Marge Champion, who served as the real-life model for Snow White, then teamed with her husband and dance partner, Gower Champion, for Broadway musicals, television shows and movies, has died. She was 101.
Champion, who won an Emmy for choreographing the acclaimed 1975 telefilm Queen of the Stardust Ballroom, died Wednesday in Los Angeles, dance instructor Pierre Dulaine told The Hollywood Reporter.
Survivors include a step-daughter, actress Katey Sagal, and her son, producer-director Gregg Champion.
Marge and Gower Champion danced together in several MGM musicals, perhaps most memorably in George Sidney’s 1951 remake of Show Boat, which starred Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson and Ava Gardner. Their ...
Champion, who won an Emmy for choreographing the acclaimed 1975 telefilm Queen of the Stardust Ballroom, died Wednesday in Los Angeles, dance instructor Pierre Dulaine told The Hollywood Reporter.
Survivors include a step-daughter, actress Katey Sagal, and her son, producer-director Gregg Champion.
Marge and Gower Champion danced together in several MGM musicals, perhaps most memorably in George Sidney’s 1951 remake of Show Boat, which starred Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson and Ava Gardner. Their ...
- 10/22/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Marge Champion, who served as the real-life model for Snow White, then teamed with her husband and dance partner, Gower Champion, for Broadway musicals, television shows and movies, has died. She was 101.
Champion, who won an Emmy for choreographing the acclaimed 1975 telefilm Queen of the Stardust Ballroom, died Wednesday in Los Angeles, dance instructor Pierre Dulaine told The Hollywood Reporter.
Survivors include a step-daughter, actress Katey Sagal, and her son, producer-director Gregg Champion.
Marge and Gower Champion danced together in several MGM musicals, perhaps most memorably in George Sidney’s 1951 remake of Show Boat, which starred Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson and Ava Gardner. Their ...
Champion, who won an Emmy for choreographing the acclaimed 1975 telefilm Queen of the Stardust Ballroom, died Wednesday in Los Angeles, dance instructor Pierre Dulaine told The Hollywood Reporter.
Survivors include a step-daughter, actress Katey Sagal, and her son, producer-director Gregg Champion.
Marge and Gower Champion danced together in several MGM musicals, perhaps most memorably in George Sidney’s 1951 remake of Show Boat, which starred Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson and Ava Gardner. Their ...
- 10/22/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Hilla Medalia captures ballroom dancer Pierre Dulaine as he uses fancy footwork to bring together Palestinian and Jewish children
Hilla Medalia’s modest, watchable documentary is about Pierre Dulaine, a ballroom dancer and teacher whose work with underprivileged New York schoolchildren was the inspiration for a fiction feature, Take the Lead (2006) starring Antonio Banderas as Pierre. This film is about Dulaine’s return to Jaffa, the city of his birth, and his attempt to set up a new school dance programme to get Jewish and Palestinian children to come together for the first time in their lives, and partner up for waltzes, tangoes and rumbas – a kind of Strictly Come Dancing-style kids’ version of Daniel Barenboim’s West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. It’s a nice idea, and there is something touching and important in showing how the boys and girls are – of course – so shy and giggly with each other at first.
Hilla Medalia’s modest, watchable documentary is about Pierre Dulaine, a ballroom dancer and teacher whose work with underprivileged New York schoolchildren was the inspiration for a fiction feature, Take the Lead (2006) starring Antonio Banderas as Pierre. This film is about Dulaine’s return to Jaffa, the city of his birth, and his attempt to set up a new school dance programme to get Jewish and Palestinian children to come together for the first time in their lives, and partner up for waltzes, tangoes and rumbas – a kind of Strictly Come Dancing-style kids’ version of Daniel Barenboim’s West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. It’s a nice idea, and there is something touching and important in showing how the boys and girls are – of course – so shy and giggly with each other at first.
- 2/12/2015
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
★★★★☆ Using the optimistic innocence of children, Dancing in Jaffa (2013) succeeds in exploring the effect of explosive racial tensions in Israel between Jewish and Arabic peoples. This is done through the camaraderie developed by Israeli-Palestinians and Israeli- Jewish children as they are forced to learn ballroom dancing with one another by a world-renowned performer. Hilla Medalia's documentary follows Pierre Dulaine, a four time word champion ballroom dancer who returns to his hometown of Jaffa, Israel with a goal to not only teach young boys and girls the art of dance, but the loftier aim of helping to unite a divided city.
- 2/11/2015
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
While current events unfolding in the Middle East seem to suggest there will never be an end to the Israel-Palestine conflict, a critically-acclaimed documentary about ballroom dancing gives even pessimists a glimmer of hope that peace is on the horizon. Director Hilla Medalia's “Dancing in Jaffa” follows renowned ballroom dancer Pierre Dulaine on a 15-week quest to put his art form to the ultimate test: teach Jewish and Palestinian Israelis to dance — together. Also read: Nearly 200 Hollywood Actors and Execs Sign Pro-Israel, Anti-Hamas Statement “Dancing heals,” Dulaine told an audience after TheWrap Awards Season Screening Series presentation of the film at.
- 11/6/2014
- by Greg Gilman
- The Wrap
If you're like us, you can't wait for the first day of every month, because you know that Netflix is going to add a ton of new movies and TV shows. You refresh your account over and over again at midnight, hoping that those titles listed in the "Recently Added" section update with something new and exciting rather than the same ol' titles you've been staring at for the last four weeks.
Well, lo and behold, we've gathered the most exciting movies and TV shows being added to America's most popular streaming service, straight from Netflix themselves.
"Rocky" fans will be pumped to know that the first five boxing flicks (sorry, "Rocky Balboa" fans) will be added August 1, joining other '70s, '80s, and '90s movie favorites "Face/Off" (slow-motion doves!), "Mad Max" (apocalyptic leather!), "Spice World" (spice up your life!), "The Birdcage" (Calista Flockhart was in this,...
Well, lo and behold, we've gathered the most exciting movies and TV shows being added to America's most popular streaming service, straight from Netflix themselves.
"Rocky" fans will be pumped to know that the first five boxing flicks (sorry, "Rocky Balboa" fans) will be added August 1, joining other '70s, '80s, and '90s movie favorites "Face/Off" (slow-motion doves!), "Mad Max" (apocalyptic leather!), "Spice World" (spice up your life!), "The Birdcage" (Calista Flockhart was in this,...
- 7/30/2014
- by Tim Hayne
- Moviefone
Dancing In Jaffa is a film that attempts to demonstrate how the power of dance can bring children together – even if their parents hate each other. It’s a well-made, heart-tugging documentary but would have been better had it focused more on the captivating kids at its center and less on their annoying teacher.
Jaffa is an ancient port city in Israel shared by both Jews and Palestinians. It’s also the birthplace of internationally renowned ballroom dancer Pierre Dulaine, who’d fled the country as a child. Dulaine fulfills a life-long dream when he takes his program, Dancing Classrooms, back there, where over a ten-week period he teaches Jewish and Palestinian children to dance and compete together. The film focuses on three of these ten-year old kids, all of whom who are forced to confront issues of identity, segregation and racial prejudice as they dance with their “enemy”. There’s the shy boy Alaa,...
Jaffa is an ancient port city in Israel shared by both Jews and Palestinians. It’s also the birthplace of internationally renowned ballroom dancer Pierre Dulaine, who’d fled the country as a child. Dulaine fulfills a life-long dream when he takes his program, Dancing Classrooms, back there, where over a ten-week period he teaches Jewish and Palestinian children to dance and compete together. The film focuses on three of these ten-year old kids, all of whom who are forced to confront issues of identity, segregation and racial prejudice as they dance with their “enemy”. There’s the shy boy Alaa,...
- 5/16/2014
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Hilla Medalia's documentary Dancing in Jaffa derives its strength, much like a dancer's, from various isolated strains.
Pierre Dulaine is a famous ballroom dancer and instructor (played by Antonio Banderas in 2006's Take the Lead), and his Dancing Classrooms project in New York City is a character-building program for elementary- and middle-school-age kids.
Dulaine brings his idealism about the power of dancing to his hometown of Jaffa, Israel, a Tel Aviv suburb and ancient port city of Christians, Muslims, and Jews.
The story, like so many in the Middle East, is pocked with complexities. Dulaine is a Palestinian (his mother was Palestinian and French, his father an Irish soldier) whose family lost their home after the 1948 war. Medalia, as an Is...
Pierre Dulaine is a famous ballroom dancer and instructor (played by Antonio Banderas in 2006's Take the Lead), and his Dancing Classrooms project in New York City is a character-building program for elementary- and middle-school-age kids.
Dulaine brings his idealism about the power of dancing to his hometown of Jaffa, Israel, a Tel Aviv suburb and ancient port city of Christians, Muslims, and Jews.
The story, like so many in the Middle East, is pocked with complexities. Dulaine is a Palestinian (his mother was Palestinian and French, his father an Irish soldier) whose family lost their home after the 1948 war. Medalia, as an Is...
- 4/9/2014
- Village Voice
Hilla Medalia returns to her award winning directorial status of documentary filmmaking with the film Dancing In Jaffa, a story about ballroom dancer Pierre Dulaine teaching children to dance in his hometown of Jaffa, Israel. Dulaine marvelously picks his top dancers from the three dancing schools he started to compete together in citywide championships. Often times he would pair Palestinians with Jews, a common racial problem that Israel is facing today. In doing so, he often forces the children as well as their parents to put their faith to the test by willingly competing with each other instead of against.
The 100 minute documentary, in Arabic, English, and Hebrew, tells the story of such children learning to set aside their differences in order to compete in what they believe is right. It combines drama with humor, all based on the everyday lives of these children doing what they love most.
Well known for her documentaries,...
The 100 minute documentary, in Arabic, English, and Hebrew, tells the story of such children learning to set aside their differences in order to compete in what they believe is right. It combines drama with humor, all based on the everyday lives of these children doing what they love most.
Well known for her documentaries,...
- 2/20/2014
- by Catherina Gioino
- Nerdly
Sundance Selects has acquired North American rights to Hilla Medalia's documentary "Dancing in Jaffa," which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film follows ballroom dancer Pierre Dulaine as he returns to his hometown Jaffa, Israel expecting his old home but greeted by new racial animosity. A firm believer that dance can build self-esteem and social awareness, Dulaine brings his popular Dancing Classrooms program to 5 ethnically diverse Jaffa schools. Dulaine sends the best children to a dance competition, boldly pairing Palestinian and Jewish children and challenging the children's and their family's beliefs. Jonathan Sehring, President of Sundance Selects/IFC Films, said: "Hilla Medalia has created a moving film that highlights the power of dance to unite even the most divided of worlds. We expect this film to be talked about well beyond the dance community since it has such a powerful global message." Sundance Selects has a history of championing dance.
- 6/18/2013
- by Madeline Raynor
- Indiewire
Ifp recently congratulated the following eleven of its alumni projects screening at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival:
Alias Ruby BladeDocumentary, HD Cam, 2012, 78 minutesDirector: Alex MeillierProducer: Tanya Ager MeillierIsa: Mercury Media
Kirsty Sword Gusmao aspired to be a filmmaker and instead became a revolutionary. Whilst working for the Timorese resistance she fell in love with the imprisoned guerilla leader, and risked everything. Together they fostered the birth of a new nation.
Cutie And The BoxerDocumentary, Dcp, 2013, 82 minutesDirector: Zachary HeinzerlingProducer: Sierra Pettengill, Patrick Burns, Zachary HeinzerlingExecutive Producers: Kiki Miyake, Lydia Dean PilcherIsa: K5 International
This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role of assistant to her overbearing husband, Noriko seeks an identity of her own.
Hide Your Smiling Faces Drama/Coming of Age, HDCam, 2012, 80 minDirector: Daniel Patrick CarboneProducers: Daniel Patrick Carbone, Matthew Petock, Zachary Shedd, Jordan Bailey-HooverCast: Ryan Jones, Nathan Varnson, Colm O’Leary, Thomas Cruz, Christina Starbuck, Chris Kies, Andrew Chamberlain, Ivan Tomic
An atmospheric exploration of life and death in rural America, Hide Your Smiling Faces vividly depicts the young lives of two brothers who abruptly come of age through the experience of a friend’s mysterious death.
Big Joy 82 min. – Documentary
What or who is Big Joy? Big Joy is James Broughton, pioneer of experimental cinema in the 1930s, and trickster poet who was a precursor to the beat movement in San Francisco. Big Joy is a documentary that explores the twists and turns in the life of a very colorful character, plus how art has the power to save lives and make the world a better place. Broughton is a role model of living one's life to the fullest, or "follow your own weird" as he called it. Big Joy features interviews with experts, colleagues, friends and lovers, plus images from his films, and the words of many of his kooky poems.
Let The Fire Burn 88 min. – Documentary | Drama | History
On May 13, 1985, Philadelphia police dropped two pounds of military explosives onto a city row house occupied by the radical group Move. The resulting fire was not fought for over an hour although firefighters were on the scene with water cannons in place. Five children and six adults were killed and sixty-one homes were destroyed by the six-alarm blaze, one of the largest in the city's history. This dramatic tragedy unfolds through an extraordinary visual record previously withheld from the public. It is a graphic illustration of how prejudice, intolerance and fear can lead to unthinkable acts of violence.
Big Men 99 min.- Documentary Director: Rachel BoyntonProduction Co: Boynton Films Production [Us]Country: United States
Dancing In Jaffa DocumentaryDirector: Hilla MedaliaProduction Co: kNow Productions [Us]Country: United States
Renowned ballroom dancer, Pierre Dulaine takes his belief that dance can overcome political and cultural differences and applies it to 11 year old Jewish and Palestinian Israelis. What occurs is magical and transformative.
Stand Clear Of The Closing Doors DramaDirector: Sam FleischnerProduction Co: M ss ng p eces [Us]
The story of an autistic youth named Ricky who, after a particularly difficult day at school, escapes into the subways. It's here that he starts his real journey, on a days-long voyage of discovery while, above ground, his mom frantically searches for him.
Bluebird
90 min. – Drama
Director: Lance Edmands
Production Co: Act Zero Films [Us]
In the frozen woods of an isolated Maine logging town, one woman's tragic mistake shatters the balance of the community, resulting in profound and unexpected consequences. Weaving together several connected story lines, Bluebird explores the profound and transcendent effects of a tragedy on an isolated American town.
The Genius Of Marian85 min. – Documentary | Drama | FamilyDirectors: Banker White | Anna FitchCountry: United States
The Genius of Marian follows Pam White in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Her son, the film maker, works with her as she attempts to write a book that tributes her mother, the artist Marian Steele. As Pam's family comes together to support her, they must also prepare for the new reality that Alzheimer's brings. The film is a powerful work of art with many visual textures, interweaving observational film making with super 8 family movies, Marian's paintings and old photographs. The Genius of Marian is both an intimate look at a much feared illness and a loving portrait of the meaning of family.
TeenageDocumentaryDirector: Matt Wolf (IV) Production Co: Cinereach [Us]Country: United States | Germany...
Alias Ruby BladeDocumentary, HD Cam, 2012, 78 minutesDirector: Alex MeillierProducer: Tanya Ager MeillierIsa: Mercury Media
Kirsty Sword Gusmao aspired to be a filmmaker and instead became a revolutionary. Whilst working for the Timorese resistance she fell in love with the imprisoned guerilla leader, and risked everything. Together they fostered the birth of a new nation.
Cutie And The BoxerDocumentary, Dcp, 2013, 82 minutesDirector: Zachary HeinzerlingProducer: Sierra Pettengill, Patrick Burns, Zachary HeinzerlingExecutive Producers: Kiki Miyake, Lydia Dean PilcherIsa: K5 International
This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role of assistant to her overbearing husband, Noriko seeks an identity of her own.
Hide Your Smiling Faces Drama/Coming of Age, HDCam, 2012, 80 minDirector: Daniel Patrick CarboneProducers: Daniel Patrick Carbone, Matthew Petock, Zachary Shedd, Jordan Bailey-HooverCast: Ryan Jones, Nathan Varnson, Colm O’Leary, Thomas Cruz, Christina Starbuck, Chris Kies, Andrew Chamberlain, Ivan Tomic
An atmospheric exploration of life and death in rural America, Hide Your Smiling Faces vividly depicts the young lives of two brothers who abruptly come of age through the experience of a friend’s mysterious death.
Big Joy 82 min. – Documentary
What or who is Big Joy? Big Joy is James Broughton, pioneer of experimental cinema in the 1930s, and trickster poet who was a precursor to the beat movement in San Francisco. Big Joy is a documentary that explores the twists and turns in the life of a very colorful character, plus how art has the power to save lives and make the world a better place. Broughton is a role model of living one's life to the fullest, or "follow your own weird" as he called it. Big Joy features interviews with experts, colleagues, friends and lovers, plus images from his films, and the words of many of his kooky poems.
Let The Fire Burn 88 min. – Documentary | Drama | History
On May 13, 1985, Philadelphia police dropped two pounds of military explosives onto a city row house occupied by the radical group Move. The resulting fire was not fought for over an hour although firefighters were on the scene with water cannons in place. Five children and six adults were killed and sixty-one homes were destroyed by the six-alarm blaze, one of the largest in the city's history. This dramatic tragedy unfolds through an extraordinary visual record previously withheld from the public. It is a graphic illustration of how prejudice, intolerance and fear can lead to unthinkable acts of violence.
Big Men 99 min.- Documentary Director: Rachel BoyntonProduction Co: Boynton Films Production [Us]Country: United States
Dancing In Jaffa DocumentaryDirector: Hilla MedaliaProduction Co: kNow Productions [Us]Country: United States
Renowned ballroom dancer, Pierre Dulaine takes his belief that dance can overcome political and cultural differences and applies it to 11 year old Jewish and Palestinian Israelis. What occurs is magical and transformative.
Stand Clear Of The Closing Doors DramaDirector: Sam FleischnerProduction Co: M ss ng p eces [Us]
The story of an autistic youth named Ricky who, after a particularly difficult day at school, escapes into the subways. It's here that he starts his real journey, on a days-long voyage of discovery while, above ground, his mom frantically searches for him.
Bluebird
90 min. – Drama
Director: Lance Edmands
Production Co: Act Zero Films [Us]
In the frozen woods of an isolated Maine logging town, one woman's tragic mistake shatters the balance of the community, resulting in profound and unexpected consequences. Weaving together several connected story lines, Bluebird explores the profound and transcendent effects of a tragedy on an isolated American town.
The Genius Of Marian85 min. – Documentary | Drama | FamilyDirectors: Banker White | Anna FitchCountry: United States
The Genius of Marian follows Pam White in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Her son, the film maker, works with her as she attempts to write a book that tributes her mother, the artist Marian Steele. As Pam's family comes together to support her, they must also prepare for the new reality that Alzheimer's brings. The film is a powerful work of art with many visual textures, interweaving observational film making with super 8 family movies, Marian's paintings and old photographs. The Genius of Marian is both an intimate look at a much feared illness and a loving portrait of the meaning of family.
TeenageDocumentaryDirector: Matt Wolf (IV) Production Co: Cinereach [Us]Country: United States | Germany...
- 4/23/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Hilla Medalia holds a Master’s Degree in Film and Television from Southern Illinois University which she attended on a Track and Field scholarship, competing in the Triple Jump. She credits her love for films and passion for storytelling leading her to study film. The now George Foster Peabody Award winning director and producer has received three Emmy Award nominations and won the Paris Human Rights Film Festival Jury Award, Fipa Biarritz Jury Award, Golden Warsaw Phoenix Award, Faito Doc Grand Jury Award among others. Her latest project, "Dancing in Jaffa," is a project she hopes will inspire audiences in their personal journeys. What it's about: Pierre Dulaine takes his belief that dance can overcome hate & applies it to 11 yr-old Jewish & Palestinian Israelis. What occurs is magical and transformative. On the importance of the film: "I would like the audience to know that, although we shot the film in Jaffa,...
- 4/15/2013
- by Indiewire
- Indiewire
Here's your daily dose of an indie film in progress; at the end of the week, you'll have the chance to vote for your favorite. In the meantime: Is this a movie you’d want to see? Tell us in the comments. "Dancing in Jaffa" Tweetable Logline: Help us share Pierre Dulaine's journey, as he bridges the gap between Jewish and Palestinian-Israeli children through dance. Elevator Pitch: Renowned ballroom dancer, Pierre Dulaine takes his belief that dance can overcome political and cultural differences and applies it to 11 year old Jewish and Palestinian Israelis. What occurs is magical and transformative. When Pierre started the program, the children were spitting on each other. At the end of 10 weeks, they were holding each other and respecting each other. Pierre believes if we can change the children, we can...
- 12/17/2012
- by Indiewire
- Indiewire
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.