Halls of Ivy, a dance film created by the Academy for Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) Dance Class of 2018, was selected as the winning Capturing Motion NYC film at the 45th Annual Dance on Camera Festival at Lincoln Center. As the winning film, Halls of Ivy was screened at the Walter Reade Theater with the Experimental Shorts Program on February 7, 2017.
Led by Dance Film Guest Artist Brianna McGraw (Creative Director of B. RUTH CREATIVE), students choreographed site-specific dance phrases, filmed the scenes using iPhones and edited footage, to original compositions by pianist Gisel Costa, to create Halls of Ivy, all on location at Morris County School of Technology.
Yorke and Row representing VPA at Capturing Motion NYC
Dance students Caroline Yorke and Sarah Row represented VPA at the adjudication round of the competition held on February 6, 2017. Yorke and Row spoke about the creative process behind this work and received feedback from the panel, Gabri Christa (Assistant Professor, Barnard College, Columbia University) and Mickela Mallozzi (Emmy Award-winning host and producer of Bare Feet in NYC).
Sponsored by the Dance Films Association (DFA), “Capturing Motion NYC is an annual workshop series and dance film competition for high school students in the five boroughs. DFA facilitates school workshops in interactive dance film education for students and teachers. The workshops culminate in the Capturing Motion NYC competition, in which students submit their work to be a part of Dance on Camera Festival.” DFA opened up the competition to students outside of the five boroughs so the Academy for Visual and Performing Arts could participate.
Brianna McGraw and Ruth Clark prior to the award ceremony
McGraw accepted the award on behalf of the VPA students at the Walter Reade Theater, home of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, a co-presenter of the Dance on Camera Festival. This award is especially significant since McGraw is an alumna of the VPA-Dance program under former distinguished dance educator Ruth Clark. VPA-Dance began its Dance Technology Curriculum approximately 17 years ago and it continues to evolve as technology in dance becomes ever present in college programs and professional dance career work.
VPA-Dance is a training ground for college preparatory dance study and dance vocations. Students attend County College of Morris for further study their senior year. The program is in its 17th year of providing quality dance education and is under the direction of Lisa Peluso. For more information about Morris County School of Technology and the Academy for Visual and Performing Arts, please visit www.mcvts.org.