Remembering Pina

Remembering Pina was first performed at Ballet Arts Studio in Beacon, NY on Nov. 22-24, 2014. From the performance choreography the film was shot and reconstructed for film in the editing process as a second choreographic layer. Susan asked each of her dancers to come up with a story about Pina and a movement phrase using muscle memory to evoke a ‘felt form’ image from work they’d seen. Memory is not accurate and follows its own thread. From these fragments the scenes of this remembrance were stitched together, both choreographically and in the editing process.

The film is a narrative and takes another look at storytelling in media. Remembering Pina was shot in 2014, edited in 2018 and was twice included as a work in progress in Beacon Independent Film Festival, Pentacle’s: Kinetic Cinema, Beacon and at a Dance Across Borders Festival in Goteborg, Sweden. It won a NYSCA 2022 grant for composer Jeremiah Marcus to write a new music score. It will be released in 2023.

The cinematography is by Tom Moore with choreography/director by Susan Osberg, who also edited the film with a master edit by Mike Arginsky. Video Installation (for performance): Jean Brennan with dancer: Elizabeth Castagna. Make up: Cassandra Saulter.

Dancers: Susan Osberg, Marika Blossfeldt, Alex Bloomstein, Catlin Cobb, Anna Brady Nuse, Rain Saukus, Alexis Steeves.