Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre Presents Film Version of LONG AGO AND ONLY ONCE

During these unprecedented times, Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre (TMBT) is adapting. To continue their mission of connecting people through contemporary art, TMBT is crafting dance experiences specifically created for film. TMBT released the film version of Long Ago and Only Once, a world premiere by celebrated dancer and creator Ana Maria Lucaciu.

ABOUT Long Ago and Only Once

TMBT presents a digital Fall Season with two dance performances designed for film including a world premiere by Lucaciu. "We're reworking an art form that is rooted in live presentation and changing our creative process a bit," says Director John Welker. "We're looking at dance performance through a cinematography lens, so the visceral essence of the performers remains vibrant and powerful. The emotional connection between the artists and our audience is everything."

For Ana Maria, a great pleasure is when dance invites one in to relate to the people on stage and their story, a philosophy perfectly aligned with TMBT's mission of unique storytelling. "In Long Ago and Only Once, I wanted to play with the idea of waiting for something to be completed, whether it's a movement, a joke, a sentence, a fact, a personal story," says Lucaciu. "There is inherent conflict for us as an audience when the punch line is being suspended. When, if, and how it gets delivered became the groundwork of the entire work. The incredibly openminded dancers of Terminus allowed me to draw from their personalities to make a work that could only be made here, with them and for them, at this very unique moment in time."

Regarding transforming an existing dance work to a digital format, Lucaciu said she was hesitant at first. "But I realized that having something become a film will reveal another layer of the work," says Lucaciu. "The magic of cinema is hard to reproduce live, just like the magic of a live performance is impossible to render on film. However, in their own different ways, they both have tremendous power to move, to engage. In some ways, having a dance work on film crystalizes its essence even more, since every moment is chosen, leaving less room for the wide interpretation a live open space inspires, and relying on the details, the intimacy of closeups, the various angles a camera can capture that the eye cannot. This will trigger a completely different response from the viewers."

ABOUT ANA MARIA LUCACIU

Born in Romania, Ana graduated from the National Ballet School of Canada and danced in professional companies as varied as the Royal Danish Ballet to Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet in New York. She has performed and created works with contemporary dance's foremost choreographers such as Ohad Naharin, Crystal Pite, Jiri Kylián, Hofesh Shechter, Alexander Ekman, and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. TMBT is excited to share Ana Maria's world-class background and creative talents with Atlanta.

ABOUT THE COMPANY

TMBT was founded in 2017 by five principal dance artists, formerly tenured at Atlanta Ballet, who struck out to create their own unique vision of dance. Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre is both a recognition of Atlanta's founding name and the intersection at which new and creative beginnings are made. By bringing together the classical and contemporary dance forms and strengths of each of its principal artists, the company has become celebrated for the creation of daring and theatrical dance works. In 2018, Terminus School of Modern Ballet was founded to train the next generation of dance talent by combining the rigor of ballet with the creative and intuitive movement techniques of contemporary dance. For more information, visit www.terminus-serenbe.com, follow us on Instagram @terminusmbt, or like us on Facebook at www.facebook/terminusmbt.

Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre is a division of the Serenbe Institute for Art, Culture, & the Environment.

TICKETS

For more information about Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre's Long Ago and Only Once and to purchase tickets, visit www.terminus-serenbe.com/tickets. Tickets start as low as $15 and are on sale now.