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Finding Heaven Under Our Feet: Making Modern Dance

Where do art, politics and subversive acts collide?

Finding Heaven Under Our Feet: Making Modern Dance, a feature-length documentary film, is a journey through time. Choreographer and dance historian, Dr. Jody Weber describes the roots of modern dance in the expressive dance movement of 19th century Boston, illustrating the art form’s ties to the early 20th century women's rights movement. Seeing herself as an heir to these early innovators, Weber works with her Somerville-based dance company to address the elusive nature of the genre through community engagement, audience education and the ability of artists to use their work to tackle social and cultural issues, such as climate change and our relationship with the planet.

  • Chris Engles
    Director
  • Chris Engles
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 7 minutes 48 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 10, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    8,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    HD digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Rhode Island International Film Festival
    Providence
    United States
    August 10, 2017
    North American Premiere
Director Biography - Chris Engles

Over the last 20 years I’ve had the good fortune to be involved in some pretty cool stuff. A veteran of public radio, I’ve worked on such NPR favorites as Cartalk, The World, Morning Edition and Living on Earth. I’ve crewed on several feature films and wrote, directed, edited and produced my own feature film This Town, which premiered at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and was an official selection of the New York International Independent Film Festival. I've also produced several shorts which have screened in Boston and Woods Hole Massachusetts.

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Director Statement

I'm driven by two forces. Process, and illustration. I enjoy getting my hands dirty and working my way through a creative endeavor, be it sound, visual art or spoken word. Through executing a process I learn not only about the world, but about myself. What draws me to a particular process? Invariably, a moving experience through someone else's art; an inspiring piece of music, a captivating film, a sublime written passage. Within each of these experiences, I feel there is "truth", or some aspect of truth that deserves attention by a wider audience. Hence a lifetime spent in audio production(sound and storytelling), still photography (attempting to capture the "in-between" moments in life), and documentary film work. After producing a series of shorter video portraits of various artist in the greater Boston area, I embarked on my current project, Finding Heaven Under Our Feet: Making Modern Dance, which has been a great vehicle to engage all of my creative interests at once.