The film chronicles the preparation of Trisha Brown's dance show Lateral pass on the stage in a Minneapolis theater before its 1985 premiere. Mangolte follows the dynamics between the dancers and the choreographer, as they perfect the performance in relation to the intricate stage design and sculpture of Nancy Graves, the improvisational music of Peter Zummo and of course in relation to the admirable choreographic organization of the stage space by Brown. The 16mm black-and-white film and color video were shot in 1985 but were edited in 2013 for a Nancy Graves show.

Babette Mangolte (1941) is a French-American director, cinematographer, photographer and artist who has lived in New York since 1970. She has worked as a cinematographer with Chantal Akerman and Yvonne Rainer and has made important experimental films on the very act of looking about the American landscape, about contemporary dance and the art of performance. She is considered one of the most important artists of the American avant-garde and currently teaches at the University of San Diego in California.

Photos: Staging Lateral Pass, Set, ©1985 Babette Mangolte, all rights of reproduction reserved