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Catalogue

Dance

Anik Bissonnette: The Gift of Dance

Anik Bissonnette: The Gift of Dance

This short film pays tribute to ballet dancer Anik Bissonnette as she takes the reins of the École supérieure de ballet du Québec. Having dazzled audiences for decades with her …

Philippe Baylaucq
2014 | 8 min
Ballet Adagio

Ballet Adagio

This short film by Norman McLaren is a slow-motion study of the pas de deux adagio, one of the most exacting dances of classical ballet. A ballet originally choreographed by …

Norman McLaren
1972 | 9 min
Brian Macdonald, Virtuoso Eclectic

Brian Macdonald, Virtuoso Eclectic

Framed against archival stills from Brian Macdonald's considerable career, this short film is a testimony to the eclecticism and brilliance of Macdonald's creative vision. As a dancer, director, choreographer and …

Tim Southam
2008 | 5 min
Canadians Can Dance

Canadians Can Dance

From a festival of folk dances at the 1966 Canadian National Exhibition, an exciting selection of Canada's best amateur groups. The dances range from the seductive Hawaiian to the familiar …

John Howe
1966 | 22 min
Crystal Pite: Wordless Language

Crystal Pite: Wordless Language

Through a duet of poetry and self-reflection, choreographer Crystal Pite finds language to describe the wordless artform of dance. Glimpses into a rehearsal for her acclaimed work Revisor combined with …

Joella Cabalu
2022 | 4 min
Dance

Dance

In this short film from the Canada Vignettes series, a map of Canada morphs into human forms that share the country's natural resources to the rhythm of a dance.

Lise-Hélène Larin
1979 | 2 min
Dancers of the Grass

Dancers of the Grass

This short film presents a stunning display of a stop-motion animation as it vividly depicts the majesty of the hoop dance, a tradition symbolizing the unity of all nations.

Melanie Jackson
2009 | 2 min
A Delicate Balance

A Delicate Balance

Filmed from the point of view of its young subjects, A Delicate Balance takes an introspective look at the lives of four dancers on the cusp of adolescence—that critical time …

Christine Chevarie-Lessard
2018 | 1 h 15 min
Flamenco at 5:15

Flamenco at 5:15

This short film is an impressionistic record of a flamenco dance class given to senior students of the National Ballet School of Canada by two great teachers from Spain, Susana …

Cynthia Scott
1983 | 29 min
Florence

Florence

This collaborative project brings together some of the biggest names in the Quebec contemporary dance scene: Simon Ampleman, Daina Ashbee, Marie Claire Forté, Margie Gillis, Benoît Lachambre and Andrew Tay. …

Thibaut Duverneix & Mathieu Léger
2018 | 5 min
Inhabiting Dance

Inhabiting Dance

This short documentary is a portrait of Sylvie Mazerolle, a young woman for whom dance is as vital and fundamental as breathing. Tracking her process, the film also takes a …

Julien Cadieux
2009 | 25 min
Log Driver's Waltz

Log Driver's Waltz

Easily one of the most often-requested films in the NFB collection, this lighthearted animated short is based on the song “The Log Driver’s Waltz” by Wade Hemsworth. Kate and Anna …

John Weldon
1979 | 3 min
Lost Action: Trace

Lost Action: Trace

This short film addresses the revolving cycles of human conflict through contemporary dance. Celebrated choreographer Crystal Pite and dance filmmakers Marlene Millar & Philip Szporer commemorate the fading legacies of …

Marlene Millar, Crystal Pite & Philip Szporer
2011 | 3 min
Masko Nimiwin (The Bear's Dance)

Masko Nimiwin (The Bear's Dance)

The spectacular annual powwow at Manawan. Gilles Moar once saw a bear dancing, and this inspired him to pass his culture on to his daughter and the young in his …

Marie-Christine Petiquay
2009 | 6 min
Mavis Staines: Sharing Dance

Mavis Staines: Sharing Dance

When Mavis Staines took the helm of Canada’s National Ballet School in 1989, the pedagogy of ballet was due for an evolution. Driven by a belief system that honoured tradition …

Leah Nelson
2019 | 4 min
My Macondo

My Macondo

Inspired by the people and landscape of Colombia's Banana Zone, Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez created the Buendia family and the village of Macondo, placing them at the centre …

Dan Weldon
1990 | 1 h 1 min
Narcissus

Narcissus

In this short film by Norman McLaren, dancers enact the Greek tragedy of Narcissus, the beautiful youth whose excessive self-love condemned him to a trapped existence. Skillfully merging film, dance …

Norman McLaren
1983 | 21 min
ORA

ORA

ORA is a stunning meeting between the artistic worlds of choreographer José Navas and filmmaker Philippe Baylaucq. It is the first film to use 3D thermal imaging, producing visuals like …

Philippe Baylaucq
2011 | 15 min
Pas de deux

Pas de deux

This short film by Norman McLaren is a cinematic study of the choreography of ballet. A bare, black set with the back-lit figures of dancers Margaret Mercier and Vincent Warren …

Norman McLaren
1968 | 13 min
Polish Dance

Polish Dance

This short documentary profiles the traditional music and pageantry of Polish-Canadians in Manitoba. The heritage and national traditions of Poland were brought to Canada by immigrants and sustained across generations. …

Laura Boulton
1944 | 10 min
Polychrome Phantasy

Polychrome Phantasy

In this early film Norman McLaren shot crystal formations through a low-power microscope, using polarized light with the lower part of the picture masked off. The film was then rewound …

Norman McLaren
1935 | 2 min
Red Path

Red Path

This short documentary tells the story of Tony Chachai, a young Indigenous man in search of his identity. Moved by the desire to reconnect with his Atikamekw roots, he delivers …

Thérèse Ottawa
2015 | 15 min
Saturday Night

Saturday Night

A short documentary essay on solitude, filmed in Spanish and narrated by filmmaker Rosana Matecki, Saturday Night offers a poetic and bittersweet snapshot of aging in an urban setting, viewed …

Rosana Matecki
2021 | 15 min
Zab Maboungou

Zab Maboungou

This portrait of choreographer Zab Maboungou provides insight into the meticulous training and physical strength behind one of her pivotal works: Mozongi.

Carmine Pierre-Dufour
2021 | 4 min