Ahead, Behind
- Choreographed and performed:
- JA Collective
- Directed, edited, VFX:
- Ben Kadie
- Cinematography:
- Matt Burke
- Music & sound design:
- J. Tyler Johnson
Tonight's program
Movement on screen
Join us for films by JA Collective, half•alive, Lindsay Benson Garrett and filmmakers featured in Dance Film SF’s Audience Favorites 2025 touring reel. The reel moves between playful surrealism, intimate portraits, cultural ritual and experiments with technology.
Screening lineup
Films & credits
Opening selections
“weekend plans”
- Choreography:
- JA Collective
- Performed by:
- CLI Conservatory
CY5 Black Box Film
Intermission
- Created and performed by:
- Brett Kramer and Aidan Carberry
- Directed, edited and choreographed by:
- Aidan Carberry
- Music:
- Brett Kramer
- Cinematography:
- Keean Johnson
- Lighting:
- Anna Merritt
- Produced by:
- half•alive
Fate of Choice Excerpt
- Choreography:
- Stephanie Dorrycott and dancers
- Directed and edited by:
- Lindsay Benson Garrett
- Performed by:
- Kristina Ancil Edwards, Lindsay Benson Garrett, Kelly McGill
- Music:
- dans ma main by Jean-Michel
Polyscope Excerpts
- Choreography:
- Dancers
- Directed and edited by:
- Lindsay Benson Garrett
- Performed by:
- Colleen Edwards, Kristina Ancil Edwards, Naomi Hill, Caitlin Murray, Emma Petinaux, Gabby Petinaux, V Cangelosi
- Music:
- Migration by Guillaume Feran; Luci by Anna Caragnano and Donato Dozzy
Dance Film SF · Audience Favorites 2025
This selection brings together films from the 2025 San Francisco Dance Film Festival, spanning French Polynesia, Sevilla, robotics, poetry and cultural ritual. Together, the works show how dance film bridges tradition and technology, personal reflection and collective memory.
Klanglicht: Sound of Light
- Director:
- Boris Seewald
- Choreographer:
- Marie Zechiel
Aito Hine
- Director:
- Krysten Resnick
- Choreographer:
- Tehani Robinson
Ode Maritima
- Director:
- Fu Le
- Choreographers:
- Maga lie Lanriot, Roel Q Seeber
Carmen
- Director:
- Andrew Margetson
- Choreographer:
- Carmen Aviles
Spoken Movement Family Honour
- Director:
- Daniel Gurton
- Choreographer:
- Kwame Asato-Adjei
JA Robot Club
- Directors:
- Jordan Johnson, Aidan Carberry
- Choreographer:
- JA Collective
Instinct
- Director and choreographer:
- Lohitzune Rodriguez
West
- Director:
- Thomas Bos
- Choreographer:
- Erik Bos
Tempest
- Director:
- Gideon Merz
- Choreographer:
- Agnes Su
Talchum: The Mask Dance
- Directors:
- Hong Jae Im, Hwayong Jung
- Choreographers:
- Aiki & Hook
Una Notte a Napoli
- Director and choreographer:
- Lucia Lopez Sanchez
Viewing guide
How to watch a dance film
Dance films speak a language that’s part movement, part cinema. The camera chooses what you see, how close you get and where your eye is drawn.
The body as storyteller
When there’s no dialogue, what does the dancer’s body seem to be saying?
Camera and choreography
When does the camera move with the dancer or stay still? What do close-ups and editing reveal or leave out?
Sound and silence
Does the dance follow the music or push against it? How do ambient sound and silence change the movement?
Place and space
How does the location shape the dancers’ movement or the film’s meaning?
After the screening
- Which image or moment stayed with you, and why?
- What single word or feeling would you place at the center of a film? What gave you that sense?
- Which setting or choice surprised you?
- Could the dance exist live, or does it belong to the film?
VCU Dance and Choreography
2026–27 season
Fall Salon
October 23 · 7:30 p.m.
VCU Dance Center, room 203
Fall Senior Projects · Ticket required
November 21 and 22 · 7:30 p.m.
Grace Street Theatre
Rough Cuts Film Screening
February 5 · 7:30 p.m.
Grace Street Theatre
Dance NOW 2027 · Ticket required
February 18, 19 and 20 · 7:30 p.m.
Grace Street Theatre
Spring Salon
April 2 · 7:30 p.m.
VCU Dance Center, room 203
Spring Senior Projects · Ticket required
April 23 and 24 · 7:30 p.m.
Grace Street Theatre
Collaborative Opera with VCU Music · Ticket required
April 30 · 7:00 p.m.; May 2 · 4:00 p.m.
W.E. Singleton Center
for the Performing Arts
First Year Repertory Concert
April 30 · 7:30 p.m. · Date subject to change
Grace Street
Theatre
Learn more about the VCU Department of Dance and Choreography