Larry from Gary (2020)

A dedicated dance teacher continues inspiring his current and former students even after the arts high school in Gary, Indiana where he's taught for decades is shut down by the state. Featuring original choreography by Larry performed in vivid locations throughout Gary by some of his best students - including one who went on to study at The Juilliard School and another who is now a principal dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Larry from Gary celebrates how art drives the human spirit by highlighting the extraordinary legacy of one special public school program with a teacher who changed peoples' lives forever. By seeing a person who's devoted his life to teaching have to leave his position because of the financial crisis, Larry from Gary also humanizes the challenges facing arts education, especially in underprivileged cities. And although it could be another sad film about the dissolution and disenfranchisement of at-risk people of color (no matter how painful and true those stories are), Larry from Gary instead focuses on the beautiful ways art and education allow communities filled with unsung heroes to grow and thrive despite difficult circumstances.