Enlightened in the dark in Lyon.

Four days in a small, windowless cubicle furnished with two comfortable chairs, a VCR, and a monitor, closed off from the beautiful view of the city of Lyon by a black curtain--an ideal environment for soaking up all that is new in dance on television.

Dance Screen 94 opened on June 7 with a special screening of Thomas Grimm's high-definition television program of Maguy Marin's Coppelia, performed by the Lyon Opera Ballet. The film, an imaginative, expanded version of this modern choreography, was shown in the Grande Salle of the Opera de Lyon; the premiere of the ballet had taken place there the previous year during the inaugural season of the astonishing new opera house, designed by Jean Nouvel. Organized by the International Music Centre (IMZ) from Vienna and the Opera de Lyon, the schedule was filled with screenings, talks, and panel discussions attended by a large audience of dance professionals, producers, directors, distributors, and programmers of dance on television.

In addition, a professionals' video library set up in the magnificent rehearsal studio under the glass cupola of the opera house provided an opportunity to view at will the more than 150 programs (representing twenty-seven countries) that had been submitted in competition. In the evenings, performances of the Lyon Opera Ballet included choreography by Marin, Mathilde Monier, Jean-Francois Duroure, Angelin Preljocaj, Bill T. Jones, Stephen Petronio, Susan Marshall, William Forsythe, and Ralph Lemon. And, of course, there was the city of Lyon and its fantastic food!

While the delegates were participating in all these activities, the international jury--choreographer Lucinda Childs (who served as president); Anita Belli, director of The Video Place in London; Jellie Dekker, a director of music and dance programs for Dutch Television NOS; Anne Bedou, artistic advisor for dance programs for the Videotheque de Paris, La Sept and Canal+; and Douglas Rosenberg, director of the Video Archival Program of the American Dance Festival--was deliberating over all the entries. On June 11, after screenings of the nominees, the awards ceremony was held and the winners were announced.

The 1994 Dance Screen Award (with a prize of 100,000 francs) and the award for Best Stage Recording went to Achterland, choreographed and directed by Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker, performed by Rosas. Originating in lush black-and-white 35-mm film (as did her previous top-prize-winning film, Rosas, directed by Peter Greenaway), this fifty-two-minute film, also available in an eighty-minute version, is distributed by Amaya. The jury citation read, "As both director and choreographer, de Keersmaeker has created a most sophisticated and sensitive rendering on screen of a stage production that retains the compelling force of the original choreography."

The award for Best Camera Rework (of a piece that was originally performed live) went to one of a series of four seven-minute films--4 Tokens--from NOS. The 16-mm film Still You, directed by Mijke de Jong, was a most successful screen rendition of a wild, risky, acrobatic pas de deux, choreographed by Suzy Blok and Christopher Steel, performed by Gabriella Uetz and John Taylor. The jury citation read, "The film is a tempest in a teacup. It invites you to glide through its dramatic journey with an extraordinary display of cinematic acrobatics--a tour de force."

The award for Best Screen Choreography (work made for the camera) was split between two programs. One was Le P'tit Bal, a three-minute, fifteen-second, 35-mm color film choreographed and directed by Philippe Decoufle, and performed by Decoufle and Pascale Houbin. The jury citation read, "The jury was captivated by this miniature master-piece: an imaginative, tender illustration of a Bourvil chanson." The second award was to a fifteen-minute, 16-mm film, one of the BBC/Arts Council series "Dance for the Camera." A first collaboration between film director Margaret Williams and choreographer Victoria Marks working with six differently abled dancers from the CandoCo Dance Company, Outside in is amazing for its skillful application of editing to the movement of the choreography. The jury citation read, "This film addresses issues rarely seen on screen in this context. The collaborators have integrated beautifully crafted images, music, and choreography resulting in a film of great warmth and affection."

The award for Best Documentary was given to Ushio Amagatsu--Elements de Doctrine, a sixty-five-minute program combining rehearsal and performance footage of the Sankai Juku work Grain of Kumquat. Directed by Andre S. Labarthe, Amagatsu is shown looking at his work on a monitor and commenting on the images. The jury citation read, "We chose this production for the courage to allow the work to unfold in its own time frame, for its visual poetry, and we also applaud the structure created by the director, which reveals the compelling presence and the eloquence of the artist."

A Special Jury Prize was awarded Giselle--A Film About Dreams and Discipline, directed by Anne Regitze Wivel. This ninety-seven-minute, 35-mm black-and-white film lovingly captures Royal Danish Ballet dancers Heidi Ryom and Lloyd Riggins in rehearsal with Henning Kronstam. The jury citation read, "This beautifully composed film ... permits an exquisite visit into the world of the working professional. As the ballet master passes his wisdom along to the young dancers, the story of Giselle unfolds like a drama." This film was previously awarded a prize in New York at Dance Films Association's Dance on Camera '92.

Dance Screen is an extraordinary event, creating as it does a meeting place for people who care about the interaction of dance and moving pictures. Unfortunately, IMZ has found it necessary to make this a biennial event (alternating with Opera Screen), but it is not too early to make your plans for Lyon, June 10--15, 1996.