Dance Camera West Reveals January 2026 Festival Dates and Programming

Dance Camera West’s 26th season of the world-renowned Los Angeles–based Dance Camera West Festival will take place Thursday, January 22, through Sunday, January 25, 2026.

DCW2026 will present four days of boundary-pushing dance films, conversations, workshops and community gatherings across Los Angeles, with events at Théâtre Raymond Kabbaz (10361 West Pico Blvd. in West LA), Colburn’s Zipper Hall (200 South Grand Ave in DTLA) and the Philosophical Research Society (3910 Los Feliz Blvd in Silver Lake/Los Feliz). 

Six curated film programs will include over 40 short and documentary dance films by U.S. and International Artists making their World, North American, West Coast, or Los Angeles premieres. 

Special Programs include presentations focused on America’s iconic dance filmmakers Shirley Clarke and David Roussève, new selections in the LA POPS UP program of L.A. based choreographers, curated by Kitty McNamee|Hysterica, and a workshop, lecture, and book launch of “Thinking through Movement” with Australian author, filmmaker, and professor Karen Pearlman. 

Doc Day Afternoon will feature a presentation of the documentary O R I G I N S about choreographer Alonzo King, with post screening discussion with the filmmaker and company members moderated by Loyola/Colburn professor and author Jill Nunes Jensen, plus an Australian short doc celebrating 110 year old modern dancer Eileen Kramer.

Single tickets are $25. A full festival pass, which includes all screenings and discounts to receptions and workshops, is $125. Opening Night David Roussève Retrospective and Gala tickets are $150. Workshop tickets are $60. (Circle of Friends and Student discounts are available.) 

Thursday, January 22, 2026 7:30 pm @Théâtre Raymond Kabbaz, WEST LA

Stories and Tales International Shorts Program 

A selection of six short dance films from the US and the UK that tell stories and create portraits through dance and film.

David Roussève Retrospective, with Talk Back  & Gala Reception

Four films directed by David Roussève including Bittersweet, Chili Pepper, Two Seconds After Laughter.

Following the Screening and Talk Back guests are invited to step onto the stage of TRK for a one-of-a-kind Gala honoring David for his remarkable artistic vision and impact in the field of dance and dance film. Surrounded by the magic of film, guests will enjoy an intimate evening with live music, sumptuous food and bar, all on the stage and surrounded by the energy usually reserved for performers. Tickets are priced at $150 with pass holder discount available.

All ticket purchases support DCW’s pillar programs to Prepare: Produce and Present the best dance films in Los Angeles including DCW's Signature VISIBILITY production fund for L.A. based dance film makers. 

Second Night:

Friday, January 23, 2026 7:30 pm @Théâter Raymond Kabbaz

Short Films from Around the World Defying Language Barriers

A selection of 15 short experimental dance films including a Francophone film focus on work from France, Québec, and Belgium and an international selection of films from Finland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, Russia, and Spain.

Doc Day Afternoon:

Saturday, January 24, 2026  2:00 pm @Théâter Raymond Kabbaz, WEST LA 

DANCE TO THE END (Sue Healey, 21 mins. Australia)

Eileen Kramer was a force of nature, an Australian dancer, choreographer, artist, and writer – born in 1914 and still making art until her death on 15 November 2024 at the age of 110. Kramer was the last connection to the legendary European choreographer Gertrud Bodenwieser, whose work in Australia had a profound effect on the young Eileen—she would join the Bodenwieser Ballet in Sydney in the 1940s. Kramer traveled the world for 60 years as a dancer and writer, living in India, Pakistan, Paris, New York and West Virginia, before returning home to Sydney at the age of 99. Her 10th decade was incredibly prolific with many choreographies, three books, four films, and performances in theatre and TV.

O R I G I N S (Drea Cooper, 31 min, USA) followed by a discussion with Alonzo King company members and the film’s director Drea Cooper, moderated by author Jill Nunes Jensen.

A cinematic odyssey into the heart and mind of world-renowned choreographer Alonzo King, offering an intimate look at his creative process and his profound belief in the limitless potential of the human spirit. Through his visionary company, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, dance becomes more than movement—it is a language of wisdom and transformation. With breathtaking artistry, King and his dancers break physical, emotional, and cultural barriers, revealing how movement transcends boundaries to create a universal connection. More than a film about dance, O R I G I N S is a meditation on what it means to be human.

Centerpiece Program:

Saturday, January 24, 2026, 7 pm @Zipper Hall, Colburn, DTLA

LA POPS UP films followed by Filmmaker Discussion

This eclectic lineup celebrates a vibrant mix of styles spanning contemporary, hip-hop, poppin’, jazz, and more, reflecting the multicultural social fabric of LA. This dynamic program is a rare opportunity to see the raw, disruptive, and authentic artistry of LA dance filmmakers together in a cinematic setting. LA POPS UP offers both emerging and established creators a chance to push boundaries and share their work in a unique, immersive setting. Many of these creatives have worked behind-the-scenes on major film, TV, and music projects, from iconic shows like Euphoria and Pose, to artists such as Rihanna, Björk, and The Weeknd. The commercial success of these works, however, too often overshadows the personal artistry of the choreographers involved - and this project is here to challenge that! Featured artists include visionaries Tony Testa, The Seaweed Sisters, Bret Easterling and Julia Eichen, along with other L.A. choreographers shaping the future of performance on screen.

Waiting Places (57 mins. Bobbi Jene Smith & Or Schraiber, USA)

The newest film from these dance luminaries, adapted from a live piece of the same name, explores the intersection of time, desire, and connection as five individuals inhabit a room, bound by the act of waiting. This special presentation offers a chance to see work by these critically acclaimed artists whose work on stage and in film, ranges from live works for companies like Paris Opera Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Ballet BC, GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, and upcoming films like Terrence Malick’s The Way of the Wind (2025), and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride (2026).

Experimental Experts:

Sunday, January 25, 2026 2:00 pm @ The Philosophical Research Society, Los Feliz

EMBODIED FILMMAKING with Karen Pearlman:  Screening of Six films by Shirley Clark; Book Launch and Discussion and the Workshop

On the occasion of the publication of Shirley Clarke: Thinking Through Movement (2025; Edinburgh University Press), Dance Camera West, Los Angeles Film Forum and Philosophical Research Society welcome writer/director Karen Pearlman, who will appear in person to discuss this book and present a screening of films by pioneering filmmaker Shirley Clarke.

Shirley Clarke (1919-1997) was a trained dancer who became a pioneer of independent and experimental film. Clarke’s early work in dance film radically expanded the notion of onscreen choreography, first with explorations of the choreographic potential of camera and editing with filmic reworks of dance performance to highlighting the performative elements of the interaction of bodies, surfaces, space and light in films such as “Bridges Go Round” & “In Paris Parks.” Clarke also challenged the structures of filmmaking away from the camera and co-founded the New York Film-Makers’ Cooperative (with Jonas Mekas) and then the New York Film-Makers’ Distribution Center (with Louis Brigante). In 1975, Shirley Clarke became a professor at UCLA, inspiring a younger generation of film artists to defy convention and make socially meaningful films. 

Writer/Director Karen Pearlman’s latest book, Shirley Clarke: Thinking Through Movement is the first film-philosophy book on filmmaker Shirley Clarke and the films she edited and directed. The book draws on film analysis, archival research, dance and film theory, and creative practice expertise, to think through Clarke's work as a dancer turned multi-award-winning editor and director of dance film, fiction, documentary, and video art. This account of Clarke's creative oeuvre offers the reader insight into a too long overlooked filmmaker and offers a novel method for analysis of films, filmmaking practices and cultures of film production.

Eight films will be screened:

Dance in the Sun (6:47, 1953) featuring choreographer/dancer Daniel Nagrin
In Paris Parks, (13:36, 1954 /2014) featuring Wendy Clarke at age 4
A Moment in Love (9:08, 1957), choreographed by Anna Sokolow
A Visual Diary (6:06, 1980), featuring Choreographer-Performer Blondell Cummings
Butterfly (3:40, 1967), an anti-war protest film with Wendy Clark
One-2-3, 24 (8:18, 1978), featuring former Bella Lewitsky dancer Lynda Davis and Clay Taliaferro (Duke Professor Emeritus)
24 Frames Per Second (2:57, 1977) commissioned by the LACMA to complement an exhibit on Persian art 
Skyscraper (21:05, 1959), a documentary re-imagined as a musical.

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