Paula Zahn

WE ARE NOT THE FOCUS: Nel Shelby

CHRISTOPHER_NEL_RETOUCHED-3We were delighted to sit down again with Nel Shelby, dance videographer and entrepreneur, to follow up on our brief conversation from earlier this year at the Dance on Camera Festival. In this episode we delve deeper into Nel’s filmmaking process for PS DANCE!, her highly successful new documentary about dance education in public schools that has spawned a movement to bring dance to every child. (You can find our interviews with PS DANCE! viewers here.) We also learn about Nel’s intuitive, collaborative approach to making documentaries and dance films and about how she built her own company, Nel Shelby Productions, over time. Nel articulates her learnings about drawing out interviewees by being present without becoming the focus and shares a positive, optimistic attitude about the future of dance.

Nel Shelby is the founder of Nel Shelby Productions, a production company based in NYC and focused specifically on preserving and promoting dance through dance videography. (more…)

DOCF: PS Dance!


psdance-1600x900-c-defaultPS Dance! is a New York Emmy nominated documentary about dance education in New York City public schools that has now spawned a movement to expand dance education. We found that audience members felt very strongly about this film, and it was a thrill to get such a rush of enthusiastic feedback – about the film itself as well as the need for dance education.