Four Rare Dance Films by David Roussève
On Stage Gala Reception
DAVID ROUSSÈVE: RETROSPECTIVE & GALA
Each year DCW honors visionaries whose work sets the bar for what dance can achieve on stage and on screen. In Janaury 2026 DCW will honor David Roussève, an artist described by The Washington Post as one of the modern dance world's great stage personalities. DCW 2026 Festival will present a retrospective of four of David’s films followed by an onstage discussion with David and a gala reception to honor this exceptional artist.
Now is the time to throw the spotlight onto David’s films as well. The four films screening are: Bittersweet, Pull Your Head to the Moon, Two Seconds of Laughter, Chili Pepper. The screenings will be followed with an on-stage discussion with David and a distinguished guest moderator.
We are so proud that David also served as the President of the DCW Board of Directors from 2018-2023 and helped shape the ethos of this organization during his tenure, as part of the very first Visibility Production funding discussions and grants.
We invite you all to experience a magical evening of screenings and festivities as guests are invited to a one-of-a-kind Gala —an intimate evening with live music, sumptuous food and bar, all on the TRK stage, a vantage point usually reserved for performers.
Gala ticket includes access to the full program of screenings.
For sponsorship opportunities: dillonhowl@dancecamerawest.org
Tickets are priced at $150 with pass holder discount available.
All ticket purchases support DCW’s pillar programs to Prepare: Produce and Present the best dance films in Los Angeles including DCW's Signature VISIBILITY production fund for L.A. based dance film makers.
David’s three-decade career has transformed dance-theater in the US and abroad, weaving together movement, text, and multimedia to probe identity, race, queerness, and resilience in ways that resonate across generations. His wealth of honors—"Bessie" Award, Creative Capital Fellow, multiple Horton Awards, NEA Fellowships, the Herb Alpert Award, not to mention Guggenheim Fellowship and magna cum laude graduate of Princeton—speaks to his influence. His company, David Roussève/REALITY has performed across the US from Jacobs Pillow and the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave Festival, with multiple commissions and residencies, along with tours stretching from Europe to South America. David recently retired as a Distinguished Professor of Choreography at UCLA and his key roles as Acting Dean in the School of the Arts and Architecture. Just this year, David premieres the stage work Becoming Daddy AF, a deeply personal, unflinching perspective on what it means to create, live, and love as a queer African American artist today.