Motion State Arts

05/01/2026

🎬 Hey dance filmmakers, get ready to submit your dance film for ScreenDance RoadShow’s ninth season!

🎬 Submissions open May 3; deadline is August 3, 2026: https://motionstatearts.org/call-for-films

🎬 ScreenDance RoadShow is the only traveling short dance film series in New England that showcases contemporary creative voices exploring choreography for the camera. Each season, a diverse program of dance films from around the world are screened at venues across the region.

🎬 We invite filmmakers to submit short films (15 minutes max) in which dance and cinematography play equal creative roles. We explore the ever-expanding definitions of "dance" and "choreography," and are open to including films that use adjacent technologies, such as animation, computer graphics and puppetry.

🎬 Season 9 venues will be announced soon. Past venues have included: Dean College (Franklin, MA); Jamestown Arts Center (Jamestown, RI); Myrtle (East Providence, RI); Newport Art Museum (Newport, RI); Providence Public Library; School for Contemporary Dance & Thought (Northampton, MA); The Redfern Arts Center (Keene, NH); Zeiterion Performing Arts Center (New Bedford, MA); and more.

Film still: Genevieve Shultz's "POP"

04/30/2026

That's a wrap!

Thank you to the Zeiterion for hosting the final stop on ScreenDance RoadShow's Season 8 tour. It was a wonderful night of dance films & conversation.

See you back at the Z on Wednesday, June 3, for Playing Favorites, showcasing an eclectic collection of dance films pulled from the first seven seasons of ScreenDance RoadShow: https://www.zeiterion.org/events/screendance-playing-favorites

And all you dance filmmakers: Submissions for Season 9 open this Sunday, May 3! https://motionstatearts.org/call-for-films

04/29/2026

Tonight 7pm at the Zeiterion in New Bedford, MA! ScreenDance RoadShow screens seven short dance films from around the world, followed by a Q&A with Motion State Arts co-producers Ali Kenner Brodsky & Andy Russ.

Details & free tix: https://motionstatearts.org/calendar/sdrs-z-2026

Featuring Peter Sparling's (US) "Encore (for the end of the world)": "If one considers an A-bomb test as a rehearsal for mankind's ultimate performance, what would an encore look like? Rachmaninoff's 'Prelude in C # Minor' provides the monumental 'trois coups frappés' or tolling of the last bells for a strange, disembodied march to the scaffold. A black-clad figure (concert pianist or Death himself?) shares the screen with vintage black and white film of a desert bomb testing site, ending with a brief glimpse of the masters of war claiming their credit."

04/27/2026

ScreenDance RoadShow comes to the Zeiterion in New Bedford, MA, this Wednesday at 7pm!

Screening seven short dance films from around the world, followed by a Q&A with Motion State Arts co-producers Ali Kenner Brodsky & Andy Russ.

Details & free tix: https://motionstatearts.org/calendar/sdrs-z-2026

Featuring Daniel Gurton’s (UK) "Spoken Movement Family Honour": "In a British-Ghanaian household bound by tradition and religion, a young girl lives under the oppressive control of her abusive father. At the family dinner table, heated arguments reveal the deep rift between them as they confront the scars of their shared history."

04/21/2026

ScreenDance RoadShow is the only traveling short dance film series in New England that showcases contemporary creative voices exploring choreography for the camera. Each season, a diverse program of dance films from around the world are screened at venues across New England. Past venues have include...

04/20/2026

Can't wait to bring ScreenDance RoadShow back to the Zeiterion in New Bedford next Wednesday, April 29!

Click below for details/tickets.

04/15/2026

Big congrats to all the 2026 Guggenheim Fellows, with a special shout-out to Motion State Arts alums Molly Lieber, Raymond Pinto & Eleanor Smith!

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation

Since 1925, the Guggenheim Foundation has given Fellowships to exceptional artists, writers, scholars, and scientists, empowering them to pursue meaningful work under the freest possible conditions.

04/06/2026

💖 THANK YOU 💖 to all of you generous donors who supported us during 401 Gives!

We are deeply grateful for your belief in Motion State Arts’ mission. Your support of dance makes you a true champion of the art form, and a vital part of a community that values creativity, expression, and connection.

Because of you, we can continue to expand and enrich dynamic, multi-faceted dance experiences in Rhode Island and beyond—supporting artists, engaging audiences, and creating opportunities for meaningful exchange. Your contributions help sustain not only performances, but also the collaborations, conversations, and moments of inspiration that happen both on and off the stage.

Your generosity affirms the importance of this work and allows us to keep growing with intention and impact. Thank you for standing with us and helping ensure that dance continues to thrive in our communities.

💖 We're looking forward to the future, thanks to you! 💖

(And if you didn't get a chance to donate, it's never too late! Link below.)

Thanks to all these generous donors for supporting the future of dance in Rhode Island and beyond!

04/01/2026

👏 We're applauding YOU! And we are so grateful. 👏

We only need $1,685 more to reach our 401 Gives goal—if you haven't already, please donate by 6pm ET tonight!

👏 Big thanks to all the generous folks who've donated. 👏

DONATE by TONIGHT 6pm ET: https://www.401gives.org/organizations/motion-state-arts

(And you don't even have to live in Rhode Island!)

👏 Thanks in advance! 👏

Image: Standing ovation for Laila J. Franklin's "BABYBABYBABY," November 2025. Photo: Lila Hurwitz

04/01/2026

Live performance is a profound and glorious thing.

💸 But arts funding keep getting cut. 💸

Support from arts-loving people like you helps keep creativity alive and thriving.

We only need $1,895 more to reach our goal—your donation by 6pm ET can get us all the way there!

DONATE HERE by 6pm ET today: https://www.401gives.org/organizations/motion-state-arts

(And you don't even have to live in Rhode Island!)

Thanks in advance!



Image: Joanna Kotze & Stacy Matthew Spence in Spence's "I am here; Here with us; Where we find ourselves," 2026 Motion State Dance Festival. Photo: Domenik Lee

04/01/2026

Love dance? Support dance!

We're now at 37% of our $3,000 goal—your donation by 6pm ET can get us all the way there!

DONATE HERE by 6pm ET tonight: https://www.401gives.org/organizations/motion-state-arts

Your donation supports unique events that no other organization in our area is presenting—like the Motion State Arts stage at FringePVD! Since 2022, we've sponsored the dance stage for Providence's Fringe Festival, offering community classes and Cabaret Jeté, the "open mic" for dance.

Thanks to everyone who's already donated (or is about to)!

Image: Katie McNamara & Stephanie Turner, Cabaret Jeté, FringePVD 2025. Photo: Lila Hurwitz