Alive from Off Center

This program features David Byrne's documentary about the CandomblŽ religion of Bahia, Brazil, which integrates its African roots with the Roman Catholic traditions of Brazil through the use of ceremonial music and dance. The film combines interviews and documentary footage of religious ceremonies and day-to-day activities interspersed with excerpts from other films about Brazil to explore the religion and to demonstrate how it has permeated Bahian culture as a whole. Those interviewed include a CandomblŽ priestess; a seventh-grader who explains an order called "The Sons of Gandhi," a group of more than 7,000 men who pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi as an expression of peace; and Wally Salam‹o, a poet who explains how Bahian dances have become a secular extension of CandomblŽ. Topics addressed include the origins of CandomblŽ; the ceremonies that involve trance, music, and dance; the role of men and women in the community; the role of the orishas, Yoruban deities linked with Catholic saints, who enter the priestesses while they are in a trance; the importance of nature and a belief in the inexplicable force that allows the orishas to enter the priestesses; and a look at the terreiro (temple ground) where followers of CandomblŽ live and worship. Included are performances of many Brazilian songs (with English subtitles). Additional footage includes excerpts from the films "Iawo" by Geraldo Samo, "Bahia por Exemplo" by Rex Schindler, "O Pagador de Promessas" and "Depois Eu Conto" by Anselmo Duarte, "Continental Drift" by Green Mountain Post Films and The National Film Board of Canada, "Bahia de Todos os Santos" by Trigueirinho Neto, "Barravento" by Glauber Rocha, and "Elizabeth Bishop: One Art" by the New York Center for Visual History. (Narration in English; other portions in Portuguese with English subtitles.)

Directors Philippe Gauthier, Alice Isserman and Pierre Etaix evoke the experimental cinema master's style

Three dance works exploring relationships: Bill T. Jones' tribute to Arnie Zane; Susan Marshall's "Arms"; Ishmael Houston-Jones' "Relatives"

A Rube Goldberg-style chain reaction explores gravity and momentum.

Jane Alexander stars in "Mountain View", choreographer Marta Renzi's collaboration with film maker John Sayles.

Four animated shorts including Jim Blashfield's "My Dinner with the Devil-Snake".

An Award-winning dance-theater piece by Philippe DeCoutie evoking ancient rituals.

Three dance pieces -- Raoul Trujillo's "Shaman's Journey"; an untitled work by DanceBrazil; Eiko and Koma's "Undertow"

Three dance pieces.

Meredith Monk's "Book of Days" explores village life in the Middle Ages.