An Evening With Mirra Bank And 'Last Dance'

On Friday, September 16, at 6 p.m., Sag Harbor Cinema will host a special screening of “Last Dance,” a documentary that goes behind the scenes of the American modern dance company Pilobolus in collaboration with author-illustrator Maurice Sendak (author of “Where the Wild Things Are”). The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the film’s director, Mirra Bank, and moderated by director/producer Susan Lacy.

“Last Dance” takes audiences inside a gloves-off collaboration, where each artist’s idea of the piece is challenged by an opposing vision of equal authority. Joining forces to create an artwork that would speak of the Holocaust, Sendak and Pilobolous quickly discovered their respective takes were quite different. Will anyone want to see another Holocaust story? Can it be both moving and irreverent? From the first day of improvisation in the studio, Bank followed Pilobolus and Sendak for over one year as they transformed the haunting legacy of the Holocaust into a stark and provocative dance-theater piece that comes to life onstage as “A Selection.” The piece quickly established itself as one of Pilobolus’s most powerful works.

The movie captures the trial-and-error improvisational style of creating a work inspired by Sendak’s personal connection to the Holocaust. Bank and her crew had total access to the film’s subjects, and her documentary weaves vérité rehearsal scenes, probing interviews, rare Holocaust footage and thrilling performance into a uniquely intimate look at the incredible tenacity and wit that drive the creative process when serious artists work together.

Sag Harbor Cinema is at 90 Main Street, Sag Harbor. Tickets are available at sagharborcinema.org.