loveDANCEmore editor Arin Lynn met with loveDANCEmore artist in residence Rae Luebbert who also co-founded Noori Screendance Festival. The 2nd Annual festival is happening this Friday and Saturday at 7:30om in the UMOCA auditorium (20 S. West Temple, Salt Lake City). We talked a bit about how it all started and what she hopes could be in store for Noori in the coming years.
How did Noori start?
I think the seeds for Noori started back in 2018. That’s when Taylor Mott and I made our first screendance together. This took place in my bathroom, we were living together as roommates. We had been ruminating about collaborating for a long time and then we borrowed some lights for a film major, decorated the bathroom and just made a screendance. It was a very simple idea but it gave us a taste of the collaborative potential between us as artists in very different fields.
And then in September of 2021 we launched the first iteration of Noori. It was one night, it took place in a small film production warehouse, we had no funding budget. It had a really DIY feeling to it. And all the artists were really committed to showing up for it. We showed 8 films which were all from Utah based artists and a lot of the projects had come out of COVID. Most of the projects were done in isolation and filmed on an iPhone. It was really exciting!
And during COVID Taylor had helped create a screendance with me and my fellow dance-maker Angela Lee. We did it at a tennis court, she was wearing a mask and we were outside.
That’s sort of where Noori started. It was about wanting to collaborate, do interdisciplinary work, and bring together these fields that feel really strong in Utah and doing really exciting work together.
Is having Utah based artists a specific choice or was it kind of just accidental?
In 2021 it was specific that it be Utah based because we were really interested in what was happening here. There are things happening all over the world of course, but Utah has such a vibrant scene. For Noori 2023 we put out an open call out and we had a lot of submissions from across the state of Utah, also across the US, and a handful of international applicants. There was no requirement that the artists be from utah but it turns out that 7 of our 8 films are Utah based and then we have one international film. And i think it just goes to show the vibrancy of what’s happening in Utah and the surrounding areas.
Still from Roxanne Gray’s Screendance “The Fall”. Performer: Elle Taylor.
Are you hoping that this becomes an annual Festival? What’s the dream?
Yeah. The dream would be for it to be an annual festival. I think it’s amazing when artists can anticipate opportunities and make work with a calendar in mind, and audience members have something to look forward to. Of course there are always logistical questions. It’s very important to me that artists are paid for the work they do. This year we are able to give honorariums for each of the films. And that would be the goal moving forward. There is always the question of funding for that sort of work, but hopefully we are able to make it an annual festival.
Is there anything else you want people to know?
First off, Taylor Mott has been essential in this process. I am so grateful that we are able to collaborate even though we are from very different fields. It has felt like a team process the whole time. Also shout out to Amber Mott, who is a local Salt Lake graphic designer. She did all of our promotional materials and she is so talented and essential to this project.
Oh and last thing, just a note on accessibility: Most of the films don’t have any spoken text, one of them does but there will be closed captioning. The event has a variety of films. So even if someone does not have a background in dance, or film, or screendance it should not feel unfamiliar or restrictive. We have films that are available and accessible to anyone regardless of their background or experience with the artforms.
Noori: screendance for everyone.
Screendance for everyone!
Join us for an evening featuring eight screendances, many of which will be premiering for the first time, curated by loveDANCEmore artist-in-residence Rae Luebbert. Noori celebrates the way that dance artists and filmmakers play with light to capture the body, space, and landscape. The dance films in this program are whimsical and reflective, intentional and spontaneous, and deeply playful. RSVP via this registration form.
Featured artists: Virginia Broyles, Meredith Wilde, Roxanne Gray, Jorge Rojas, Alec Lyons, Haleigh Larmer, Cheyenne Stirling, Colby Bryson, Tori Meyer, Taylor Mott, Rae Luebbert, Amber Mott, Angela Lee, and Rima Pipoyan.
When: Friday, February 24 & Saturday, February 25 at 7:30pm
Where: Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (20 S. West Temple, Salt Lake City)
This event is free to attend with a suggested donation of $15. A short Q & A will follow the screening. This event is a partnership with loveDANCEmore and is supported by funds from the Salt Lake Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, Utah Division of Arts & Museums, and ZAP.