Ivy In Motion: A Dance Film Rooted in Style

Hi! I'm Jailyn Sherell Harris. I'm a dancer, teacher a choreographer based in Cleveland, OH. While I typically work in musical theatre, I've always wanted to explore the medium of dance film. Recently I received a grant from Karamu House - the oldest black theatre in the country - to put towards producing my work. This has been super helpful in getting the ball started. I've been able to hold preproduction rehearsals and begin to assemble some of the supplies needed like props and costumes. While I'm more than grateful for the opportunities this grant has provided, the reality is it's a stepping stone towards the larger the project rather than an end-all/be-all. In bringing my dream to life, I want to make sure that I'm also able to fairly compensate the fellow artists and collaborators I will be working with.

The more I discuss and develop this idea - be it with family or friends - the more I discover the importance in bringing this idea to life. Learning about fashion history directly from my aunt who worked as a seamstress, or having one of my dancers explain how her grandmother had to carry around a work permit in Jim Crow Miami has been eye opening and invaluable. The amount of community support has also been breathtaking; everyone I've had the chance to speak with about this has been excited and supportive of the work to come out of it. I even had the opportunity to connect and talk to the host of the podcast that initially inspired the idea! In bringing this to life, I want to be committed to paying artists for their contributions. I've made a conscious decision and effort to involve artists of color in all of the leadership and designer roles associated with this film (ex, director, sound engineer, stylist), along with actively recruiting black dancers and other dancers of color. It is common knowledge that artists of color are severely underpaid compared to their white peers. While this grant won't cover all of the rates/fees associated with a project of this size, it is considerable progress towards the goal of minimizing said gap.

Once the film has been shot and edited, I do hope to be able to submit the finished to work to festivals to share it with a larger audience. As a way of saying thank you, all donors will be listed in the credits (unless they would like to remain anonymous). Once again, thank you for support of black artists and creatives, and the arts in general!

Ivy in Motion Budget Breakdown

Below is a breakdown of the use of funds along with a table indicating how funds will be allocated if the goal is surpassed. The minimum goal is $26,500; that amount would allow filming and technical needs to be met however compensation for artists would not meet rate standards or allow me to compensate the artists in a way that highlights the value of their skillset.

Dancers

Oftentimes in creative spaces, dancers and their compensation are an afterthought. While it’s not near what they would be making on an industry shoot, I still believe that ALL artists should be compensated for their time and talent. The dancer fee would cover rehearsals and shoot.

Director

Black women creators in a leadership position should become more commonplace amongst the industry (film/dance/media) and one way to make sure that they are able to stay in the game is to compensate them fairly. Working with a black woman as a director was important to me for a variety of reasons, most notably being able to collaborate with someone with a shared or similar lived experience as me. Although it’s not my burden to bear, as a fellow black woman creator I want to do what I can to minimize pay disparities, especially within the arts.

Sound Engineer

I went back and forth about the best way to handle music and sound for this project. While it would be great to be able to pay for the rights to a specific song, I also thought that it would be amazing to work with original scoring that would allow us to create with less restrictions.

Stylist

The stylist will be encouraged to create looks with items from the performers’ closet. However, given the historical nature of the piece, some limitations are expected. In addition to compensating the stylist (another black woman), a materials budget will allow her to rent, purchase or create period specific pieces as needed.

Location

This part of the budget would help to cover travel or gas reimbursement, as well as rental rates for various locations. If there is a surplus, the remainder would be paid out to the artists/designers as a bonus.