Contemporary Color

David Byrne was the driving force behind this 2015 extravaganza presented at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, which featured 10 color guard (or “winter guard”) troupes from various East Coast high schools performing elaborate flag-spinning routines set to music composed for the occasion and performed by various artists, including Lucius, Nico Muhly (working with NPR's Ira Glass), Nelly Furtado, St. Vincent, Devonté Hynes, How to Dress Well, Zola Jesus, Ad-Rock & Money Mark, Tune-Yards, and Byrne himself. The combination of exuberant choreography and sometimes wild, sometimes soulful music will likely be as infectious for viewers as it was for the raucously appreciative live audience, not just thanks to the energy of the participants but also because directors Bill and Turner Ross work hard to give the documentary a “you are there” feel, with cameras that swoop and swirl around the stage, and sometimes focus on the jumbotrons. Along the way, interview excerpts with dancers from the squads—as well as fly-on-the-wall backstage footage—are inserted to emphasize the immediacy of the extraordinary “happening.” Byrne, meanwhile, is glimpsed prowling the arena, obviously pleased to watch what he sees as a distinctive, underappreciated art form—and a celebration of the diversity that the color guards represent—unfold so vibrantly. An eye-popping spectacle brimming over with youthful high spirits, this is highly recommended. (F. Swietek)