PRESS
“Touching… Lustrous imagery… Call Me Dancer reaches the heart through the archetypal quest of the film’s hero, and the charm of Manish Chauhan…Acts of stunning strength and agility with the joy of someone born to dance. He’s also beautiful…”
– MATTHEW CAREY, DEADLINE
“Capturing Dance – and Dancers’ Lives – on Film. Merging cinematography and choreography requires a fine balance. Dramatic. When you watch this feel-good film, stay through the delightful credits.”
– ELIZABETH ZIMMER, VILLAGE VOICE
“Dance is an art form, and this movie is simply pure art!”
– YONI AVITAL, INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR, KIBBUTZ CONTEMPORARY DANCE COMPANY
“A compelling tale of perseverance, passion and friendship, filmmakers Leslie Shampaine and Pip Gilmour forge a deeply personal investment in their subject. No question, Call Me A Dancer will be a festival favorite.”
– CELIA IPIOTIS, EYE ON DANCE/EYE ON THE ARTS NY
“A raw, nuanced film…thoughtful, quiet and powerful…the people featured in the film are shot with respect and a kind understanding of their economic and cultural circumstances.”
– CYNTHIA LOPEZ, Executive Director, NY WOMEN IN FILM & TELEVISION
“Delivering an incontrovertibly inspired, magical, wholly grounded, compellingly evocative portrait of the travails and triumphs of the human spirit while beautifully illustrating the sheer, influentially emotional potency its foundational art form and story will elicit in you as a viewer… charmingly engaging, energetic, humorous, serious, and everything in-between.”
– KIRK FERNWOOD, ONE MAN FILM FAN
“Richly detailed…sequences that are celebratory, even transcendent.”
– JUSTINE SUTTON, ARLINGTON THEATER
News
Call Me Dancer Is Resonating and Winning Awards with Audiences Around the World
Art of Storytelling Award ◦ Audience Award ◦ Excellence in Documentary Directing Award ◦ From New York City and across the planet, Call Me Dancer is receiving accolades, standing ovations, and recognition from experts in the film industry and audiences alike. New...
Jay Sean on Producing ‘Call Me Dancer’: Supporting Asians In The Arts
See this exclusive video interview with Executive Producer Jay Sean, who wrote two songs for the film. Call Me Dancer follows the story of a young Mumbai dancer who is determined to become a professional dancer despite his parents’ wishes that he would follow a...
Feb 5 – Review from Kirk Fernwood: From a village in Himachal Pradesh to the bustling streets of Mumbai, a unique talent resides within the masses
Read the full review at Onefilmfan.com Possibilities and the moments they create. While we might strive to look towards the future with a sense of optimistic fervor, too many times do those instances arise where we allow doubts and hesitations to sneak in, causing us...
Call Me Dancer is opening night film in NYC Dance On Camera festival! Feb 10, 2023
Dance Films Association (DFA) and Film at Lincoln Center (FLC) present the 51st edition of the Dance on Camera Festival from February 10 to 13, 2023. The festival opens with the New York premiere of Leslie Shampaine and Pip Gilmour's Call Me Dancer. Executive produced...
Call Me Dancer Premieres at Santa Barbara Intl Film Festival Feb 9, 2023
Come join us on Feb 9th for World Premiere at the Santa Barbara International film Festival. Santa Barbara Film Fest: Lineup Revealed for 38th Edition The 38th edition of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, which will run Feb. 8-18, will open with Miranda’s...
Call Me Dancer Coming Soon to Festivals Near You!
Stay tuned. We will soon be posting where Call Me Dancer will be screening!
Manish Performs at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC
Manish Chauhan performs with Bowen McCauley Dance Company for the their performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Read the full article here: After 25...
Indian ballet dancer headlines new documentary unveiled in U.S.
Manish Chauhan, an Indian ballet dancer who won a scholarship to be trained at New York Ballet School, is the star in a documentary film, Call Me Dancer, which had its official trailer launch in Washington, D.C. Sept. 8, 2021.
In India, Interest in Classical Ballet Training Is on the Rise
By Dr. Luis Dias
Written for Pointe Magazine
Western classical ballet is still a very unfamiliar art form in India. But in the last few years, promising talent has begun emerging, often in dancers from disadvantaged or working-class families with no prior association with Western classical music or dance.