Tiny Movements
June 25-27
*film screenings* *panel discussions* *workshop*
$10-$50 Suggested donation per event. A portion of the proceeds will benefit My Sister’s Place.
A survivor-focused journey of one woman's dancing, healing and thriving after escaping long term drug-facilitated intimate partner abuse.
This 25 minute documentary directed by Laura Sweeney tells the story of local artist Jenn Green’s creation of Tiny Kitchen Dances project. It follows her healing as she navigates the ongoing legal battle to protect herself and her children, the journey to hold her abuser accountable within the legal justice system, and moving forward as she works to rebuild her chosen life.
The film has won numerous awards at festivals around the country, including Best Short Documentary at the Brooklyn Film Festival.
View the Movie Trailer HERE
Screenings + Panel discussionS:
Opening Night Benefit
Thursday, June 25 @ 6:00pm
Featuring music by Leah Song of Rising Appalachia
Mars Landing Art Center, 37 Library Street, Mars Hill, NC
$50
Trillium Arts is honored to share that Leah Song of Rising Appalachia will perform at the “Tiny Movements” Opening Night Benefit at Mars Landing Arts Center on Thursday, June 25.
This special evening begins at 6pm when guests can meet the artists behind “Tiny Movements” and raise a toast to brave women in the room. Leah will then inspire the audience with a rootsy, folk music set of both original and traditional songs from the South. The film screening will begin at 7pm, followed by a panel discussion. Tickets to the June 25 Opening Night Benefit are $50. In addition to an award-winning film and extraordinary music, the event also includes complimentary wine, beer, non-alcoholic beverages and a variety of appetizers.
Friday, June 26 @ 6:00pm (doors open at 5:30); $20
Little Animals, 31 Carolina Lane, Asheville
The second screening in downtown Asheville will begin at 6:00pm, followed by a panel discussion and meet-the-artists reception. Light refreshments such as wine, sparkling water and snacks will be provided.
An impressive roster of Panelists both nights include attorneys, therapists and other Domestic Violence professionals to elevate awareness about domestic violence and provide attendees with access to professional services.
June 25 Panel Participants:
· Jenn Green, dance artist/Domestic Violence survivor, Tiny kitchen dances
· Laura Sweeney, filmmaker, LauraSweeney.com
· Rhiannon Burk, M. A., LCMHC, R - DMT, LCAS – A, Mental Health Professional, Dance Movement Therapist
· Crystal Webb, My Sister’s Place
· Todd Williams, Buncombe County District Attorney
· Jen Collier Wilson from Pisgah Legal will also be in attendance to provide information about their services.
June 26 Panel Participants:
· Jenn Green, dance artist/Domestic Violence survivor, Tiny kitchen dances
· Laura Sweeney, filmmaker, LauraSweeney.com
· Jonathan Polgar, PA-C, Rev, SEP, Mountain Medical Arts
· Christina Soriano, Reynolds Professor of Dance and co-director of the Wake the Arts Center and the Neuroarts Lab at Wake Forest University. improvment.wfu.edu
· Caitrin Doyle, Outreach Coordinator, Helpmate
· Tracey Gruver from Pisgah Legal will also be in attendance to provide information about their services
WORKSHOP:
Dance & Film: Instruments for Healing
Saturday June 27, 11:30am-2:30pm:
Red Barn Studio at Odonata Farm, 5640 Paint Fork Road, Mars Hill, NC. $10 Suggested donation or Pay What You Can.
(For the Pay What You Can Option, please email heather@trilliumartsnc.org to be added to the Registration list.)
The workshop will be co-facilitated by Jenn Green, Laura Sweeney and Christina Soriano, Professor of Dance at Wake Forest University.
Dance Training not required to participate!
Workshop attendees should wear comfortable clothing they can move in and bring their own smartphone with camera.
Space is limited and advance workshop registration is required.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Laura Sweeney is a screenwriter, director, and actress. Laura’s writing credits include, Mommy Mafia, Solstice and Lost + Found. She created and starred in the webseries: The Mothership and Theater Bitches. Laura has directed several award-winning short films, including The Neck, Across, and Tina. Her first documentary, Tiny Movements, won Outstanding Short Documentary at the Art of Brooklyn Film Festival. Laura is a member of SAG- AFTRA, Georgetown Entertainment Media Alliance (GEMA), and a Co-Leader of FILMSHOP South Brooklyn Chapter. Laura has taught screenwriting for Writers Boot Camp and Open Screenplay. She studied acting with the Moscow Art Theatre and is a graduate of Georgetown University.
Jenn (Green) Wilenta has had a lifelong love of dance, including a deep appreciation for the many ways it can nurture and inspire the individual and the collective. Jenn experiences her life as a dance, an often circular, rarely linear pathway. Her three-year “tinykitchendances”dance project, which was the inspiration for the “Tiny Movements” documentary, can be found on Instagram. She trained as a dancer at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and has studied and performed at the Bates College Dance Festival. She has also worked as an early childhood educator for over 20 years, guiding nursery and kindergarten classes at Waldorf schools in Brooklyn, Wilton, and Keene, New Hampshire, and Asheville, North Carolina. She particularly enjoys creating children’s yoga curriculums. Jenn finds real satisfaction in living in the world, parenting her 16 and 19-year-olds, collecting handmade pottery, and rarely choosing easy (but always choosing joy). She plans to return to school for a master's in social work and eventually work as a therapist, using her many years of dance, art, and educational tools to support children and families.
Leah Song is a storyteller, song-catcher, and cultural bridge-builder, best known as the frontwoman of Rising Appalachia alongside her sister, Chloe. She plays claw-hammer banjo, bodhrán, and guitar, and is a keeper of both traditional and contemporary songs. For over two decades, she has carried her voice across borders, blending Appalachian folk and global roots music into songs that honor both land and lineage. Her repertoire includes Southern folk, old-world balladry, and Appalachian traditionals.
Leah has studied and worked alongside some of the greatest musicians and culture keepers of our time, including Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Bobby McFerrin, Bruce Molsky, Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn, Sheila Kay Adams, Martin Hayes, Cathy Jordan, Moya Brennan, Martin Shaw, Winona LaDuke, Joanna Macy, and more. She is joined on stage by a rotating cast of incredible musicians and multi-instrumentalists. Join her in gathering tools and teachings of resiliency, music, mythology, and celebration through sound.
