Nel Shelby Productions

Nel Shelby Productions A team of dance videographers who are dancers themselves!! Dance Videography, Dance Films, Livestream Production, and more!

Let’s collaborate ↓
http://nelshelby.com/

Didn't make it to the world premiere last night? You can still see "The Essence of Us: A Cuban Story"!Come meet the arti...
09/20/2026

Didn't make it to the world premiere last night? You can still see "The Essence of Us: A Cuban Story"!
Come meet the artists of Malpaso Dance Company, spend some time with Pedro Ruiz and the creative process behind his new work, and see the people and stories that made this film what it is.

Streaming starts TODAY at 12pm EST for $20 via 92NY.

Get access →

📸 Christopher Duggan

09/16/2026

While making "The Essence of Us," I kept coming back to something said:

“In the middle of all this chaos that we’re living through — not only in Cuba, but in the world — it is only our human essence that can truly perhaps give us that hope, that possibility of understanding each other.”

That idea became part of the heart of this film for us.

Because ultimately, this isn't just a film about dance or about Cuba. It’s about people coming together to create, to listen, to connect, and to understand one another.

And we could all use more of that right now.

📆 Watch: "The Essence of Us: A Cuban Story" at on September 19 at 7pm or stream it for $20 starting September 20.

Check out more here:
https://www.nelshelby.com/why-we-made-the-essence-of-us-cuban-dance-documentary/

We went to Cuba because the artists couldn’t come to New York.So instead, we went to them.We spent time with the dancers...
09/14/2026

We went to Cuba because the artists couldn’t come to New York.

So instead, we went to them.

We spent time with the dancers, sat in on rehearsals, listened to their stories, watched them create, and got to know the people behind the work.

There were difficult realities all around us. But there was also so much humanity.

Friendship. Humor. Determination. Creativity. And an incredible love for dance.

Those are the things we wanted to bring back with us.

"The Essence of Us: A Cuban Story" is our way of sharing a little piece of what we experienced with the artists of and the people who welcomed us into their world.

I can't wait for you to see it!!!

📆 Watch the World Premiere at on September 19 at 7pm or stream it for $20 starting September 20.

Get tickets → https://shorturl.at/tqX2Z

📸 Christopher Duggan

09/11/2026

I knew this story mattered when I saw them dance. 

I didn’t suddenly understand everything about Cuba, and I certainly hadn’t figured out exactly what the film was going to be yet. 

But I saw these artists doing what artists do: creating, connecting, communicating, and showing up for their work. 

That stayed with me throughout the making of “The Essence of Us.” 

The circumstances around these artists matter, but they aren’t the whole story. 

The artists are the story.
📆 Watch the World Premiere of our newest film featuring Malpaso Dance Company, “The Essence of Us: A Cuban Story”, at The 92nd Street Y, New York on September 19 at 7pm. 
Read more & get tickets at the link in bio. 🔗

🎥 The 92nd Street Y, New York
Malpaso Dance Company
Nel Shelby Productions
Nel Shelby
Ashli Bickford
Pedro Ruiz
Fernando Benet Ortiz
Rafael Vega Rivera
Vedado Films | Production Services in Cuba
Klaudia Gómez
Melisa Fundora
Majel Reyes
Christopher Duggan
ALMA | String Quartet Official

TheEssenceOfUs

09/10/2026

A message from Nel about Table of Silence: Project 9/11:

This Friday at 8 AM at Lincoln Center we will be livestreaming the 16th annual Table Of Silence: Project 9/11 on the 25th anniversary of 2001 attacks. Nel and the rest of the NSP team are so honored to capture this call to peace created by Jacqulyn Buglisi in 2011 year after year to share with the world. We hope you will join us on the livestream or live and in person.

We were making a Spanish-language film without speaking Spanish ourselves, so yes, there was a lot of listening, transla...
09/07/2026

We were making a Spanish-language film without speaking Spanish ourselves, so yes, there was a lot of listening, translating, asking questions, and, most importantly, trusting the people around us.
But there was also dance. 🥰

Dance gave us another way to understand each other.

We could feel the energy in the room before understanding every word being said.

That reminded us of something we've always believed about dance: it speaks.

Dance connects us all. It gives us a way to communicate, even when we don't share the same language.

That's part of what we found in making "The Essence of Us."

📆 Watch the World Premiere of our newest film featuring Malpaso Dance Company, "The Essence of Us: A Cuban Story", at 92NY on September 19 at 7pm.

Read more & get tickets → https://shorturl.at/tqX2Z

📸 Christopher Duggan

How do you tell the truth about difficult circumstances without allowing those circumstances to become the whole story?T...
08/27/2026

How do you tell the truth about difficult circumstances without allowing those circumstances to become the whole story?

That was something we thought about a lot while making "The Essence of Us".

From the beginning, we knew that we did not want to sensationalize the story of Cuba.

Our Cuban collaborators became our eyes and ears to the story. They educated me and my team, helped us understand the culture, and challenged us to listen more closely. Their perspectives became an important part of how the story took shape.

The challenges are real, and they are part of the story. But they aren't the only story. We also saw artists creating, collaborating, working, laughing, loving, and finding moments of joy.

We wanted the film to hold all of those things at once.
📆 Watch the World Premiere of our newest film featuring Malpaso Dance Company, "The Essence of Us: A Cuban Story", at 92NY on September 19 at 7pm.

Get tickets → https://shorturl.at/tqX2Z

📸 Christopher Duggan

08/25/2026

When we went to Cuba, we knew there was a story to tell. We also knew we had to be careful about *how* we told it.
The very first words out of Fernando Sáez, Executive Director of Malpaso Dance Company, were that we didn't want to sensationalize the story of Cuba.

Our Cuban collaborators became our eyes and ears. They educated us, helped us understand the culture, and gave us a much more complete picture of the people and artists we were documenting.

Yes, there are challenges. But that isn't the whole story.

There is also dance. There is joy. There is friendship, creativity, humor, work, love, and the determination to keep going.

We wanted to make a film that held all of that... humanity beyond the narrative.

📆 Watch the World Premiere of our newest film "The Essence of Us: A Cuban Story" at 92NY on September 19 at 7pm.

Get tickets → https://shorturl.at/tqX2Z

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