USA / 2007 / 65mins / Dance film, Documentary / English, Japanese, Portuguese and French

In an astonishing exposition of choreographic formation, nine African choreographers tell stories of an emergent art form and their diverse and contemporary expressions of self. Stunning choreography and riveting critiques challenge stale stereotypes of "traditional Africa" to unveil soul-shaking responses to the beauty and tragedy of 21st century Africa.

Joan Frosch

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Joan Frosch explores 21st century art-making through the voices of often previously marginalized artists and thinkers, including the emergent voices of contemporary dancers and choreographers in Africa, and the African Diasporas of France and the USA. Joan's creative path encompasses making and directing dance theatre, writing and producing as a dance ethnographer/activist, and, in 2007, co-directing her first documentary feature: Movement (R)evolution Africa. Joan’s experience includes being the inaugural Gwendolen M. Carter Fellow in African Studies, Professor of Dance and Assistant Director of the School of Theatre and Dance, affiliate faculty of the Centers for African Studies and Latin American Studies, and co-founder and co-director of the Center for World Arts, University of Florida which is a living laboratory exploring the interface of arts and culture. Her research has attracted national and international funding, and numerous honors and awards, such as the national Lilly Fellowship for innovative curriculum in Dance in World Cultures, the National Endowment for the Arts (Dance-Creativity), and the Cologne Choreographers' Forum for her choreography, China. Learn More

Alla Kovgan

Born in Moscow in 1973, Alla Kovgan has been sharing her time between Russia and the US since 1996 making films, installations, and stage intermedia performances in collaboration with artists from different disciplines as well as teaching and curating dance film and avant-garde cinema around the world. Her breakthrough film Nora (36', 2008), co-directed with David Hinton and based on true stories of a Zimbabwe-born choreographer Nora Chipaumire, received 30 awards in every kind of genre (fiction, documentary, video art). After being broadcast on ARTE, PBS, TV3 (Spain), NRK (Norway) and SVT (Sweden) and presented at over 200 festivals and venues including MoMA, Louvre and Tate Modern, it was selected to represent the US at Input 2011. Alla also co-directed, wrote and edited Emmy-nominated Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North (2007) and Movement (R)evolution Africa (2007). Her award documentary Cunningham, about the life of Merce Cunningham was released in 2019. Learn More