I’m Mitchell Rose. I was formerly a choreographer and performance artist … now I’m a filmmaker. Below are some of my films made over the past two decades. Most are comedic, many involve dance. For all, my goal is to put a frame around the familiar, and then tilt it. Thanks for watching. Cheers…

Select films

DEERE JOHN (20th Anniversary Restoration)

It’s the 20th anniversary of this, my first dance-film. Often considered my signature film, I’ve gone back to the original footage and completely reconstructed it with newer video technology—and it looks great. Enjoy. A man and a 22-ton John Deere excavator dance a dance of discovery, fulfillment, and loss. Winner of 19 festival awards. “A funny and surprisingly touching fantasy.” — The New York Times

AND SO SAY ALL OF US

52 seminal international choreographers link together on a chain love letter to dance. Featured artists include Ohad Naharin, Mark Morris, Elizabeth Streb, Bill T. Jones, Meredith Monk, William Forsythe, and Lucinda Childs. Commissioned by Brooklyn Academy of Music in honor of Joseph V. Melillo.

CASE STUDIES FROM THE GROAT CENTER FOR SLEEP DISORDERS

A faux-scientific investigation of sleep disorder from the renowned (but fictitious) Groat Center.
“Hilarious” — The New York Times

LEARN TO SPEAK BODY

A language instructional video… for body language.
3 million views on YouTube.

EXQUISITE CORPS

Before there was And So Say All of Us, there was Exquisite Corps. 42 contemporary choreographers chain together making one dance. One million views.

ADVANCE

One dance. Two minutes. Fifty locations.
Winner of five festival awards including the “Audience Award” at Dance Camera West.

GLOBE TROT

A crowd-sourced film as 50 filmmakers in 23 countries each shoot two seconds of dance. View the filmmaker training page here.
Watch a Powerpoint presentation of the process here.

CONTACT

Our days are battles, from which we take comfort in simple human contact.
See The Making Of, here.

ELEVATOR WORLD

A computer-animated essay on the spatial politics of elevator riding.Winner of the “Grand Prize for Best Short” at Slamdance.
“A computer masterpiece” — CBS Evening News

ATTENTION SPAN

An experiment in seeing—in exploded perspective. This is a response to our culture’s hunger for haste.

INTERNAL MEDICINE

David Dorfman answers the mystery of what goes on inside a doctor behind that confident facade.
And watch some hilarious outtakes here.

OBSTRUCTED VIEW

When we can’t see all, what we do see we see anew. Here, 70 women weave together a choreographic thread from Bebe Miller.

See Bebe Miller’s original dancing the women are replicating, here.

ISLANDS IN THE SKY (20th Anniversary Restoration)

Four people weave 50 feet in the air atop four cherry-pickers in the desert, aloft and aloof in their ivory towers.
“Inventive and conceptual crossbreeding of comedy and cutting edge dance.”
— FilmThreat

A COVID19-INSPIRED RETHINKING:
THE CASE AGAINST DANCE-FILM

Warning: The views expressed by the presenter are not necessarily the views of the presenter.

 

THE ICONS

Alternative interpretations of signage from America’s favorite generic couple, The Icons.

MODERN DAYDREAMS: TREADMILL SOFTLY

A man at the gym becomes infatuated with a woman exercising nearby, inspiring flights of fancy.
“A triumph of short filmmaking, nothing short of brilliant.” — FilmFinder

A WORLD WITHOUT NUMBERS

Written when Mitchell Rose was nine years old, this animation/live action hybrid explores the horrors of a numberless world through the lens of childhood melodrama.

WEHNU SAÏ

Wehnu Saï means “unity in many” and was made as a response to the forced isolation of the pandemic. One piece of Africanist choreography is performed by 140 people.
See the “Making Of” here.

THE EVENT

A map of your march toward Destiny.
Winner of “Best of Show” at WorldFest-Houston

CUBED

A cubist reimagining of the body explores metaphors for human boundaries and separation.
See the motion capture and green screen process in The Making Of, here.

MODERN DAYDREAMS: UNLEASHED

An office-bound cubicle drone fantasizes about his workplace coming to life with animal abandon.
Included in “The Best Films on the Web” — UK Guardian

TARGETED ADVERTISING

A sci-fi drone film glimpsing a future when flying spambots chase a fleeing populace blasting ads for Viagra, hair loss products, and other exciting values.
See The Making Of, here.

LEARN TO PHONE PHONEY

25% of all cell phone calls are fake. This instructional video teaches the finer points of the counterfeit call.

WEIGHTLESS

A music video of singer/songwriter Billy Goodrum.

NAME CATEGORIES

A conceptual video in which first names are arranged into categories of meanings.

FACE-TO-FACE INTERVIEW

Mitchell Rose interviews himself.