Experiencing Interruptions?

Selection

This dance film is part of my ongoing project series, ZACHOR, which seeks to preserve and eternalize the words of WWII Holocaust Survivors through modern dance. The choreography in this piece was built using memories of Holocaust Survivors Elie Wiesel and Agi Geva on the selection process in Nazi concentration camps; a process determining who would be used for slave labor and who would be sent to gas chambers, separating and destroying millions of lives and families.

For “Selection,” I incorporated the powerful words of Bernard Marks into the soundscore, as he confronts the ICE director in Sacramento, California in 2017. Survivors such as Marks, who chose and choose to share their stories do not do so because it is an easy experience for them to relive. They do so out of human responsibility, with the goal that history should never repeat itself; it is the responsibility of future generations to remember and acknowledge when history does.

This project is funded in part by Combined Jewish Philanthropies and by New England Foundation for the Arts’ New England Dance Fund, with generous support from the Aliad Fund at the Boston Foundation.

  • Rachel Linsky
    Choreographer
  • Rachel Linsky
    Director
  • Rachel Linsky
    Producer
  • Olivia Moon Photography
    Videographer
  • Gabriela Amy-Moreno
    Key Cast
  • Imani Deal
    Key Cast
  • Haylee Denham
    Key Cast
  • Olivia Link
    Key Cast
  • Erin McNulty
    Key Cast
  • Mindy Phung
    Key Cast
  • Erin Washington
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Short, Other
  • Runtime:
    5 minutes 56 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 29, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    1,800 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Nozama Virtual Empower One Another Festival
    Boston
    United States
    September 26, 2020
Director Biography - Rachel Linsky

Rachel Linsky is a Boston based dancer, choreographer, and educator. She holds a B.F.A. in Dance Performance and Choreography and a B.A. in Arts Administration from Elon University where she graduated summa cum laude. Rachel currently dances with Connections Dance Theater under the direction of Jenny Oliver, and as an apprentice with KAIROS Dance Theater under the direction of DeAnna Pellecchia. She has recently performed in Waterway/Lightway/ Greenway with Peter DiMuro/Public Displays of Motion, and in Laugh Track at Green Street Studios. Rachel is currently choreographing an ongoing project, ZACHOR, which aims to preserve the words of WWII Holocaust Survivors through dance. This project has received funding from Combined Jewish Philanthropies and the New England Foundation for the Arts’ New England Dance Fund, with generous support from the Aliad Fund at the Boston Foundation. Through this project she has presented work at the Boston Contemporary Dance Festival, created a dance film with Olivia Blaidsell at The New England Holocaust Memorial, and will premiere an evening length work as an Artist in Residence at Chelsea Theatre Works in 2021. She is currently a part of the teaching faculty at Urbanity Dance, Chelsea Theatre Works, The Dance Academy of Siagel Productions, and Velocity Dance Company. She also teaches barre classes with Forme Barre Fitness!

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Director Statement

As a dance artist, I use movement as a means to gain understanding and make meaning of the world around me, the body in which I live, and the people with whom I interact. Dance can be a highly regimented and technical art form that people study over a lifetime. Movement itself, however, is an incredibly innate, powerful, and revealing tool for communication. In my creative work, I aim to connect diverse groups of people using natural and symbolic movements and gestures. I strive to create choreography that evokes emotion and fosters empathy between communities beyond what words alone might achieve.