Men and women suited in athletic gear, harnessed and strapped to machines traversing through space at frightening speeds — each a real life Icarus ignoring the advice of the gods and attempting to defy gravity. Their opponent is basic physics. They dodge swinging cement blocks and slam into any surface that denies them their right to flight — padded mats, walls, Plexiglas, bridges. This is Elizabeth Streb’s philosophy in motion — extreme action. “Anything that is too safe is not action,” Streb declares in the trailer for Born to Fly: Elizabeth Streb vs. Gravity, an independent documentary screening at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston this month.
The subject of the documentary, the singular movement artist Streb along with her dance company, “is a bona fide genius,” says Marian Luntz, MFAH curator of film and video. “She’s innovative and original, fusing dance with movement, infused with some math and science connections (especially about gravity and physics).”
In November, Born to Fly screened twice during the Houston Cinema Arts Festival with Streb and the film’s director/producer, Catherine Gund, in attendance. “We often select a film that’s been popular in HCAF to bring back as part of the museum’s year-round programming. Born to Fly is this year’s choice,” says Luntz. “We are fortunate to have an active, innovative dance com-munity. Many of them turned out for the screenings in November, but others missed it, so we’re providing two more chances.”
The film’s popularity isn’t the only reason Luntz is bringing it to the MFAH. “I was inspired by them and by the film,” Luntz says. “There are many fine documentaries about dance, but she transcends that genre to create something completely fresh. So many people are fans of Cirque du Soleil: She doesn’t have their glitz or glamour, but in many ways [Born to Fly] is so much more cathartic.”
7 p.m. Saturday; 5 p.m. Sunday. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1001 Bissonnet. For information, call 713-639-7515 or visit mfah.org. $9.
Sat., Feb. 21, 7 p.m.; Sun., Feb. 22, 5 p.m., 2015
This article appears in Feb 19-25, 2015.
