Trash Dance (2012) - Movie Review

Picture an artsy white woman walking into a room dominated by African-American and Hispanic men and explaining that she wants them to volunteer for a dance project she is coordinating. Now, imagine that these men all work for Austin sanitation. And for fun, let’s suggest that this woman wants the garbage trucks to be incorporated into the performance. This is not merely a mental exercise. It is the premise of the documentary Trash Dance, directed by Andrew Garrison.

Trash Dance features Austin choreographer Allison Orr, who has constructed dance performances for a variety of non-traditional groups in the past. In her most aggressive challenge yet, she intends to choreograph an entire performance featuring sanitation trucks on an abandoned runway in Austin. The idea is two-fold. The first is to present a unique performance that finds the movement and space within the mechanics of various sanitation jobs. The other is to highlight the hard work and dedication of Austin’s sanitation department. What begins as an intense challenge slowly emerges as a potential success as Orr wins the workers over with her dedication, charm and persistence.

Orr does not simply walk into the sanitation department with an idea. She asks permission to ride along on the routes of various sanitation teams. We watch as she rides with trash collectors, the dead animal collector, bucket trucks, yard waste collectors, street sweepers and more. Orr interviews these workers as they are out on their daily grind, bringing a personal perspective to the work. The interviews are often funny, with unscripted humor coming from unexpected places. For months, Orr wins over these gritty civil servants, gaining insight into their own daily struggles as well as observing the motion that will eventually become her artistic challenge.

Orr incorporates special talent from these workers, using the harmonica skills of Orange Jefferson and the specialized dance moves of Anthony Phillips, who does skate-dancing as a hobby. She also enlists the help of a musician to create live music that will enhance the choreographed performances. Don Anderson has won several state competitions for his work as a crane operator and is an early recruit to the project. His crane “solo” was among the highlights of the performance. As a whole, the narrative arc moves toward the performance, which was strong, not earth shattering. The crane was pretty good, but overall, the rest of the performance was nothing more than unique. The charm in this story lies more in the evolution of the project than the fulfillment. Although it was impressive to see thousands of people show up for the performance in spite of steady rain.

Trash Dance provides an intriguing look at choreography. The concept of interpreting any type of motion as dance made sense. But the warmth of this film lies in the sanitation workers who volunteered to participate. Their personal stories, their eventual excitement about the project and their pride were engaging. The spontaneous humor was also a nice balance to the various personal stories that added depth to the film. It was an interesting project that captured my attention for 68 minutes. Well worth watching, 8/10.