
Former Wright State film professor Julia Reichert (left) and motion pictures alumnus Steven Bognar (right) pose at Sparkle’s Dayton premiere with DCDC dancer Sheri “Sparkle” Williams.
Sparkle, a short documentary by celebrated Wright State filmmakers Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar, will be getting a lot of attention this week.
The film will appear on national television Feb. 7, airing on PBS at 9 p.m. as part of a network special called Lifecasters.
It will also be shown Feb. 5 at 8 p.m. (EST) at Lincoln Center in New York City as the closing night program of the Dance on Camera Festival. And it will be shown again at Lincoln Center on Feb. 6 at 6:30 p.m.
Sparkle tells the story of celebrated Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC) dancer Sheri “Sparkle” Williams as she recovers from the first major injury in her 38-year career. Reichert and Bognar began the project to answer the question “Will she ever dance again?”
With a crew comprised mostly of Wright State film students and alumni, Reichert and Bognar followed Williams through her months-long recovery process. The film offers audiences a rare behind-the-scenes look at DCDC’s rehearsals and performances.
Last year, Sparkle won the Audience Award for Best Short Documentary at SilverDocs, the largest documentary film festival in the United States.

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