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<\/p>\n\n\tIn the film Billy Elliot, a boy in the north of England discovers a love for dance, much to his father\u2019s consternation.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s perfectly normal,\u201d Billy tells his dad, who retorts that such pursuits are for girls, \u201cnot for lads\u2026 Lads do football or boxing or wrestling. Not friggin\u2019 ballet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThat drama came out in 2000, but whether attitudes like those of Billy\u2019s dad have changed much since then is open to debate. In many parts of the English-speaking world and Latin America, there\u2019s still a big stigma about men dancing.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\t\u2018When Men Dance<\/a>\u2018<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSavage Content\/Miami Film Festival<\/p>\n \n\tThe documentary When Men Dance, which just held its world premiere at the Miami Film Festival<\/a>, focuses on talented performers who have defied the taboo, throwing themselves body and soul into the artform. It\u2019s directed by Emmy-winner Abbas \u201cAbbi\u201d Motlagh, an Iranian-born filmmaker based in the Miami area.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cAs director, producer, and editor of When Men Dance, I tease out and spotlight the lived realities of artists who risk being crushed by a spectrum of societal pressures and norms,\u201d Motlagh writes in a director\u2019s statement. \u201cThe drive, talent and devotion of the dancers and choreographers are brought into focus in contrast to the racism, homophobia, and anti-immigrant forces they must navigate.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe director adds, \u201cTheir sense of community, collaboration and camaraderie nourishes them in the face of their struggles. This film will always be dear to me, as the dancers\u2019 interviews let me see into them to reveal the tenderness and the depth of their souls.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\u2018When Men Dance\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSavage Content\/Miami Film Festival<\/p>\n \n\tThe documentary was filmed over a several week period in Miami, which for half a dozen years has hosted Men Who Dance, a festival dedicated to male dance.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI wanted to capture all of them together because the energy that they gave each other was amazing,\u201d Motlagh tells Deadline. \u201cWhen they\u2019re dancing together, they forget everything. They just try to translate everything through dance, through the movement \u2014 body language, actually. So, it was very interesting for me.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tAs a native of Iran, Motlagh grew up in a place where men dancing together, instead of men and women, in fact was the norm. \u201cMen and women are separate \u2013 at a party, everywhere,\u201d he notes of Iran. \u201cEvery time when I was a kid, I see just men dancing together because they cannot dance with the woman\u2026 They are very, very relaxed with each other. They\u2019re [not] shy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n