Project Detail

Routes

Synopsis

In August 2005, inspired by Harry Smith's anthology of American Folk Music, London DJ Alex Reuben set out alone on the American Road, fulfilling a lifelong dream to document the social dance of southern USA. His childhood inspiration to dance had been the music of New Orleans and Fats Domino. Reuben traveled from North Carolina to Memphis, Tennessee and onto Mississippi. Hurricane Katrina halted his journey towards Fats, and Louisiana. The result is a dance road movie that gives insights into lesser-known forms of American dance and music culture and the lives of extraordinary Americans. Set against the US federal governments' woeful response to the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina, at a time when Americans were questioning their position on the war in Iraq, we explore Appalachian Clogging, Hip-Hop, Stepping, Mamphis Marching Bands, Mississippi Fife and Drum, Cajun and Zydeco.

A Capture commission for Arts Council England.

Details

Year
2007
Type of project
Features
Running time
80 mins
Format
DVD, BetaSP
Director
Alex Reuben 1st Feature
Producer
Alex Reuben
Editor
Jane Hodge, Alex Reuben

Production Status

Production Company

Alex Reuben

40 Hornby House
Clayton Street
London SE11 5DA
UK

T+44 (0)20 7735 6386

M +44 (0)7956 442 205

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