ABOUT

 

Synopsis

Filmed over ten years, LIFT shines a spotlight on the invisible story of homelessness in America through the eyes of a group of young homeless and home-insecure ballet dancers in New York City. After performing all over the world, ballet dancer Steven Melendez returns to the Bronx shelter where he grew up to give back to his community, offering a New York Theatre Ballet workshop to children. His traumatic reaction to the shelter from his childhood sends him on an unexpected journey with three kids to reckon with a past he had escaped from through ballet. As young dance students, Victor, Yolanssie and Sharia face the same chasm of home insecurity that long separated Steven from his audience and makes the arts inaccessible to so many kids who share his background. The children he mentors offer him insight into turning a hidden trauma into dance, and together they make an aristocratic art form into an expression all their own.

Featuring

 
 

Filmmakers

Advisors

Director’s Statement

As a director, my films focus on people in search of a home. I’m drawn to stories about people trying to find shelter, a connection, or identity in small communities often estranged from the outside world. Ten years ago, a performing arts photographer, introduced me to New York Theatre Ballet and their program called LIFT, in which they went into homeless shelters and offered scholarships to kids interested in ballet. A film that started out with just me, a camera, and a microphone grew into a decade-long collaboration between dancer Steven Melendez, our production team, and the families profiled in the documentary. After touring the world as a dancer, Steven returned to the shelter of his childhood to recruit kids for ballet. Suddenly, he found himself on an unexpected journey, exploring the trauma of his homelessness through these children. Since my own father grew up poor and home insecure in the Bronx,  the story of LIFT captivated me. Following the challenges and aspirations of these remarkable kids and their mentor took 10 years, but the rewards of growing with them, their families, and their communities made the record of this journey well worth the effort.  

 

Funding and Support

This film was made possible by
Vulcan Productions

In association with
JustFilms | Ford Foundation
Catapult Film Fund

by support of Contributing Producers
Foothill Productions - Jamie Wolf and Nathalie Seaver
Nancy Blachman
Tiger Tales Media

and with support from
the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature

Fiscal sponsorship by
The Center for Independent Documentary
UnionDocs