Dancing Without Steps: The Art of Improvisation with Margaret Beals

“Dancing Without Steps with Margaret Beals: The Art of Improvisation”
Meet the Moment!
Director’s Statement by Adriana Davis

When I first became aware of Margaret Beals’ artistry and her pioneering efforts to further the art of improvisation I was struck by the ways she stayed true to the movement, message and methods of letting dance flow through her work. It was the most compelling factor that informs the meaning of this short documentary. The intensity. The dedication. The possibilities. Experiencing Ms. Beals’ dedication to living in the moment of self-expression as she accepted the risks, and rewards, of improvisation has given me a new take on directing and producing documentaries.
Over the last 25 years, I have most often directed fact-based, historical films rooted in personal stories of persecution, escape and survival of entire communities. “Dancing Without Steps” offered me an opportunity to connect an audience to one artist’s emotional journey driven by the music, sounds and words in the moment they are conveyed. I reversed my usual process of using history as a foundation for storytelling and instead allowed Ms. Beals’ natural storytelling abilities to convey her thoughts on improvisation alongside historical footage from her long and acclaimed career as a dancer and performance innovator.
Luckily for me, Ms. Beals maintains a well-preserved storehouse of archival material documenting her more than four decades of performing life. Though some of the images and footage had been utilized in previous productions, those archival resources gave me a way to do more than just show examples of Ms. Beals dancing. Rather, in this film I endeavor to establish a foundation to encourage young improvisational dancers and artists to find new dimensions in their work sustaining the life of an art form that may soon be lost to time. Today, technology makes it very easy for us to constantly revise our work, performances and messages. It has been so refreshing to create a film that celebrates creativity in and of the moment and see how those performances connected Ms. Beals to her future growth as an artist.
The best documentaries allow audiences to enter the subject’s world and mindset while entertaining and informing. I crafted “Dancing Without Steps” to create questions in viewers’ minds about incorporating improvisation into their lives while simultaneously being entertained by Margaret Beals’ diverse performances. As she often comments, “Dancing without steps doesn’t mean you have no plan or discipline. It means you allow the energy within to shine beyond a planned series of steps or movements, so the audience feels, more than sees or hears, where you are as an artist.” I hope you will enjoy “Meeting the Moment” as you view this documentary, suggestive of the immediacy that is improvisation.

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