Last Dance (2002)

Director:

Mirra Bank

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

A documentary about the collaboration between dance company Pilobolus and Maurice Sendak, who together created a dance-theater piece about the Holocaust.

Plot Keywords:

Holocaust | Dance | Dancing | Art

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Robby Barnett	...	Himself
Maurice Sendak	...	Himself
Michael Tracy	...	Himself
Jonathan Wolken	...	Himself
Arthur Yorinks	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rebecca Anderson	...	Herself
Otis Cook	...	Himself
Josie Coyoc	...	Herself
Gaspard Louis	...	Himself
Benjamin Pring	...	Himself
Cyrus Samson	...	Himself (as Matt Kent)

Directed by
Mirra Bank

Produced by
Mirra Bank	....	producer
Richard Brockman	....	co-executive producer
Melva Bucksbaum	....	executive producer
Vic Losick	....	producer
Mike Peters	....	co-executive producer
Nancy Rosenthal	....	associate producer

Cinematography by
Vic Losick

Film Editing by
Mirra Bank
Axuve Espinosa

Costume Design by
Maurice Sendak

Production Management
Axuve Espinosa	....	post-production supervisor
Dan Feith	....	director of production
Susan Mandler	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Makario Sarsozo	....	assistant director

Art Department
Michael Hagen	....	scenic painter
Maurice Sendak	....	set designer

Sound Department
Jared Abramson	....	additional sound
Bob Bielecki	....	sound designer
Bob Bryan	....	additional sound
Gautam Choudhury	....	additional sound
Axuve Espinosa	....	additional sound
Geoff Freeman	....	sound engineer
Joe Guest	....	additional sound
Chat Gunter	....	additional sound
Lawrence Loewinger	....	location sound (as Larry Loewinger)
Bill Markle	....	sound designer
John McCormick	....	additional sound
Paul Michael	....	sound re-recording mixer
John Murphy	....	additional sound
Makario Sarsozo	....	sound recordist
John Tipton	....	additional sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Kelly Atallah	....	electrician
Marc Gamboa	....	additional cinematographer (as Mark Gamboa)
Roger Grange	....	additional cinematographer
Kyle Hagen	....	electrician
Tom Hurwitz	....	additional cinematographer
Zachary Levy	....	additional cinematographer
Gail Marks	....	photographer: location
John Murphy	....	additional cinematographer
Jack Reichert	....	additional cinematographer
Jonathan Smith	....	additional cinematographer
Mark Stanley	....	lighting technician

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Gail Fresia	....	costume construction

Editorial Department
John Dowdell	....	color correction (as John Dowdell III)
Pedro Guillermo	....	assistant editor
Greg Smith	....	on-line editor

Music Department
Si-Jing Huang	....	musician: violin
Sato Knudsen	....	musician: cello
Ronan Lefkowitz	....	musician: violin
Mark Ludwig	....	musical director
Mark Ludwig	....	musician: viola

Other crew
Natalie Bentley	....	production assistant
Alice Bertoni	....	production assistant
Shauna Bittle	....	production assistant
Doug Burack	....	production accountant
Robert Conkey	....	chief financial officer
Martha Cooper	....	senior director of marketing
Timothy J. DeBaets	....	legal counsel
Kathleen Dyer	....	house manager
Susan Ericson	....	liaison
Lori Flammer	....	production assistant
Leon Friedman	....	legal services (as Leon Friedman Esq.)
Kim Hall	....	production assistant
James Irvine	....	technical director
Richard Koch	....	director of the production
Owen Marshall	....	technician
Adrienne Morris	....	director of development
Tim Plummer	....	production assistant
Eugenia Schraa	....	production assistant
Alison Schwartz	....	production stage manager
Robin Search	....	production assistant
Linda Shelton	....	executive director: Joyce Theater
Martin Wechsler	....	director of programming
Kristin Yorke	....	production assistant
Cheryl Zoeller	....	production assistant

Thanks
Iris Cahn	....	special thanks
Paul Colin	....	special thanks: Cezanne Studio
Helen Haje	....	special thanks
Peter Haje	....	special thanks
Joy Javits	....	special thanks
Zuzana Justman	....	special thanks
Leo Lowy	....	special thanks
Mark Polyocon	....	special thanks
Marcie Setlow	....	special thanks
Tim Spitzer	....	special thanks
Michele Stolls	....	special thanks
Anita Tarsi	....	special thanks
Terry Teachout	....	special thanks
Ela Weissberger	....	special thanks

Distributors

• First Run Features (2002) (USA)

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Soundtrack:

Theme and Variations

a powerful, moving, and engrossing documentary

Though "enjoyment" is probably not the first word that comes to mind to describe the viewing experience of this film, since the subject matter of the dance/theater piece at the heart of the movie is sad and tragic, and much of the interplay between the artists who work together to create the dance/theater piece is rife with conflict, I found this documentary greatly enjoyable (in a powerful, moving and engrossing sense...) on several levels, some of them unexpected, which then added to my overall enjoyment. The film is at once all of these things - an exploration of the creative process, with elements of visual art, dance, theater and storytelling, a film version of a powerful modern dance piece, and one of the most suspenseful "will they make it/won't they/let's put on a show!" step by step accounts of the project, as the various artists involved in the project at times clash in their personalities and creative visions, and at other times cooperate together in magical ways toward success. If you do have any interest in the creative process as it relates to art, but happen to feel that you're not a fan of modern dance, and that latter feeling leads you to consider passing on the film, to do so probably would be a big mistake, for the film can be appreciated on so many other levels beyond one's interest or lack thereof in modern dance. If you are interested in modern dance, especially Pilobolus in particular, the film is a don't miss, as it is for those who are fans of Maurice, as well as anyone interested in the history and/or artistic explorations of the Holocaust.