THE BIRTH
THE GROWTH
THE STORY
NeoDance tells the story about the relationship between talent and passion, overcoming life’s greatest challenges, seizing opportunities and taking them to the next level. It is also a story about creating an impressive body of original work by following the path of dreams fanned by a true love of music and dance.
NeoDance is the creation of choreographer, successful entrepreneur, dancer, and Holocaust survivor Alfred Friedman, professionally known as Mr. Dance, and critically acclaimed Latin Grammy winner Nestor Torres.
Guest performances include Latin Grammy Achievement Award recipient and winner, Johnny Ventura, Bachata duo 24 Horas, and Hip-Hop artist Joell Ortiz.
Beautifully shot on location in New York, Miami and Los Angeles, the film displays the audiovisual lusciousness of stunning choreographies presenting a new dance, a seamless blending between the exuberant sensuality of salsa and the passionate melancholy of tango.
In order of appearance
FEATURED
In order of appearance
DANCERS
In alphabetical order
MEET THE CREATORS
ALFRED FRIEDMAN better known in dancing circles as Mr. Dance, has been an acclaimed dancer, choreographer and dance instructor for over 50 years. His notoriety, which is rooted in his versatility and multi-dimensional approach as a dancer, inspired him to fuse Tango and Nuevo Tango with different dance and music genres, to create NeoDance, an alchemy of steps and moves with music artistically crafted to bring out creativity from within the dancer.
Born in 1939 in Antwerp, Belgium, Mr. Friedman who is one of an ever-dwindling number of remaining survivors of the horrors of the Holocaust, has lived an extraordinary life which took its first dramatic turn after being placed by his parents in a Catholic orphanage to protect him from the Nazis. Found and later sent to the Mechelen camp on the outskirts of Brussels, he was rescued by 3 heroic Partisans from the train taking him and hundreds more to the Auschwitz death camp. At the end of the war Alfred, who had lost his brother, sister, and father, was reunited with his mother Mrs. Dobris Friedman in 1945.
As the young Mr. Friedman and his mother disembarked in New York harbor in 1951, they were greeted by the press who had been following his story ever since his compelling letter had reached President Truman’s desk and became a catalyst for the amendment of the Displaced Persons Act of 1949.
Mr. Dance’s passion for dance began in the early 1960’s as he became a regular at the famous Roseland Ballroom in New York City pursuing dance as a serious hobby. Hard training and talent turned him into a celebrated dancer after winning the World Series of dance competitions known as "The Harvest Moon Ball", which was sponsored by the New York Daily News and the Ed Sullivan Show. Becoming the Rhumba Dance Champion of 1963 paved the way for him to become a teacher, choreographer and performer.
Mr. Alfred Friedman, who is also a successful entrepreneur and visionary in his own right, was driven to create NeoDance by his aspiration to give dancers the opportunity to have a conversation with music that is different and excites the dancer by fusing tango seamlessly with various Latin and American rhythms.
NESTOR TORRES is a Grammy nominated and Latin Grammy winning artist who has released 18 critically acclaimed albums with his innovative blend of jazz, classical, and Latin music, punctuated by lyrical improvisation and rhythmic beats.
Constantly touring worldwide, he has collaborated with artists such as Herbie Hancock, legendary Bassist Israel Lopez ‘Cachao’, Gloria Estefan, Tito Puente, Paquito D’Rivera, Dave Matthews and Arturo Sandoval, as well as having performed with some of the world's leading orchestras, such as The New World Symphony, The Cleveland and Singapore Symphony Orchestras.
Born in Puerto Rico as a scion of artistic and creative excellence, he learned by example from his talented father, the late Nestor Torres, Don Nestor. Young Nestor's musical abilities where apparent from an early age, first on the drums at age 5 and eventually finding his voice on the flute at age 12.
Moving to the United States during the 1970's, the young virtuoso pursued Classical flute studies at the Mannes School of Music, Jazz at Berklee College of Music, and Classical and Jazz at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. During this time, Nestor Torres also began performing with New York City's top Latin bands, where he began to develop his original rhythmic and lyrical sound by playing popular and danceable genre of Cuban Charanga. His distinctive sound was soon in high demand, recording his first 4 solo albums before reaching the age of 22, and performing with luminaries such as Ray Barretto, Hector Lavoe, and Tito Puente among many others.
In the early 1980's, Maestro Torres moved to Miami. There he continued developing his unique style, combining Classical Music training and hard-hitting New York City sounds with the fresh and vibrant flair of South Florida, where he was enthusiastically embraced by the local community.
After winning his first Latin Grammy, which he would have received on 9/11, 2001 for his album "This Side of Paradise", Maestro Torres turned his focus and inspiration to create and perform music that would serve as a means to transform the immense human suffering and tragedy caused by the attacks into a driving force of enlightenment and healing for the human spirit, while becoming an ambassador for peace and culture.
For his commitment to youth, education, and cultural exchanges, Nestor Torres has been the recipient of numerous awards and commendations, including two honorary doctorates from Barry University and Carlos Albizu University.
TRAILER
GALLERY
One of the most memorable collaborations of the project was the contribution of the great and beloved Johnny Ventura who with his ingenuity, talent and creativity composed the lyrics based on the mythical battle between Tango and Merengue to conquer the beautiful Milonga.
Arrangement and production were done by acclaimed producer Jochy Sánchez who also participates on keyboards.