Jazz Moves Columbus
Jazz Moves Columbus is a television documentary that chronicles the creation of the theatrical collaboration of the same name staged by BalletMet, the Columbus Jazz Orchestra (CJO), and WOSU Public Media to celebrate Columbus’s bicentennial.
Jazz Moves Columbus shows how three of the city’s leading artistic organizations created a series of performances that celebrated Columbus through dance, music, and video. BalletMet and JAG had worked together on two productions, but video was a new and crucial element.
I think what the video did was weave the story of the greatness of Columbus through the whole thing, says CJO artistic director Byron Stripling.
Jazz Moves Columbus captures the excitement as dancers, composers, choreographers, and a video producer strive to tell the city’s story through the power and improvisation of jazz, the beauty and athleticism of dance, and the emotional impact of video.
The documentary shows the entire process, including musicians assembling the score, dancers taking tumbles as they build routines with choreographers, and the excitement in the wings as the house lights dim for the first performance.
When the dancers and the musicians are on stage together is like an explosion, says BalletMet executive director Cheri Mitchell. It’s like seeing fireworks!