MATCHED: The Extension

MATCHED: The Extension was made after an original work of the same name commissioned by the Fire Island Dance Festival and created for married artist couple and AlvIn Ailey Principals Linda Celeste Sims and Glenn Allen Sims. This is a dance short film that builds on the developmental variations of a duet section entitled the "Seated Duet". This portion of the piece captured in MATCHED: The Extension focuses on an evolution of love, not just between two individuals: gay, straight or transgender (all cast in this film) but between uniquely special spirits. What this film aims to illustrate beyond any portrayal of physicality of love is that there is an existence of love able to be shown on a molecular level. It not only can be shown in this way that it has been filmed, it is equally able to resonate. Just as the impetus of love begins in a single soul, so does it the same with this inception of movement that too began on one body. We begin this short film where creation of the original stage work ended, which was through the choreographed expression of two bodies. And we end it on the starting single body of just one person and their own start towards a search for love..

  • Abdul Latif
    Director
    MD and A PeAK At Process
  • Abdul Latif
    Writer
  • Abdul Latif
    Producer
    MD, APAPS: Joffrey Ballet
  • Tarik Mohamed
    Producer
  • Linda Celeste Sims
    Key Cast
  • Glenn Allen Sims
    Key Cast
  • Nik Owens
    Key Cast
  • Nick Daley
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Dance
  • Runtime:
    17 minutes 37 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 17, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    3,500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Black & White
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Bronx Museum of the Arts 2017 First Friday's Launch Feature
    Bronx, NY
    United States
    January 6, 2017
    New York Premiere
    The BRIO in Visual Arts Excellence
Director Biography - Abdul Latif

Abdul Latif; a Bronx native is also a graduate of Wesleyan University, B.S. in Theater and The College of Social Studies; writing his Honors Thesis on The Economic and Sociological Impact of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Foundation's 40 Year history; an NYU - Tisch School of the Arts, MFA graduate; a scholarship recipient of the Alvin Ailey and Joffrey Ballet Schools and a directing fellow at the T. Schrieber Acting Studio. Latif was a member of Donald Byrd’s Contemporary Ballet Company - The Group and Jennifer Muller’s Contemporary Modern Company - The Works, having the privilege of touring the nation and the world, he garnered two TONY Award winning Broadway credits: The Lion King directed by Julie Taymor and choreographed by Garth Fagan and Hairspray directed by Jack O’Brien and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell. In 1994 after first founding the student-run company - Precision at Wesleyan University, his professional opportunity was initiated with choreographing the hit music video - Off The Books for Platinum recording artist - The Beatnuts with award winning director Chris Robinson, following with the staging a number for the Opening Ceremonies of the Special Olympics. Latif choreographed and co-directed the concert tours of Tommy Boy Records, Multi-Platinum recording artist Cynthia Torres and Arista Records, Multi-Platinum artists, Deborah Cox. He was choreographic assistant to and soloist for contemporary choreographer Jennifer Muller’s City Opera production of Esther, then choreographing and directing works for Broadway Cares' annual Gypsy of The Year at The New Amsterdam Theater and The Neil Simon Theater for which his work won The Gypsy of The Year Award. In addition to creating two numbers for Broadway Bares at The Roseland Ballroom, the first of which presented – Transit; received a GLADD Award nomination. Following, Latif conceived and choreographed the number – Kaleidoscope for The St. Jude Foundation Spring Gala, inspired by the film works of Busby Berkeley and celebrating the foundations honoring of designers: Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Carolina Herrera, Donna Karan, Diane Von Furstenberg and Christian Siriano.

Latif was winner of the National ACT-SO Arts Competition Award and by special invitation was guest speaker for The Archdioceses of New York’s National Inner-City Scholarship Fund - Waldorf Astoria Banquet for Cardinal O'Connor and then Cardinal Egan, honoring Citigroup CEO, Sandy Weil and his wife Joan. He was an invited guest performer of Pope Benedict XVI Cologne, Germany Youth Summit, an International Committee fellowship grant nominee for The Architect of The Future Award, a privileged assistant to Jennifer Muller in the setting of her classic work, Speeds for the Alvin Ailey Professional Repertory Progrqam. Latif became guest artist and teacher for: Steps-NYC, The Fendafor Festival in Brazil, Renaissance Arts Academy, Moves Institute in St Gallen, Switzerland, M.B. Cultural Garden - E.C.E, Poly Prep, Town School, St. Paul School, University of Kansas City, The Dalton School, Packer Collegiate, The Joffrey Ballet Academy and Northwestern University. He was co-designer and founding choreographer of The Muller Works Foundation 2011 Choreographic Residency - The Legacy Project; the 2011 Special Guest Soloist for the Fortaleza, Brazil -- Jose Alencar Theater Festival; Ballet Hispanico’s Institutito Coreografico 2012 Resident Recipient and he remains the proud co-architect and founding fellow of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund Fellowship and Lincoln Center Institute Residency for which he was its founding Fellow and inaugural Artist-In-Residence from 2012 – 2014. At the University of Kansas City, Latif staged movement and choreography for the original play - Kansas City Swing while in residence at Lincoln Center with Fellowship Mentor and TONY Award winning writer-director Ricardo Khan. Following, he choreographed KC Swing at Crossroad Theater in New Brunswick, NJ and in 2013 became recipient of the: Career Transitions Grant, Grant For Emerging Contemporary Artists and John Cage Artist Grant.

In 2014 he was commissioned to choreograph and stage the Atlantic Arts Foundation - Harlem Opera Theater collaborative production of Benjamin Britten’s opera, Parables for Church Performances - Curlew River, Burning Fiery Furnace and Prodigal Son. During his Fellowship/Residency tenure Latif began design of an Imaginative Learning and Arts Education Programming - The NEXT Platform: Nurturing Emerging Xcellence Today, initiating him as a Fractured Atlas Sponsored Artist, facilitating his launch of an Urban-Contemporary style and movement and helping to debut his Performing Arts Firm, Abdul Latif & Assocs. Since 2015 Latif has been recipient of these national awards: Joffrey Ballet’s Winning Works Award-Chicago; The Bronx Council on The Arts B.R.I.O. (Bronx Recognizes Its Own) Award-New York and The Capezio A.C.E. Finalist Award-California. Such awards have brought anticipation for his 2016/2017 works on: Harvard Ballet, Hubbard Street II, New York Choreographic Institute, ABT Innovative Initiative, New York Live Arts Fresh Tracks, University of Richmond, Columbia College, for Amar Ramasar of New York City Ballet and on Linda and Glenn Sims of The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for F.I.D. Festival 2016.

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Director Statement

As a quest to engage audiences and entice viewers from all walks of life, we shot this film in a variety of ways. One of the most creatively eye opening and community educating ways was in the final shooting of this film. After the completion of our frame by frame implemented animated affect it was re-shot as a public wall projection and put up in neighborhoods throughout inner-city streets and set to an original composed score through a "cone-like" filtered technique used to seep in the street sounds of the Bronx that were mixed in to add this sense of reality for what I aimed to entice everday passerbys with and explore as an experience of love illustrated through movement. I sought to make a short film that looked at and did its best to come close to an examination, understanding and an extended capturing of this evolition of love and dare I say and urban-contemporary love story through dance. With the sketch animation aspect chosen for this dance film the objective was to focus on form over their physical presence. To step away from this known sense of reality, towards a slight visual deconstruction that flipped a perspective of reality vs. dream, while looking at a state of solitude struggled with and a sense of search often followed by a sorrow was the challenge, an animated bitter-sweet joy. I began making this featured part of the dance -- "Seated Duet" with that in mind and it then became A Dance Short Film -- MATCHED: The Extension.