Blindside Block (film)

In American Football a blindside block is an attack from an unexpected and unseen corner.

When film producer Mart Dominicus initially proposed to make a film in which dancers and American Football players were confronted with each other’s ‘language’, it also had the effect of a blindside block. But he was determined, and the result was that Mart Dominicus, Dansgroep Krisztina de Châtel, the American Football team the Amsterdam Crusaders and producer IDTV Culture made the dance film Blindside Block. The film was recorded in June 1998 in De Goffert Stadium in Nijmegen.

Krisztina de Châtel’s work relies strongly on repeating patterns, with a close connection between power and control. This approach is strongly reminiscent of American Football, where crucial movements and moments in the game are endlessly repeated during training sessions. Blindside Block is not a documentary; it is an independent dance film in which American Football forms the starting point for an unusual and exciting meeting between sport and dance.

The production of Blindside Block was partly funded by the Stimuleringsfonds Nederlandse Culturele Omproepproductie.

premiere 24 September 1998, Nederlands Film Festival, Utrecht
director Mart Dominicus
choreography Krisztina de Châtel
dance Janine Dijkmeijer, Ádám Fejes, Peter Kádár, Heike Langsdorf, Wen Cheng Lee, Massimo Molinari, Isabelle Steenbergen, Suzan Tunca
American footballplayers The Amsterdam Crusaders
music John Adams – Shaker Loops