Contemporary Color

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David Byrne presents a performance combining colour guard routines and live music in Contemporary Color. Ten high school teams from across North American have been gathered together to perform their color guard dance routines, which utilize timed rifle tosses and flag spins. The routines are accompanied by live performances my various recording artists, including St. Vincent, Nelly Furtado, and David Byrne.

Contemporary Color is documenting a performance organized by former Talking Heads lead singer David Byrne, which celebrates the artform of color guard. Typically performed at sporting events, color guard can be seen as a mix cheerleading and military routines. Directed by Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross (Tchoupitoulas, Western), Contemporary Color consists of both the on-stage performances and backstage footage, including interviews with the various team members.

Prior to watching Contemporary Color, I wasn’t familiar with color guard as a dance routine, so the film is successful in increasing awareness of this artform. The film is a little bit inconsistent when it comes to showing the performances, with some being shown in full, while others cut to backstage in the middle of a song. However, altogether Contemporary Color is an entertaining mix of music and color guard routines.

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Screenings:

• Monday, May 2, 6:30 PM – Bloor Hot Docs Cinema
• Wednesday, May 4, 4:15 PM – TIFF Bell Lightbox 1
• Sunday, May 8, 1:00 PM – Bloor Hot Docs Cinema

Sean Patrick Kelly

Sean Patrick Kelly is a Toronto-based freelance film critic and blogger with a Bachelor of Arts in Cinema and Media Studies from York University. Since founding his site in 2004, Sean has shared his passion for cinema through insightful reviews and commentary. His work has also been featured in prominent outlets, including Toronto Film Scene, HuffPost Canada, Screen Anarchy, ScreenRant, and Rue Morgue Magazine.