Gotta Get Up And Dance
Director: Jenny Hersch
Crew:Song Writer: Aline Shader. Director/Producer: Jenny Hersch. Vocals: Asher Saab, Luz Velázquez. Piano: Dan Nimmer. Animator / Background Painter: Vanessa Thian, Skylar King. Sound Engineer: Christopher Gold. Assistant Sound Engineer: Tiger Diep. Mix Engineer: Alex Leiva.
Email:hello@songschildrensing.com
Synopsis
Do you dream about dancing? Join ILO and BO as they dance their way through the morning, filling their world with rhythm, color and song!
Trailer
About the director
Jenny Hersch is a bass player and producer of short films, concerts and musicals. She developed the website “Songs Children Sing” to honor and celebrate the musical legacy of her mother, Aline Shader (1936 - 2002), a beloved educator, director, choreographer and composer.
Filmmaker's note
No conflict. No obstacles. Pure joy.
With a lilting melody, jazzy rhythms and catchy lyrics, sung by talented teens Asher Saab and Luz Velázquez, with Dan Nimmer on piano, GOTTA GET UP AND DANCE is the second in a series of music videos animated by Vanessa Thian and Skylar King of Strawberry Mountain Studio - the first was I LOVE BOOKS. This delightful and dedicated pair immediately understood the motivation behind sharing Aline’s songs visually, utilizing their unique artistic style and sensibility. Featuring ILO, BO and CHIRPY, the message is clear: friendship, goodwill and harmony rule the day.
Storytelling with animation allows these endearing characters to live their dreams, to literally take flight, turning their aspirations into reality. What each can do alone is made better together. An homage to a simpler time, there is plenty of space, a gentle pace and a pleasing color palette.
The songwriter, my mother, Aline Shader (1936-2002), grew up in the Midwest, dancing, acting and writing poetry. Eager, she moved to New York City and after a short stint with a Broadway touring company, she became a beloved public school drama teacher, director, choreographer and composer in Newton, Massachusetts. She wrote curriculum-based musicals for her elementary school students before "Integrated Arts" was a thing. For those students, now 35-70 years old, Aline’s songs were part of the soundtrack of their lives. Some consider her a mentor, many became performing artists, and many more sing her songs today, only now realizing that they were written especially for them.
I make every effort to honor and celebrate my mother’s musical legacy. Without it, these songs could easily disappear. What began as an attempt to archive Aline’s 200+ songs and 20+ musicals became “Songs Children Sing,” a free online resource for educators, families and community organizations that has drawn interest from music teachers in Brazil, Germany, Finland and across the US (even Hawaii!). With so much content to share, next came a live-action music video, SHELLS, filmed on a beach on Martha’s Vineyard, producing concerts, producing musicals, a 12-song studio recording at Jazz at Lincoln Center in NYC and now animation.
My mom would have gotten a kick out of this.