It’s been nearly 20 years since I first began incorporating filmmaking into my dance career. Along with reams of footage, I’ve also collected reams of good memories throughout my time behind the lens. On a lark, I entered my 2026 redux of my film, Something Fake, which became Something Fake II, which ended up as Maga in Dflat, into the Dance on Camera Film Lab, and much to my surprise, I was accepted. My film was about our current political climate (read my blog about that here), where I decided to morph my original film from 2018, into a new version after my horror of seeing the wrecking ball come down on the East wing of the White House. Inspiration comes not only from pretty things!
The evening at the film Lab in NYC was delightful! Shawn Bible, moderator and Dance on Camera founder, was on deck to enlighten us to everything “dance filmmaking.” We strolled down memory lane together, as he and I share similar stomping grounds. Meeting the other filmmakers and watching their films was quite a treat. We all came from different backgrounds, but the common thread was our commitment to the creative process. I’m a messy filmmaker. I use storyboarding, but once I collect my footage, I often throw away the blueprint in post production and shoot from the hip while editing. My scrappy nature leads to a compilation of images that I always hope will make an impact, but if not, oh well… I typically do things for me. I’ve learned to accept this fact, especially after just celebrating my 35 Years in Motion with ACD. My joy has always been working with the artists involved, and this time around — I was having fun recycling and weaving past and present together with my editor, Tom Brunt, to make Maga in Dflat.
