum and Shostakovich,'' a lively overview of the African modern dancers who performed at the 1999 Festival of New Dance in Montreal. I was at that festival, which proved a revelation. The idea of a developing African dance avant-garde is still unfamiliar in North America, where classes in traditional African dance remain popular, as do touring African dance companies that remain creative within that context. A few of the works at the 1999 festival have since been seen in the United States. But the festival's impact came from its concentration of experimental dance activity. The immediacy of the film's performances in Montreal is present in this film by Ken Glazebrook and Alla Kovgan. Its virtue is the cogency with which the choreographers explain their ideas and provide the link between their very different pieces. The basic theme is that modern dance in Africa, even if influenced by the West, remains rooted in Africa because it is danced by Africans. Of special interest are the two troupes from the Ivory Coast. Béatrice Kombé has a highly virtuosic style in an all-female troupe, Tchétché. Sylvain Zabli's company gives energetic urban dances the poetic treatment." - Anna Kisselgoff, NY Times, 01/10/03

"…a very important documentation for the developement of modern African dance for this period of time!!!!" - Kajo Nelles, Director of the International Dance Fair, Germany

"I find it good that the film gives the voice of the artists to the artists themselves, and their varying points of view on contemporary African dance. Their explanations of how they give life to their work are very well done. It interests me to have copy of the film to present in Europe and in Africa--if it is possible--to show to other companies and demonstrate this fine example of artistic reflection." – Salia Sanou, Artistic Director, Rencontre Choreographique, France

"…a nice example of contemporary work. It would be excellent to show all of our dance classes, especially our history and performance classes…" - Gail Hoak, Dance Chair, Mt. San Jacinto College, California

Downloadable Information:

click PRESS KIT to download the full press kit in Word document in English

click on .tif MAC or .tif PC to download a 300dpi still in .tif format (2.8MB) from the film for MAC or PC correspondingly or
click on jpg to download a 300dpi still in .jpg format (368K) from the film

Photo: Laurent Ziegler

 

ENGLISH SYNOPSIS:

African Dance: Sand, Drum, and Shostakovich (70min, BETA SP, 2002)

A documentary by Ken Glazebrook and Alla Kovgan that explores contemporary dance in Africa. The film introduces eight modern dance companies from Africa, Europe, and Canada that participated in the Festival International de Nouvelle Danse in Montreal, Canada in 1999. Through insightful interviews and outstanding performances, the film depicts a fascinating diversity of themes in contemporary African dance – interactions between tradition and modernism, consequences of colonization and urbanization, women’s self-expression, masculinity, and family relationships. The film is a unique source of inspiration for audiences of all ages and specifically dancers, choreographers, dance historians, critics, and all those interested in African culture.

FRENCH SYNOPSIS (SYNOPSIS FRANÇAIS)

La Danse Africaine: Le Sable, Tambour et Shostakovich (70min, BETA SP, 2002)

Un film doucmentaire qui explore la danse contemporaine en Afrique. Le film introduit huit compagnies de danse moderne d’Afrique, Europe et Canada qui ont participé dans le Festival International de Nouvelle Danse à Montreal, Canada en 1999. En utilizant les interviews astucieux et performances exceptionnelles, le film décrit une diversité fascinante de thèmes dans la danse contemporaine Africaine – interactions entre la tradition and modernisme, conséquences de la colonisation and urbanisation, l’expression de femmes, masculinité et relations familiales. Le film est un source unique d’inspiration pour le public de toutes les ages et spécialement pour les danseurs, chorégraphes, historians et critiques de danse, et tout les gens intéressés à la culture Africaine.

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