"Lynn Simonson: Dancing Soul" - a dance film

Lynn Simonson: Dancing Soul (working title) is a dance film portrait by Kim Karpanty illuminating the life and legacy of master teacher Lynn Simonson. The film features Lynn Simonson and her love for rooted jazz dance and music, her dedication to moving people of all ages, and the profound joy surrounding her and sustaining a global community.

 

Lynn Simonson tells her story in her own words, accompanied by archival photos and video of Lynn in performance, recent video of master classes taught by Katiti King, Diane McCarthy and Laurie DeVito, and a Laurie DeVito and Dancers rehearsal in New York City. Simonson Method of Teacher Training (SMTT) intensives In NYC, Massachusetts and Barcelona, Spain, and Lynn's senior fitness classes at The Center in Palm Springs, CA are also included in the film.

 

Take a SNEAK PEAK here!

Filming will be complete in August 2022 (after a 2-year COVID hiatus), and I am seeking support for POST-PRODUCTION and DISTRIBUTION, in the areas of video and sound editing, color correction, music rights, and the commissioning of an original jazz music score by Lynn’s son Ched Tolliver 

 

Please help complete this project with donations of time or expertise/skills in any of the areas above, through referrals, or in any monetary amount at this site. You may designate your preferred area of support upon donation. The planned PREMIERE DATE is on or before April 24, 2023, Lynn’s 80th Birthday.

 

You can learn more about Lynn Simonson at https://www.lynnsimonson.com, and in Karpanty's article Lynn Simonson and Simonson Technique, published in Jazz Dance, A History of the Roots and Branches (2014), Lindsay Guarino and Wendy Oliver editors.

 

More about the filmmaker: Kim Karpanty, M.A., M.F.A., NCPT, studied with Lynn Simonson for over a decade in New York City and has been a certified teacher of the Simonson Technique since 1989. She taught Simonson-based jazz dance technique and rooted American Jazz Dance History as Professor of Dance at Kent State University for 25 years. Kim's concert jazz dance choreography has been commissioned and performed throughout the US and abroad in Mexico, Costa Rica and South Africa. Her dance films have been screened in juried festivals in the US and in Brazil, Dubai, Germany, Italy, Macao, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. She is proud to be a part of the Simonson Legacy.

Cover photo: Tristán Peréz Martín