Rosie Trump is a choreographer and dance filmmaker based in Reno. She is the founder and chief curator of the Third Coast Dance Film Festival and an associate professor of dance at the University of Nevada, Reno. Trump is currently creating a new full-length, multimedia dance performance titled Slow Motion Collision that explores the ideas of force and movement. The Third Coast Dance Festival will hold two screenings of dance film shorts: at the Nevada Museum of Art at 6 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 20; and at 7 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 22, at the Holland Project. For more information, visit thirdcoastdancefilmfestival.com.
Tell me about the dance scene in Reno. What’s it like, and where should people go to see dance?
There’s a lot of great dance happening in Reno. We have two festivals that occur over the summer: the Reno Dance Festival, which usually happens in early summer, and then there is the Dog Days of Summer dance festival that happens on the plaza in front of the Pioneer Center. There’s also some really great contemporary dance in Reno. There’s a new dance collective named the Convergence Dance Collective that’s up and coming in the community. A great thing about Reno is that it’s a great place for emerging artists, because it’s a place where artists can make things happen for themselves, especially if they’re willing to be a little DIY and self-produced. Of course, there’s great dance happening at UNR. We bring in world-renowned guest artists regularly, and we train students in dance … so they’re getting this professional-level training as part of their college education.
How did the festival first come about?
It started in 2010, first in Houston, Texas, which is how it got its name, which is where I was living at the time. (The Gulf Coast is sometimes known as America’s Third Coast.) It’s a festival that highlights short dance films. … We did an open call for films, so there were new, original works. At the time, I looked around, and I didn’t see festivals programming the work of my peers and colleagues, so I was interested in creating an event that, from a curatorial point of view, reflected what I saw in my community. We specialized in what I call “low budget, high impact,” so you don’t need a million-dollar budget to make great work.
Has the festival changed or evolved much in its 15 years? Have trends in dance changed during that time?
I think social media has influenced dance as well as regular media has. For a while, we were sort of seeing the So You Think You Can Dance effect, and then we saw the Glee effect, and now I think we’re seeing the social media effect. But what I like about social media and dance is that it challenges people to get their message across creatively in a short amount of time.
Our festival specializes in short films; it really works well. It’s more accessible now with social media and with cameras in people’s pockets. Anyone can now be a dance filmmaker. From the beginning—working with my first screening partner with the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston—we’ve been able to pair with art museums and art-centered locations. I appreciate that bridge between the performing arts and the visual arts when possible.
What is the difference between watching a dance performance in person versus, say, on your phone or TV?
There’s an empathetic and a kinesthetic experience that happens when you watch dance live or on the big screen. I think a lot of people recently experienced this when they watched Wicked, for example. Being able to see dance in the theater or at the movies gives us that body-to-body experience of connection. While it’s kind of cool to consume media on our phones with the in-your-hand closeness of proximity, I feel like you really get that toe-tapping, heart-beating physical response when you see a live performance on the stage or up on the big screen.