Homecoming

“Homecoming (Celebrating 20 Years of Dance at P.S. 122 – 1980-2000)” (2004) is a dance, documentary film by Charles Dennis. “Homecoming” chronicles the origins and evolution of Performance Space 122 in New York City, one of this country’s most active presenters of new dance and performance art and profiles ten leading choreographers, Ron Brown, Ann Carlson, Yoshiko Chuma, Dancenoise, Mark Dendy, Ishmael Houston-Jones, Jennifer Monson, Charles Moulton, Sally Silvers and Doug Varone, whose careers were launched at P.S. 122. The film was shot in 2000 on the occasion of P.S. 122’s 20th season. To honor that achievement Charles Dennis, one of the co-founders of the space, invited the ten choreographers to return for a special taping of selected dances from their repertories. Combining new and archival performance clips, interviews with the artists, commentary by Deborah Jowitt of the Village Voice, Jennifer Dunning of The New York Times, Joseph Melillo the Executive Producer of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, former P.S 122 Artistic Director Mark Russell and P.S. 122 co-founders Charles Moulton, Tim Miller and Charles Dennis the film illuminates a portrait of a fertile dance scene that was instrumental in expanding the boundaries of contemporary dance and performance. Performance photography by Dona Ann McAdams and original music by John Zorn are also featured in the film. This project was made possible with funds received from the National Initiative to Preserve America’s Dance (NIPAD), a grant program under the umbrella, SAVE AS DANCE underwritten by the Pew Charitable Trust and administered at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, by the Presentation Funds Program of the Experimental Television Center, Ltd. which is funded by the New York State Council on the Arts, a public agency and with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Cultural Challenge Program. The running time of “Homecoming” is 56 minutes.