By Jesus “Solly” Olivares
EVERYBODY DANCE, the new documentary Produced, and Directed by Dan Watt is now available on VOD. The film spotlights five kids with different disabilities and their dance teacher as they prepare for an emotional dance recital, showcasing the power of dance and how it gives children the opportunity to feel capable and in control, while teaching social skills, discipline, and focus.
Trailer HERE
The Hollywood Times had the opportunity to speak with director Dan Watt and Bonnie Schlachte, founder/teacher of Ballet For All Kids about this amazing film. Enjoy the conversation:
Watt, who was a dancer and dance teacher himself earlier in his career said: “I was lucky to have worked at Columbia Pictures in their film development department for 5yrs and at SYCO, Simon Cowell’s production company for 5yrs. But I was always drawn to “real” stories, and I watched documentaries at home, so I decided to take the leap and become an Independent Producer and tell stories that I felt had a purpose and needed to be told. I knew I wanted to tell a story about how studying the arts could be applied to everyday life. I didn’t know quite what that story was yet until I had a dream – it was about Fran and her two daughters, now it has been 16/17 yrs. since I taught them and I thought, why am I dreaming about them? Luckily, I had a dream about them a few weeks later and I woke up and thought, this is God poking me saying “THIS is your movie, Daniel” so I trusted my gut and went for it.
Dan researched studios and conservatories across the country and stumbled upon Ballet For All Kids and their founder/teacher Bonnie Schlachte in Agoura Hills, CA. Once Dan joined Bonnie at the studio, he news these stories had to be told. Watt and his team filmed for 10 months, at the studio and at home with many of the families. One moment that stands out to Watt is when Liam tell his mom “I feel like I don’t fit in at school but in dance I do.” Having many stories like this, told by the kids and the families, in their own words, was what Dan tried to capture.
“Focus on the similarities. All these kids came together with one main goal, to dance. Everyone focused on accomplishing this – learn the steps and choreography – We all come upon obstacles in our lives that we have to work our way through – Some may experience the world in different ways and if we embrace this it actually can help us see the wonders of dancing to our own rhythm yet still dance together” is the lesson Dan hopes the audience takes away from his film.
EVERYBODY DANCE is available on: Amazon Prime – AppleTV – iTunes – GooglePlay and Vimeo
You can learn more about the film at the following:
Website: http://www.dancindanproductions.com
Twitter: @EveryDANCEdoc
Instagram: @EverybodyDANCEdoc
