Dances of Ecstasy

Australian filmmakers Michelle Mahrer and Nicole Ma's Dances of Ecstasy takes viewers around the world to explore how different cultures connect with transcendental forces through rhythm and dance. During the course of a year the pair visited Australia, Brazil, California, Korea, Morocco, Nambia, New York, Nigeria, and Turkey, and this engaging program presents not only the visual records of the dances themselves but also captures the beauty of indigenous peoples while spotlighting the social forces impacting their lives. Viewers will meet the San of the Kalahari desert in Nambia, the Candomblé of Brazil, the Yoruba of Nigeria, the Kut of Korea, and the Zikir Whirling Dervishes of Turkey. Despite the difficult conditions under which they worked the filmmakers bring both sophisticated production values and a warm humanity to this moving and beautiful spectacle. A second disc features “movement artist” Gabrielle Roth's workout The Power Wave (VL-1/01), which takes viewers to her New York studio for a session in which dancers move through the five phases of the “wave”: flowing, staccato, chaos, lyrical, and stillness. Finally, 14 tracks of global dance grooves with psychedelic visuals are provided to encourage viewers to dance on their own. Presented in Dolby Digital surround or stereo, this double-disc set also features a welcome filmmakers' commentary on the first disc. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (J. Reed)