For more than forty years, choreographer and dancer Rudy Perez has invigorated the American dance scene. In the 1960s he was hailed as a postmodern pioneer at the groundbreaking Judson Dance Theater in New York. He garnered critical acclaim for his solos and for the choreography he created for his own dance ensembles, which often included unusual humorous elements.

This film follows the fascinating rehearsal of one of Perez’s signature dances, Countdown with the talented dancer Victor Quijada in Los Angeles. Throughout the rehearsal process, Rudy’s life and career are revealed through evocative home movies, archival videos of his body of work, and rare footage of New York in the ‘50s and ‘60s. After enduring an impoverished childhood, Perez left his Puerto Rican family at seventeen and began his dance training with the legendary New Dance Group, studying with Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, and Mary Anthony, among others. Included are interviews with dance critics, dancers, and collaborators who discuss Perez’s impact on the East and West Coast dance scenes.

"Countdown, Perez’s celebrated 1964 solo— and the title of an excellent documentary—is that magical amalgam of music, imagery, atmosphere and powerful movement-suggestion we call drama.”
‒Donna Perlmutter, LA City Beat