Followed by a conversation lead by guest Ashley Selmer. Ashley Selmer graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance (emphasis in choreography & performance). She is trained in jazz, contemporary, ballet, hip-hop and African. Selmer’s choreography has been seen in In The Heights and Jesus Christ Superstar (Ordway Center for the Performing Arts). You may have seen Ashley in West Side Story (Ordway Center for the Performing Arts) or Amen Corner (Penumbra Theatre Company).
Ashley is the Founder and Creative Director of Minneapolis based SHAPESHIFT Theatrical (a hip-hop/contemporary storytelling dance company) which recently returned from premiering their self-produced Grey Skies Blue at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Additional credits include Super Bowl LII (J Lo’s Direct TV Now); Prince Tribute Concert (Xcel Energy Center).
Synopsis
This electrifying journey through the public and private worlds of pop culture mega-icon Grace Jones contrasts musical sequences with intimate personal footage, all the while brimming with Jones’s bold aesthetic. A larger-than-life entertainer, an androgynous glam-pop diva, an unpredictable media presence – Grace Jones is all these things and more.
Sophie Fiennes’s documentary goes beyond the traditional music biography, offering a portrait as stylish and unconventional as its subject. Taking us home with her to Jamaica, into the studio with long-time collaborators Sly & Robbie, and backstage at gigs around the world, the film reveals Jones as lover, daughter, mother, and businesswoman.
But the stage is the fixed point to which the film returns, with eye-popping performances of "Slave to the Rhythm," “Pull Up to the Bumper,” "Love is the Drug," and more. Jones herself has said watching the film “will be like seeing me almost naked” and, indeed, Fiennes’s treatment is every bit as definition-defying as its subject, untamed by either age or life itself.
FIRST THURSDAYS @ THE CAPRI
A series of films presented in partnership with the Capri Theater on the first Thursday of every month, with speakers invited to lead post-film discussions with audiences.
Browse First Thursday @ the Capri Films