ARTE Distribution

In the Seventies, France discovered a generation of new American choreographers mostly from New York. Among these artists, Lucinda Childs was one of the dominant figures.

Their style and working methods were to upset the artistic and choreographic scene of the time. A new avant-garde had arrived that closely combined dance, music and graphic art.
Lucinda Childs first studied contemporary dance with Merce Cunningham. She created the so-called "Judson Church" movement together with other young choreographers such as Yvonne Rainer, Steve Paxton, Trisha Brown, David Gordon and Robert Morris. This movement continued officially until 1968 but still influences choreographic creation now more than ever.
Lucinda Childs began creating for the stage from 1973. She has received a number of commissions from major ballet companies since 1981. These include the Paris Opéra Ballet, the Pacific Northwest Ballet, the Berlin Opera Ballet, the Rambert Dance Company, Bayerisches Staatsballett, the Ballets of Monte Carlo, the Ballet of the German Opera on the Rhine, and the White Oak Dance Project.
In 2002, Childs was invited to choreograph Gluck's opera "Orphée et Eurydice" and then Benjamin Britten's "Chalcony" for Baryshnikov. Finally she put "Dance" on again which was originally created in 1979, for the Ballet of the German Opera on the Rhine.
The documentary explores the exceptional personality of Lucinda Childs and puts her career into perspective with her own comments added on.