Her Magnum Opus, Upstate Films, Rhinebeck NY, 2 of 3

Her Magnum Opus, Upstate Films, Rhinebeck NY, 2 of 3

roseman:friends_2017

Roseman, Harry

Online collection published by Vassar College Libraries, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

2017-10-29

1 photograph

Text

roseman_8537

In Person: Filmmaker Marta Renzi, along with dancers Aileen Passloff and Arthur Avilés. Sunday, October 29th in Rhinebeck at 2pm........... A freewheeling narrative enacted almost entirely through movement and music, Her Magnum Opus is Marta Renzi’s ode to creativity and community............ A diverse cast weaves in and out of the action like revelers in A Midsummer Night’s Dream

presiding over the festivities is Aileen Passloff, a grey-haired force of nature playing a version of herself. Among her attendants are a devoted younger friend (dancer Arthur Avilés), a pregnant dancer, a young couple in need of counseling, even a fairy tale prince who pops out of a pile of autumn leaves. A tantalizing mix of magic realism and improvised naturalism, the film unfolds in a bucolic setting — a beach, a forest, a country house which holds emotional ties for the group as a source of inspiration and solace. A remarkable feature debut for award-winning choreographer Renzi, for whom dancers have always been people first. — Joanna Ney, Curator of Dance on Camera presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center.......... Aileen Passloff, who turns 86 in October, taught at Bard College for 46 years, where she was the L. May Hawver and Wallace Benjamin Flint Professor of Dance.