Crazy For The Ballet
Photo by Dan Sharnoff
Crazy for the Ballet is a short film reflecting on youth, beauty, decay and the ramblings of a deteriorating Vaslav Nijinsky and his “philosophy of feeling.”
Artists Involved: Written and directed by D.J. Mendel; performed by Daniel Alexander and D.J. Mendel; music by Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR); cinematography by Dan Sharnoff.
Lead Artist: D.J. MENDEL has worked with avant-garde theater-makers like Richard Foreman, (The Universe, Permanent Brain Damage and Panic!), Karen Coonrod (Christmas at the Ivanov’s/ CSC), and 31 Down (Red Over Red, Here At Home) His own one man show, Dick Done Broke, was presented at the Bushwick Starr Theater in Brooklyn in November 2011. As a director, he has most recently directed Daniel Bernard Roumain’s Symphony for the Dance Floor which had its New York premiere in October 2011 at BAM’s Next Wave festival and is currently directing Cynthia Hopkins’ This Clement World. He has directed 2 feature films, Make Pretend (which he also wrote) and Richard Foreman’s Planet Earth: Dreams. Other Recent theater directing credits include Cynthia Hopkins’ musical theater play, The Truth: A Tragedy, which premiered at Soho Rep in May 2010 and toured the U.S. and Europe later that year. Previous work with Ms. Hopkins includes directing her shows Accidental Nostalgia, Must Don’t Whip ‘Um and The Success of Failure (or, The Failure of Success)—all of which were presented at St. Ann’s Warehouse in New York as well as throughout the US and Europe. D.J. also works with singer Rosanne Cash, video designing and directing her last two tours: Black Cadillac: In Concert and The List: In Concert.