I should be dancing … If you are like me, when you see dance on TV, Broadway or hear music with just the right beat, your body and brain simultaneously start to move, you cannot sit still. If in fact, this is you then you will understand dance passion and the way that we feel about the new documentary which made its debut at the Tribeca Film Festival, Crime Cutz.
Crime Cutz is a documentary that profiles four New Yorkers to the soundtrack of Holy Ghost!’s Crime Cutz EP. Each subject is invited to interpret a song in their unique style, showcasing these individuals as both subject and collaborator, blurring the line between documentary and music video.
Ben Fries is an award-winning director, producer, and composer from New York City. He has directed more than 20 music videos for bands, including Holy Ghost! and Danny Brown, and has composed music for films such as The Search for General Tso, The City Dark, and The Most Unknown.
Alden Fitzpatrick Nusser is a native Manhattanite who got his start directing short documentaries for news outlets, including the New York Times, the New Yorker, and HBO. He is now developing several projects; among them is a samurai flick set in the tropics and a documentary-opera about a plastic surgery-obsessed grande-dame.
Because of my close ties to the New York Dance community, I thought it would be nice to interview a few of my friends who were featured in the documentary Crime Cutz. In particular the one and only, Lori Brizzi. I met Lori Brizzi about 10 years ago, I’d been living in New York City since 1996. I can say that Lori loves to dance, and she takes care of our entire dance community. Lori works tirelessly to produce the Millennium Dance Parties & Cruises, produces and directs the New York Hustle Congress, and more. Lori is a real New Yorker, graduating from Sewanhaka High School and studying Theatre at New York University. She welcomes all with open arms, teaching and producing these glorious events.
When I first moved to New York, if I slept five days per month in my NYC apartment that would be a lot. I never spent much time in this great city because of my career. This city can be quite lonely if you’ve moved here not knowing a single soul.
I can remember it like it was yesterday, I was chatting with my mom on one of our 6-7 hour phone calls when dancing came into the conversation. Grace why don’t you go dancing, it’s a great place to meet friends, you love to dance? I was like, Mom, Disco is long gone, where would I go?
From the age of 3, I’ve experienced dance passion, taking Tap and Ballet right here in NYC, through the Disco craze in my early 20’s, dance was my life. We lived, ate and drank disco. We worked all day, only to go out that night to dance. I was lucky enough to compete with my dance partner John Pellegrino. Winning was all that we wanted to do. At that time the country was experiencing, Dance Passion.
Like most people in the dance world, there comes a time when a real career and family must come first, it was time to hang up the disco shoes, life was taking over
On that call with my mother many years ago, she suggested that I look up dance studios here in NYC and just go. That night, I actually listened to my mother’s advice and found Stepping Out, I made my way to the studio and danced all night, feeling like I was 20 again.
There are times when I take Lori for granted, but in truth, what Lori Brizzi does for us each and every week is a miracle, she gives us back our youth!
GC What was it like to have this documentary presented at the Tribeca Film Festival?
GC Tell me how you personally felt that evening at the festival?
