SHE, WHO CAN SEE

Director Alleluia Panis’ Statement:

SHE, WHO CAN SEE is my first dance film under the New American Dance Theater Series. As a choreographer and stage director for over 3 decades, my vision in making films is to expand my story-telling tools.

She, Who Can See is based in stories of people who have abilities to communicate with spirits. Western contemporary society considers this phenomenon as a medical condition, while  ‘tribal’ or aboriginal cultures of the world, revere this ability to communicate with the ancients as a most precious and sacred gift. Considered taboo and hidden from the public, this dance film hopes to enlighten and lay bare the hardships when ancient beliefs collide with the modern world.

The character of Salima is a composite of several friends and relatives who believe they have the ability to communicate with spirits/entities/energies. They often refuse this  ‘gift’ for its overwhelming consequences. The character of Nico is based on their long-term partners, whose love and support ground the ‘seer’. In the process of living through this most challenging journey, the partner gains her/his own mystical experience.

On the larger perspective, this piece is a metaphor for our search of the authentic self. I hope to honor and reflect our experiences as contemporary people, who are navigating and searching the right balance between our ancestral ways of knowing  and the modern world.