{"id":698,"date":"2022-08-20T10:15:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-20T10:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.keithglassman.org\/?page_id=698"},"modified":"2026-02-23T01:27:02","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T01:27:02","slug":"wamd-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.keithglassman.org\/?page_id=698","title":{"rendered":"Lives Beyond Motion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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LIVES BEYOND MOTION, a documentary film centered on men in contemporary dance, is a love letter to every creative across the arts. Filmmaker, modern dancer and choreographer, Keith Glassman, follows his passion to explore the lives of an intergenerational group of celebrated men who have made their mark on and off the stage. Some of our most treasured dancers and choreographers, including Kennedy Center honoree, BILL T. JONES, Alvin Ailey Associate Artistic Director, MATTHEW RUSHING, Guggenheim Fellow, LAR LUBOVITCH and MacArthur Genius, KYLE ABRAHAM, gift us a rare level of transparency and expressionism as they share their sacrifices, triumphs and struggles to transcend economic, racial and sexual marginalization. From the park bench to the Broadway stage, LIVES BEYOND MOTION uncovers rare performances, the legacy of legendary artists and spotlights the uncompromising quest to find individual expression and joy in the art of movement. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to all the interviewed artists: Kyle Abraham, Laurence Blake, Peter Boal, Donald Byrd, Liam Clancy, Sean Curran, Jacques D’Amboise, Nic De La Vega, Douglas Dunn, Ray Ejiofar, Arturo Fernandez, Vernon Gallegos, Eric Geiger, Lawrence Goldhuber, Sebastian Grubb, Mark Haim, Antoine Hunter, Andrew Jannetti, Keith Johnson, Lorin Johnson, Bill T. Jones, C. Derrick Jones, Alex Ketley, Eric Kupers, Lar Lubovitch, Wade Madsen, John Malashock, Donald McKayle, Robert Moses, Charlie Moulton, John Pennington, Stephen Petronio, David Rousseve, Matthew Rushing, Craig Salstein, Jim Self, Frank Shawl, Jeff Slayton, Gus Solomons, Jr., Jock Soto, David Thomson, Edward Villella, Scott Wells and George Willis.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Screening with Theater\/Dance and Gender Studies (Sociology) departments at the University of Miami (Coral Gables) was gorgeous! Big screen at the Bill Cosford Cinema and Rene made sure the audio was impeccable. Thanks to Carol K and colleagues for welcoming and enjoying the film!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

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Great Q&A with Screendance Miami Film Festival Director, Pioneer Winter. The audience included dancers, former dancers and others drawn to the film after terrific interview and write-up in ArtBurst Miami. Article is here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The screening at the Church in Ocean Park was terrific! The Q&A lasted an hour with lots of thought provoking comments and questions. I’m thrilled to have connected with this community, which includes several dancers, singers and interesting folk. Pastor Janet called LBM  <\/em>“passionate and inspiring!” Thanks to her, Nate and Hearly Jim.<\/p>\n

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Terrific screening and outstanding Q&A at FrameXFrame Dance FF in Houston 11\/7\/25 . Thanks to a trio of men dancers from the Houston Ballet — Sam Rodriguez, Song Teng, Harper Watters — and the engaging moderator, Harrison Guy, for an intimate, informative and life-affirming discussion with the rapt audience. Thanks, too, to festival and Frame Dance Director, Lydia Nance, for bringing us all together<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We are VERY PROUD to announce that our editor, Douglas Thompson, was awarded BEST EDITING (Feature) at the Micheaux Film Festival<\/a> last weekend! We knew he did an OUTSTANDING job mixing movement footage, sound, archival and various camera clips, among MANY other things that make the film so good! It’s great that his work has been noticed, recognized and celebrated … on his BIRTHDAY!! The film was also nominated for Outstanding Documentary and Outstanding Directing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n


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A terrific screening @ the William Way LGBT Community Center in Philadelphia. Thanks to Clancey, Joe, Jase and Avis for helping make it happen. Thanks, too, to family and long time friends showing up in support. Lots of good energy and warm reception. One viewer called the movie “extraordinary and poignant!”<\/p>\n\n\n

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Fabulous! “Lives Beyond Motion” has been invited to be the double feature at the South Bay Film Society’s event on Wednesday, July 16 at the AMC Rolling Hills (CA). Thanks to Kiki, Jackie and Joshua at the Pacific UU Church in Palos Verdes for the lead and to Randy Berler for finding a spot for our movie.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Lives Beyond Motion<\/em> is the closing film at the Special Event of Festival Videodanza de Puerto Rico on Saturday 5\/17\/25!! Thanks to Ana, Gabriel and team for this great honor!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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A terrific range of dance films and docs all weekend and Lives Beyond Motion<\/em> was named Best Feature Documentary of the festival! Big thanks to Kelly, Dillan and the DCW team for all their hard work and support. <\/p>\n\n\n

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A great community screening with Tapestry, Unitarian Universalist church LGBTQ+ outreach group in Lake Forest, CA. Thanks to Scott, Ed, John and others for the warm welcome, support and response!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
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Great introductory conversation with potential Canadian screening partner. Though all LBM<\/em> dancers are American, our northern neighbors also felt impact of AIDS crisis in the dance communities of the 1980s.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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Great screening at the National Dance Education Organization conference in Seattle, WA! Thanks to all who fit the movie into their busy schedules and to the Men In Dance Special Interest Group for making this happen. Thanks, too, to Donald Byrd and those who participated in the post-show discussion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Introduction to screening at Jacob’s Pillow July 13, 2024<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Setting up summer screening dates: 6\/23\/24 @ Frida Cinema (Santa Ana, CA) PRIDE, 7\/13\/24 PillowTalk @ Blake’s Barn @ Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival (Becket, MA)<\/p>\n\n\n

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Film cast member\/Associate Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Matthew Rushing with composer\/producer,The Angel and writer\/director, Keith Glassman at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, LA 3\/24\/24 <\/p>\n\n\n

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The Angel (composer\/producer), KG (writer\/director\/executive producer), choreographer Kyle Abraham (LBM <\/em>cast member) and Douglas Thompson (editor\/producer) @ AIM show Carpenter Center, Long Beach, CA 9\/30\/23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Big Changes Ready to Launch (Almost)<\/em><\/strong>
Since the last entry, the film has gone through two title changes, a locked picture, a completed soundscore, a re-recording mix and a couple film festival submissions. Our new name, Lives Beyond Motion<\/em> comes from a collaborative effort by the Director, Producers (The Angel and Douglas), a handful of arts\/dance writers and polls with colleagues. The score is outstanding and the selective few who’ve watched the movie have called it “inspiring,” “powerful,” “extraordinary” and “important.” We’ve partnered with a CSU Dance Department and a national dance organization to virtually share clips from the film-in-progress and are setting up more of these. Before we hit the festival circuit, we’ve had a number of private virtual cast and crew screenings. It has been a very moving experience to hear everyone’s reactions. I’m grateful to know that the film has resonated as “an emotional journey,” that there’s a consensus that “the film is important and has legacy value,” and that many of the men are “honored” to be part of the project. To be continued . . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A big shout out in gratitude for end of 2020 donations from JoAnne, David, Wendy, Diane, Sean, Nancy, Kayla, Lee and Joe. Moving forward!!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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More about Editing<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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The process continues. I just watched the Orson Wells-directed film, Touch of Evil<\/em>. The DVD included a Special Features memo that the artist wrote to the Universal Pictures studio after the latter had changed things around without the director\u2019s approval. Wells had seen this new version of the film only once, but filled 58 pages with his responses to the company\u2019s intervention. With only this single viewing, he was able to pinpoint many of the changes and defend his choices as to why he made the film the way he had. I mention this to highlight all the thinking that goes on in art making. Decisions and details that often slide by the viewer but cumulatively affect the overall result. In no way am I trying to compare myself to Orson Wells, but, maybe I am trying to justify the length of time it\u2019s taking me to get this film in front of your eyes. Thanks for your patience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Editing: A Bittersweet Activity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had a blast re-living my conversations with the artists when I edited the 70+ hours into a compelling 71-minute film. Downside is that, like in the dance studio, some of the juicy bits didn’t make it into the finished product. As I selected individual dancers to represent others with similar experiences, I’m still thinking about other platforms with which to share these jewels. Perhaps in a blog or in an official LBM website. TBD . . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2015 Year In Review<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year has been VERY exciting for Why American Men Dance<\/em>! We started by interviewing 15 artists in NYC and began transcribing and cataloguing these conversations as soon as we got back to LA. We received a $10K grant from the California Institute for Contemporary Arts to get post-production started (editing) and have gone from the Top 40 to Top 20 to Top 10 applicants for the Roy Dean Film Grant, a very competitive foundation the supports unique films. Moving forward!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n