
Terpsichore is a captivating exploration of dance as an art form, illuminating the passion, discipline, and vulnerability that transform movement into poetry. The documentary follows three distinct yet interconnected artists: Cece Trapani, an Irish dancer; Aurora Maur, a burlesque performer; and the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC), a renowned contemporary dance ensemble. Through their stories, Terpsichore reveals the universal language of dance—one that transcends genre and speaks to the depths of human emotion. Intimate interviews and behind-the-scenes rehearsal footage offer a raw, unfiltered look at the artistry behind each performance, capturing the essence of dance as both personal expression and a bridge between artist and audience. More than a showcase of technique, Terpsichore delves into the soul of movement, celebrating its power to connect, inspire, and reveal the unspoken truths of the human spirit.
DCDC Dancer
DCDC Choreographer
DCDC Executive Director
DCDC Dancer
DCDC Dancer
DCDC Dancer
DCDC Dancer
Gem City Burlesque Dancer
Irish Dancer

Terpsichore is a captivating exploration of dance as an art form, illuminating the passion, discipline, and vulnerability that transform movement into poetry. The documentary follows three distinct yet interconnected artists: Cece Trapani, an Irish dancer; Aurora Maur, a burlesque performer; and the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC), a renowned contemporary dance ensemble. Through their stories, Terpsichore reveals the universal language of dance—one that transcends genre and speaks to the depths of human emotion. Intimate interviews and behind-the-scenes rehearsal footage offer a raw, unfiltered look at the artistry behind each performance, capturing the essence of dance as both personal expression and a bridge between artist and audience. More than a showcase of technique, Terpsichore delves into the soul of movement, celebrating its power to connect, inspire, and reveal the unspoken truths of the human spirit.
2024-11-14
0
Terpsichore is a dance documentary that delves into the art of dance through an observational and poetic camera exploration of the dancer's body and mind.
0.0A cinematic impression of Vietnam, told through the eyes of Vietnamese immigrants.
0.0When Roger Lee slips on his front steps, he has no idea the fall will send him spiralling into the darkest chapter of his life. Injured, and drowning in despair, he hits rock bottom—until he discovers the power of his own words. Through pain, he finds purpose, turning his struggle into wisdom that inspires millions. Now, as a world-renowned speaker, he lifts others the way he once needed lifting. A raw and uplifting story of resilience, reinvention, and the unexpected ways we rise.
0.0After seeking transcendence through shamanic rituals, Ana’s life is transformed overnight by an unexpected turn toward faith.
8.0“Raised by Krump” explores the LA-born dance movement “krumping,” and how the dance has helped the lives of some of the area’s most influential dancers.
0.0A collection of memories from a tumultuous time at University.
0.0The documentary portrayed one of the most established dance companies in Hong Kong which has a history of over four decades. With a tradition of blending Chinese dance and ballet together in the training, the dance company has set sail to re-evaluate its artistic essence by adapting new physical disciplines and philosophy, picking up different cultural traces, meditation and Chinese martial arts. Through monologues of the company members, the film unveiled their fears, self-doubts, and findings in their quest to refine their dance forms and express their cultural roots. It's an uncertain journey towards the cultivation of inner peace and the essence of movement and stillness.
0.0The basis of the experimental film Sky Spirits are real-life shots of fireworks. The authors of the film have collected these shots from the year 2001. to 2008. The experiment explores the ultimate limits of fireworks as sources of light, showing this through real-life dynamic light patters which are led through video processors, resulting in chromatically rich animated samples. The material is "laboratory" processed and then formed into a film unit, while respecting the dramaturgy of fireworks. The original sound was used, which was, of course, subsequently processed, too. The whole work process is a kind of "homage to the tape" because the entire work is completely recorded and realised on digital video tapes, without using any kind of computer program.
7.0The remarkable spirit of tap dancers and their history provides a joyous backdrop for intimate portraits of hoofers Sandman Sims, Chuck Green, and Bunny Briggs.
Dance Revolutionaries is a captivating exploration of raw emotion through dance set in stunning locations, showcasing Portraits – five solo dances, and an innovative production of the rarely-seen ballet, Sea of Troubles.
0.0Glittering illusions of vectorized providence struggle to guide the viewer toward a path of re-enchantment.
0.0Lychgate reimagines the selection of The Chosen One in the iconic ballet The Rite of Spring, depicting a community of women performing a ritual, not to sacrifice, but to honor the unknown and empower one member to envision it. This 360º dance film blurs the boundaries between terrestrial and ethereal planes, sweeping the viewer up in the fervor of bodies moving in ceremony and synchronicity.
Experience the joy of flight with Alice Sheppard and Laurel Lawson
0.0For two centuries, the Sycamore Gap tree stood as an iconic sentinel along Hadrian's Wall, shaping the landscape and lives of Northumberland. Its sudden destruction triggered an international outpouring of grief. This film examines the tree's cultural and emotional significance through local voices, highlighting the enduring power of history in our present.
3.0While most of Ken Russell's documentaries for the BBC's Monitor arts strand focused on a single creative figure, he would also occasionally make more wide-ranging surveys of the state of a particular art. The Light Fantastic (BBC, tx. 18/12/1960) was written and presented by Ron Hitchins, a Cockney barrow boy who has long been interested in a great many dance forms, and who has recently taken up Spanish dancing. Hitchins participates in some of the dance sequences, but his main contribution is an enthusiastic commentary that helps personalise what could have been simply a disparate collection of dance footage. He's not shy about expressing likes and dislikes, being none too keen on ballroom dancing (too choreographed), rock'n'roll (too monotonous) and Morris dancing (just doesn't like it), though anything genuinely spontaneous gets a thumbs up, even if it's a room full of people dressed in black swaying to the sound of a gong.
0.0This short documentary examines an innovative educational program developed by John and Gerti Murdoch to teach Cree children their language via Cree folklore, photographs, artifacts, and books that were written and printed in the community. Made as part of the NFB’s groundbreaking Challenge for Change series, Cree Way shows that local control of the education curriculum has a place in Indigenous communities.
0.0Making Dust is an essay film, a portrait of the demolition of Ireland's second largest Catholic Church, the Church of the Annunciation in Finglas West, Dublin. Understanding this moment as a 'rupture', the film maps an essay by architectural historian Ellen Rowley on to documentation of the building's dismantling. Featuring oral interviews recorded at the site of the demolition and in a nearby hairdressers, the film invites viewers to pause and reflect on this ending alongside the community of the building. The film is informed by Ultimology, and invites its audience to think about the life cycles of buildings and materials, how we mourn, what is sacred, how we gather, what we value and issues of sustainability in architecture.
7.0In the town of Xoco, the spirit of an old villager awakens in search of its lost home. Along its journey, the ghost discovers that the town still celebrates its most important festivities, but also learns that the construction of a new commercial complex called Mítikah will threaten the existence of both the traditions and the town itself.
This film follows the process of creating Eating Your Heart Out. This work of art presented at São Paulo Biennal of Arts in 2004, was the first collaboration between the Portuguese artists Rui Chafes (sculptor) and Vera Mantero (choreographer and dancer). The result is a huge iron sculpture where the dancer performs a mysterious play, suspended in the air, with paintings all over her body.
9.0The personal collaboration between Kiran Acharya and Clint Mansell is an early combination of documentary film and augmented reality.