Filmmakers Find Inspiration In Lyme Disease



UPCOMING SCREENING WITH FILMAKERS Q&A

When: Friday, March 16th. Doors open at 7 pm. Film at 8 pm, followed by participatory activity about identity.

Where: Empowerment Works, 1543 Mission Street (x-street South Van Ness). Street parking or Civic Center BART. Many muni lines accessible.

Please come to a mind-expanding night of art, film, music, spoken word and soul-nourishment! Vegetarian food for purchase.

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About the Film


Forms of Identification explores the ways we create who we are, our attachment to our various identities or personas, and where we must sometimes go to find our core selves after a perceived or real disaster. The film asks: “When I’ve lost what I perceive to be the most important element of myself, what is left?; Who am I when all my circumstances have changed?” By asking these questions, the film encourages viewers to recognize their own authentic identities, which evolve throughout life, and to also recognize how the creation and experience of art has the power to heal and transform.

Forms of Identification as an art form embodies its message of searching for an identity and regaining joy from calamity. It is an artistic collaboration that crosses the boundaries of genre. It is a film that is also a dance. It is a dance on film. The goal of this cross-genre art form is to reach out in an experimental way to a cross-section of audiences (both dance and film enthusiasts) about a universal theme - one’s never-ending quest for identity - especially to those individuals who can directly relate to the feeling of losing and regaining one’s identity through the journey of life’s many twists and turns. Through creating art in a new genre, the dancer dives into film - an arena for self-expression not previously explored. So the goal of screening and distributing Forms of Identification is to widely communicate how one performing artist reconnected with the artist-within in order to overcome the devastating experience of losing her ability to express herself, thereby inspiring others to dive into new waters of self-expression.

About the Artists



Jessica Ingersoll-Cope (Co-Creator/Choreographer/Dancer)

Has studied dance since the age of eight and has been actively involved in movement and mixed media story telling for the past 15 years. She has performed and choreographed professional works in both Northern Colorado and the San Francisco Bay Area. She is a graduate of Colorado State University’s Dance Program where she was actively involved as a student teacher and choreographer. In 1999 she had the opportunity to study abroad to learn West African dance as a foreign exchange student in Ghana. Her own work has been selected and presented at the 1999 Central Region American College Dance Festival, the 2001 New Visions Dance Festival, and the 2002 Sunday Salon at ODC Theater. She trained for numerous years at the Colorado Dance Festival (where she met mentor Gabe Masson) and the Bates Dance Festival where she discovered her love of contact improvisation through the instruction of Nancy Stark Smith.



After college, while residing in Northern Colorado, she was a lead dancer for OpenStage Theatre & Company. Through OpenStage she choreographed the original musical Impression: Monet and played the protagonist in the original dance-theater piece An Act of Love about one woman’s recovery from rape. Additionally, she was a member of The Dance Connection, a modern dance performance network, through which she performed, created work and served as the Guest Artist Coordinator. In 2001 she had the unique opportunity to participate in a community residency project, No Roles Barred, with David Dorfman Dance. 



Upon moving to San Francisco in 2001, Ingersoll-Cope began studying intensively at the ODC School. In 2002 she was hired by Kathleen Hermesdorf/Motion Lab (now La Alternativa) to perform for their 2002 & 2003 seasons and was a choreographic contributor to the premier of As Above, So Below. She also served as Motion Lab’s Fundraising Assistant.



In late 2003 Ingersoll-Cope faced an unexpected illness and was forced to take a long hiatus from creating work and performing. This challenging situation led her to pursue studies in holistic health and nutrition, becoming credentialed as a Nutrition Consultant. As she continues to gain back her health, she is excited to keep creating stories utilizing dance, sound, text and film synergistically. She has also found a new love in the movement of Argentine Tango. Additionally, she has completed post-graduate studies in Educational Psychology and is currently a School Psychologist in the Oakland Unified School District. She hopes to bring her knowledge of the connection between health/nutrition and learning/behavior to developing children in the public school setting.



Kristin Tieche (Co-Creator/Director/Producer)


Is a Northern California based independent producer and editor. She has edited award-winning programming for national and regional networks such as PBS, CBS–5 (KPIX), Link TV, Fine Living Channel, Food Network, Home and Garden, Smithsonian On Demand and Current TV. She is currently engrossed in editing character-driven documentary films, such as Power Paths, a film depicting a Native American reservation's effort to transform their economy to green energy, which aired on the acclaimed PBS documentary series Independent Lens in November 2009. Tieche is also the Promotions Producer for Link TV.

Tieche is a producer of experimental film and has collaborated with dancers, composers and choreographers on pieces destined for various exhibition venues, such as The Water Project, a dance film that combined footage of the ODC dancers with a musical score composed and arranged by Linda Bouchard, director of NexMap (New Experimental Music, Art, Performance).

In 2003, Tieche collaborated with modern dance soloist Nora Chipaumire on Chimurenga, a video art installation projected during the live performance. Chimurenga is a recipient of the 2007 New York Dance and Performance (aka “Bessie”) Award. Through working with dancers and choreographers, Tieche is able to combine her love for dance and movement with her passion for motion picture.

Tieche holds a Master of Arts in Television, Radio and Film from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, where she received awards from the regional chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in screenwriting and sound design. It is her passion to create meaningful, quality content for television, film and new media that shows viewers new perspectives on current and historical issues dealing with social responsibility and sustainability.