Siempre Más Alto

"Siempre Más Alto" demonstrates the power of dance as a way to build bridges between cultures. The film tracks the evolution of a dance education program in Tacna, Peru, where students from the University of San Francisco collaborate with the local community. A decade in the making, the film showcases Peruvian youth who grew up dancing in the program, highlighting a mural project, collaborations with elders at a senior center, and a flash mob featured on the local nightly news. Hear from students, teachers and parents as they reflect on the creative journey, witness innovative new methods of teaching & learning, and follow director Natalie Greene’s process of coming to understand herself as a choreographer of community exchange.

  • Natalie Greene
    Director
  • Natalie Greene
    Writer
  • Gabriel Armstrong
    Producer
  • Natalie Greene
    Producer
  • Eric Garcia
    Editors
  • Gabriel Armstrong
    Editors
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Siempre Más Alto
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    25 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    May 1, 2018
  • Production Budget:
    6,500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    Peru, United States
  • Language:
    English, Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • University of San Francisco: In-Progress Screening
    San Francisco
    United States
    March 1, 2016
Director Biography - Natalie Greene

Natalie Greene is a performing artist, director, choreographer and educator who has been active in Bay Area dance and theater since 2003. In 2016, after many years of performing & creating with the company, Natalie became the Artistic Director of the award-winning devised performance ensemble Mugwumpin. Her most recent work with the company, “In Event of Moon Disaster” enjoyed a month-long sold-out run at Z Below in January 2018. Natalie’s dance-theater work has been presented in theaters and non-traditional performance spaces including the Sunshine Biscuit Factory, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco Airport, ODC Theater, Dance Mission Theater, Studio 210, Danspace (NYC), Club Principe (Spain), Montescudaio Amphitheater (Italy) and the DiMenna Center at Baryshnikov Arts (NYC). In collaboration with Amie Dowling and Austin Forbord, Natalie co-choreographed the award-winning short dance films “Well Contested Sites” (2013) and “Separate Sentence” (2016). Her flash mob “Rompiendo Fronteras” was created in 2012 and is presented biannually through a youth leadership summit taking place in contested border communities of Peru, Chile and Bolivia. As a performer Natalie was worked with Mary Armentrout, Kim Epifano, Emily Keeler, Kelly Kemp, Erin Mei-Ling Stuart, Deborah Slater, Leyya Tawil, and many others. Natalie is Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Performing Arts & Social Justice at the University of San Francisco, where she teaches dance, theater and community engagement. Through USF, Natalie leads a service-learning summer program in Tacna, Peru, which is the subject of her new documentary, “Siempre Más Alto.” As a freelance pedagogy consultant Natalie has led workshops and teacher trainings throughout the US and Peru, and as well as in Mexico, Nicaragua, Colombia and Ecuador. She has also taught through SF State, SFArtsED and ODC School, and continues to guide the development of two small but mighty arts education initiatives in Tucson, Arizona and Lima, Peru.

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