About
Dance Camera West Dance Film Festival - Los Angeles
Dance Camera West (DCW) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and developing the vibrant art of dance media. DCW connects diverse cultures and environments through its exploration of dance on screen, bringing hundreds of challenging and provocative films to Los Angeles from around the globe, effectively bridging the gap between the uniquely influential Los Angeles film community and the significant local dance populace. Even more importantly, Dance Camera West utilizes the accessible nature of dance as a non-verbal art form to reach across cultural, geographic, and socio-economic divides by making a special effort to engage a wide range of Los Angeles audiences of varying ethnicities and interests, offering everyone a chance to experience the thought-provoking thrill of dance media.
Globally speaking, Dance Camera West is one of only a handful of organizations that presents dance media, and the only one of its kind on the West Coast. Given that distinction, DCW has been fortunate to partner with some of the most prominent venues and organizations throughout the Los Angeles area. Co-presenters have included the Getty Center, REDCAT at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Directors Guild of America, the Hammer Museum, and many others.
Mission:
Dance Camera West is a 501(c)(3) dance media arts organization committed to fostering and promoting the vibrant art of dance film from around the globe. We seek to interconnect diverse populations and environments through the innovative art fusion - dance on screen, which merges performance and cinematic aesthetics.
For festival screening times, locations, tickets, and more information on this year’s film festival, click here.
Dance and Cinema - Dance Camera West
Dance Camera West aspires to awaken and infuse the public mainstream with a desire for critical creative programming. The vision of DCW is to present the visual language of dance on screen in a way that stretches the imagination and changes the way we think about dance.
The Dance Camera West Dance Film Festival showcases many forms of dance including modern dance, post modern dance, world dance, tap dance, dance theater, ballet, hip-hop and practically all dance that has been captured on film in a way that is of quality and essential value.
DCW’s dance film festival presents a range of contemporary, classic and alternative dance films, and showcases the talents of internationally recognized artists like Merce Cunningham, William Forsythe, Paris Opera Ballet, Pilobolus, Marie Chounard, Akram Kahn, Jiri Kylian and Netherlands Dance Theatre, Lloyd Newson/DV8, Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker with Thierry de Mey, Wim Vandekeybus with UltimaVez, Meg Stuart with Pierre Coulibeuf, Edouard Lock/La La La Human Steps, Bill T. Jones with Paula Kaiser, as well as featuring local artists like Victoria Marks, Oguri, Mitchell Rose, and Daniel Ezralow.
The genre of Screen Dance or Dance for Camera has expanded the possibilities of composition and structure by literally pushing the boundaries of dance - motion, rhythm, form and gravity - beyond what is presentable on stage.
Always interested in seeing everything that the world has to offer, DCW accepts submissions throughout the year for its festival and year round programming.
For submission form and instructions click here.
Dance Camera West Bridges Communities
Dance Camera West provides distinctive programming that interweaves a broad yet focused range of screenings, workshops and events that specifically strives to bridge the uniquely influential community of film in Los Angeles with the significant local dance community.
Dance Camera West's programs pull audiences in and stir the imagination by means of a universal language found in the visual merging of performance and cinematic aesthetics. The public forum offered by Dance Camera West interconnects diverse populations and environments within the greater international community through the fusion of dance on screen.
Dance Camera West’s Dance Film Festival offers the Dance Community a vibrant and supportive platform for the expression and evolution of dance and film-making, exhibition and interaction for a collective vision.
Programs that take place at the City’s leading cultural institutions as well as in parks and alternative spaces provides a dance experience that transcends economic, cultural and language barriers.
Click here for our COMMUNITY PARTNERS page.
Dance Camera West New Directions
Constantly growing in audience, prestige, and impact, Dance Camera West has presented over 1000 international dance films from forty-seven countries to 25,000 individuals throughout Greater Los Angeles. DCW is one of only a handful of organizations in the world that present dance media and is known internationally as the leading presenter of dance-inspired cinema.
DCW has grown beyond an annual film festival with its distribution of dance films and educational components including workshops, panel discussions and contributions to relevant publications. DCW continues with its goal to be a catalyst for the making of new dance and film works locally and internationally, and is committed to supporting artists.
Future plans for DCW include hosting a center for research and development through an archive of dance films and materials. Future programming is expected to include a symposium in Dance Technology, workshops in production, and panel discussions of critical discourse on the subject of dance made for the screen as well as interactive performance work.
As the showcase for the next generation of dance, Dance Camera West is committed to keeping ticket prices affordable (often free events) and was named one of the most "affordable dance tickets" by the LA Times. Grover Dale of Answers for Dancers calls DCW "the best thing to happen to Los Angeles dance in 20 years." LA Magazine selected the 2008 June festival as Pick of the Month.
Dance Magazine voted DCW one of the “Top 20 to Watch” for two years running. The 2010, 2009 and 2008 festivals were featured stories on FOX News.
The Los Angeles Times gave DCW Best of LA TWICE selecting it as one of the ten best dance events in Los Angeles.
For screening times and locations or to purchase tickets for this year’s film festival click here.
DCW Dance Film Festival Acknowledges its Supporters
Dance Camera West is appreciative of the funding that it receives from Annenberg Foundation, Mortimer Levitt Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, Lloyd E. Rigler and Laurence E. Deutsch Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, and Los County Arts Commission.
Individuals are the core of DCW; become a member and be part of Dance Camera West. To contribute your support please visit our Contribute page.
Corporate sponsorship is available for the month long festival and year round events. To learn how your company may become a sponsor please phone 213-480-8633 or contact Tonia Barber at toniabarber@dancecamerawest.org.
DCW thrives on community and we welcome your support in all forms. If you would like to join us as a volunteer please contact us. Please see Community Partners page for a full list of our supporters.
