in 2020, UpSwing pivoted and starting making dance for film.
AloneTogether, release date June 2020
“AloneTogether” is a dance of classic beauty, athleticism and touching poignancy; it’s also a work of art created in the time of pandemic. “AloneTogether” is a dance inspired by the limitations of isolation and possibilities of connecting without touch. From start to finish, the musical score, the choreography and the editing took less than one month.
Madras Independent Film Festival - Award Winner
Dubai Independent Film Festival - Award Winner
Hollywood International Golden Age Festival - Award Winner
Tabriz Cinema Awards - Award Winner
Paris Film Awards - Award Winner
International Gold Awards - Award Winner
Beyond the Curve International Film Festival - (IMDb) Finalist
Renderyard Film Festival - Finalist
jellyFEST - Season 6 - Simi-Finalist
FROSTBITE International Indie Fest - Official Selection
FilmFest by Rogue Dancer - Official Selection
FLICKFAIR - Official Selection
6th International Short Film Festival Pune India 21 - Official Selection
Dance Camera Pandemania/Dance Camera Istanbul Festival - Official Selection
Between River Rocks and Sand, release date December 2020
The "in-between" of time, space, and the element of nature is the underlying theme that inspired this work. Created during the pandemic and adhering to social distancing protocols, we took aerial movements from UpSwing's repertoire and reinvented them for a one-time performance on this peninsula between the Russian River and the Pacific Ocean in Northern California. We scheduled and rescheduled in-between the 2020 fires that swept thru the area. Original music is by Emmy winning composer Dan Cantrell.
Between salt and fresh water, we danced.
Between rocks and sand we danced.
Between the salty air currents and ocean waves we danced our connections with the land, ourselves, each other and our ancestors.
In our isolation, in these in-between spaces and places we found connection. Connecting with the landscape and its moment-to-moment changes. We danced with the ebb and flow of the waters and experienced the dance when they came together. We found connections with the wildlife that enjoys these brackish waters. We danced in the light shimmering on the water and in our eyes. The landscape transformed the way we moved and felt.
Between "River Rocks and Sand" is not just about the landscape, being between the river and the ocean, but also it is a mindscape of our times. One day we all will be able to recognize the dance pieces created during the pandemic, conceived for the camera, performed by a few dancers, innervated by a sense of instability.
FROSTBITE International Indie Fest - Finalist
Great Asian World Cinema International Film Festival Season- 3 - Finalist
Beyond the Curve International Film Festival - Official Selection
Pune Short Film Festival - Official Selection
Hollywood International Golden Age Festival - Official Selection
Madras Independent Film Festival - Official Selection
Venice Shorts - Official Selection
Knowing Each Other, release date March 2021
Knowing Each Other" is a dance, performed on 2 ropes, set to the poem "Entanglement" by Carmen Gimenez Smith. I felt an immediate connection to the honesty in her work. The poem and this dance speaks to how entangled we are in relationships, how love shifts and changes over time. During this pandemic where people have probably spent more time together than ever before, relationships have been tested. I was working with being tangled up in thoughts, emotions and how these create physical entanglements. The dance explores the emotional complexities in relationships and in ourselves. Original music is by Emmy winning composer Dan Cantrell.
Hollywood Gold Awards - (IMDb) Silver Award for Experimental Film
San Diego Movie Awards - Award of Excellence for Best Choreography
Hollywood International Golden Age Festival - Finalist
Beyond the Curve International Film Festival - (IMDb) Finalist
Renderyard Film Festival - Finalist
Madrid Arthouse Film Festival - Semi-Finalist
Big Sur Film Festival - Official Selection
Venice Shorts - Official Selection
Golden Bridge İstanbul Short Film Festival - Official Selection
Rome Independent Prisma Awards - Official Selection
Anatolia International Film Festival - Official Selection
RAGFF Venezia - Official Selection
Your Way International Film Festival - Official Selection
Bad, release date June 2021
"Bad" is blue, achy and humanly beautiful. Life isn't perfect. There can be an edginess. It can feel like a grind. Earthy, but stretching towards the blue sky, a better day. “Bad” is choreographed on an open aerial sling to George Thorogood’s “Bad to the Bone” performed by Texas blues artist Carolyn Wonderland.
Hollywood Gold Awards - Award Winner for Music Video
San Diego Movie Awards - Award Winner for Best Choreography
Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival - Honorable Mention
MegaFlix Film Awards (IMDb) - Honorable Mention
Austin International Art Festival - Semi-Finalist
Auber International Film Festival - Official Selection
Onyko Films Awards (IMDb) - Official Selection
Anatolia International Film Festival - Official Selection
Golden Bridge İstanbul Short Film Festival - Official Selection
London Movie Awards - Official Selection
New York Movie Awards - Official Selection
Paris Film Awards - Official Selection
Film Fest by Rogue Dancer - Official Selection
Water Spirit, release date June 2022
"Water Spirit" is a kinetic tale of the mysteries that are revealed inside a drop of water. As icebergs melt and water transforms from frozen to liquid its spirit dances. Performance by UpSwing aerialist Helium Valentine, this aerial dance is performed inside a suspended snowglobe. Original music is by Emmy winning composer Dan Cantrell.
Richmond Standard July 6, 2022 article “Richmond dancer, director on ‘upswing’ with film award win”
Beyond the Curve International Film Festival (IMBd) - Nominee for Best Dance
T.I.F.A. Tiete International Film Awards - Nominee for Best Experimental Short Fil/Curta-Metragem
Paradise Film Festival - Award Winner Best Experimental Film
San Diego Movie Awards - Award Winner Award of Prestige
MegaFlix Film Awards - Award Winner Best Experimental
Beyond Border International Film Festival - Award Winner Best Experimental Film
Amsterdam Freedom Independent IFF - Award Winner Best Editing
Golden Wheat Awards - Award Winner Jury Special Award
World Film Carnival / Singapore (IMDb) - Award Winner Outstanding Achievement
World Indie Film Awards (IMDb) - Award Winner Best Dance Short
Latin America Film Awards - Award Winner Best Experimental Film
San Francisco Art House Short Festival - Simi Finalist
Vienna Indie Short Film Festival - Simi Finalist
Brussels World Film Festival - Semi Finalist
Palm Springs International Film Awards - Semi Finalist
Dubai Independent Film Festival - Semi Finalist
Paris International Short Film Festival (IMBd) - Simi Finalist
Paris Women Festival - Semi Finalist
Indie Shorts Mag Short Film Festival - Semi Finalist
Palm Springs Shorts - Semi-Finalist
C L I M A X - Simi-Finalist
Onyko Films Awards (IMDb) - Official Selection
International Motion Picture Awards 2022 (IMDb) - Official Selection
All that Moves International Film Festival - Official Selection
Milan Gold Awards - Official Selection
Amsterdam Freedom Independent IFF - Official Selection Best Experimental Film
Anatolia International Film Festival - Official Selection
Iconic Images Film Festival - Official Selection
Symbiotic Film Festival - Official Selection
Latin America Film Awards - Official Selection
Golden Bridge Istanbul Short Film Festival - Official Selection
Pressure, release date August 2022
"Pressure" is a music/aerial dance film about the pressure we live under, the pressure to conform. Aerial dance is performed to to the accapella arrangement of David Bowie and Queens "Under Pressure" which is written and performed by David Worm. Aerialists are Kiran Haithcox and Helium Valentine.
Richmond Standard September 19, 2022 article “UpSwing Aerial Dance Company film “Pressure” receives Award”
London International Monthly Film Festival - Honorable Mention
Paris Film Awards - Honorable Mention
Caravan International Film Festival - Award Winner
Crown Wood International Film Festival - Award Winner
Golden Lion International Film Festival - Award Winner
Wallachia Int'l Film Festival - Award Winner
Crown International Film Festival - Award Winner
Atlanta Movie Awards - Semi-Finalist
Los Angeles Cinematography AWARDS (LACA) - Semi-Finalist
8 & Halfilm Awards (IMDb) - Official Selection
New York Movie Awards - Official Selection
San Diego Art Film Fest - Official Selection
International Sound & Film Music Festival - Official Selection
Onyko Films Awards - Official Selection
Florence Film Awards - Official Selection
Anatolia International Film Festival - Official Selection
Motion Pictures International Film Festival - Official Selection
Buzz Vicious International Film Festival - Official Selection
Golden Bridge Istanbul Short Film Festival - Official Selection
Japan International Film Festival - Official Selection On Line screening March 2-5, 2023
Markham (Canada) International Film Festival - Official Selection
Sequoia Spirits, release date July 2024
“Sequoia Spirits” is a playful vertical dance film which peers deep into the heart and soul of a Redwood Grove. Under the great canopy of California's majestic coastal giants, we get a glimpse into the elements that bring life to the woods - fire, water and earth. Performance by Kiran Satellite Haithcox, Chris Spiteri, and Helium Valentine. Music by Okorie Johnson.
Hollywood Gold Award REVIEW of film
Florence Film Awards - Award Winner
Paris Film Awards - Award Winner
New York Movie Awards - Award Winner
Hollywood Gold Awards, Best movie- Award Winner
Experimental, Dance & Music Film Festival - Official Selection
Cannes Arts Fest - Official Selection
Ferrara Film Corto Festival • AMBIENTE È MUSICA - Official Selection
Performance Video Samples
Here are a few videos taken from different shows with UpSwing Aerial Dance Company.
TEARDROPS - excerpt
Teaser for "Teardrops" 50 minute aerial dance. Filmed & Edited by: A.K. Sandhu
AK's work has been published internationally in Harper's Bazaar Bride Magazine, Swooned Magazine, Ruffled, SouthAsian Bride Magazine, Grace Ormande XOBlog, MaharaniWeddings, WeddingSutra, Zardozi and various other blogs.
Origin of Happiness, 2018
performed 2018 by Alissa Kaplan Soto and Helen Fitanides
Music by Eve Beglarian
Costumes by Kitty Muntzel
Choreography by Cherie Carson
Sina, 2018
performed 2018 by Helium Valentine.
Music by Dan Cantrell.
Choreography by Cherie Carson
How Much Longer, 2018
performed 2018, Kirstin Brown and Helium Valentine.
Music by Kurt Weil, sung by Lauren Carley.
Choreography by Cherie Carson
Inside the Circle, 2011
Performed by Ashley Foster and Kiran Haithcox
Music by Bill and John Storch
Choreography by Cherie Carson
UpSwing Performs at New York Aerial Festival, Nov 29-Dec 3. This video is from La Guardia Performing Arts Center Nov 29th.
Snowbirds, 2011
Performers Hannah Dworkin, Ashley Foster, Elizabeth Scotton, Cara Zeisloft
Music by Kevin Keller
Choreography by Cherie Carson
UpSwing performs at "SevenUp" show in Berkeley, CA
Split Focus, 2011
Cara Zeisloft performs at "SevenUp" show in Berkeley
Music by Ela Lamblin
Choerography by Cherie Carson
Entwined, 2011
performed by Hannah Dworkin
Choreography and Video by Cherie Carson
Music by Bill & John Storch.
Second Annual Festival of Aerial Arts Teaser Performance, 2014
VauLt in Houston Texas
UpSwing Aerial dancers Alissa Kaplan and Elizabeth Milne-Kahn performed "Inside the Circle".