11 – 13 March 2021
TICKETS
Screen.dance – Scotland’s Festival of Dance on Screen – is set to move to the vibrant dance space of Citymoves Dance Agency in Aberdeen, bringing together artists, dancers, filmmakers and musicians for a blended event of online screenings and live online presentations from Thursday 11 – Saturday 13 March 2021.
As the first and only festival of its kind in Scotland, Screen.dance has been showcasing work from Scotland and beyond, connecting local, national and international artists and audiences to the screen dance genre since 2016. Initially held on site at Threshold arspace in partnership with Perth’s Horsecross Arts, in June 2020 Screen.dance migrated to Edinburgh and streamed live in association with Summerhall with further support from The Work Room, Glasgow and maPs, Paris.
This year Screen.dance embarks on its first partnership with Citymoves Dance Agency, Aberdeen, with further support from Festival Quartiers Danses, Montreal.
As a genre screen dance combines choreography and moving image, intersecting movement and cinema, to create a hybrid form. Dance has been a subject of film since the birth of cinema, but this hybrid form is now becoming more accepted as a genre in its own right. Particularly, in these COVID-19 pandemic times of live performing arts restrictions, artists and audiences are exploring dance on screen with renewed interest.
Screen.dance 2021 festival will present a curated programme of around 60 short dance films from across the world selected from 285 open call submissions. The selected films will stream online in four programmes featuring all UK and International Jury Awards Finalists, alongside a specially-curated programme of works by Quebec artists. Online visitors will also be able to attend artists’ presentations, live Q&A sessions, discussions and workshops.
With the support of Film Hub Scotland, Screen.dance 2021 will be streaming all programmes from a dedicated screening room page on this website. The live chats, Q&As and discussions will be conducted through Zoom in partnership with Citymoves Dance Agency, Aberdeen.
For the first time, the festival will also offer screen dance critical writing workshops and publication opportunities.
What is more, for the first time, all Scottish and international students will be eligible for a free Screen.dance 2021 festival pass, building on the previous festival initiatives to provide support to students through juried awards and festival commissions.
The festival launch on the evening of March 11th will open with a free access for all to a screaming of the works by Screen.dance 2021 UK Jury Awards Finalists, including the world premiere of Deer OH by Glasgow-based dance artist Natali McLeary – a Screen.dance 2021 one-minute dance film commission funded by Creative Scotland.
The launch will be followed by two days packed with programmes of international screenings, artists presentations and post-screening live chats and Q&A sessions.
The finale of the festival on the evening of March 13 th will see a specially curated programme of Quebec artists’ works from the last seven years in collaboration with Screen.dance partner Festival Quartiers Danses. Situated on the unceded territory of the Kanien’kehá:ka people Tiohtià:ke, also known as Montreal, Festival Quartiers Danses is recognised for its mission of democratising contemporary dance in all its forms and hybridities in traditional and unusual venues.
It’s been so exciting to be able to work with the team at Citymoves Dance Agency in Aberdeen and push the genre of screen dance in to new audiences outwith our previous festival outposts in Edinburgh and Perth. We are incredibly honoured to bring together work from Scotland and the UK, alongside work from countries such as China, Russia, India, France, Argentina and the USA; connecting award-winning artists and new audiences to dance on screen.
Alongside films, presentations and discussions, we are delighted to have been able to commission work under the new one minute screendance commissioning scheme, produced by the company GO/AT, showcasing our commitment to supporting Scottish artists to make high quality work that can be exhibited in a competitiveinternational platform showcase.
Simon Fildes, Screen.dance Festival Artistic Director
We are so excited that, for over five years now, we have been able to curate work across the screen dance genre and to bring together incredible artists, choreographers, dancers, filmmakers and musicians. We are proud of the fact that the Screen.dance 2021 programme sees 50:50 gender representation, as we continue to push for a mix of artists from across fields into the spotlight.
My Screen.dance 2021 recommendations? Don’t miss out our international programmes entitled Staying In, Going Out and Growing Up, as well as With Love from Quebec. For anyone interested in critical writing and screen dance, do sign up for our exclusive screen dance workshops led by Cara Hagan and Roisin O’Brien. Finally, a big shout to all students. Claim your free festival passes now!
Iliyana Nedkova, Screen.Dance Festival Associate Curator
Scotland’s festival of dance on screen in partnership with Citymoves Dance Agency, Aberdeen