The Hourglass

Knowbox dance
7 days ago
3 min read

kNOwBOX dance Film Festival 2025

Dallas Feature Spotlight

The Hourglass (2025)

Nicolina Lawson, Artistic Director of Ballet North Texas

Samuel Jones, Film Director

Mackenzie Jones, Choreographer

📍 USA ⏱ 22:44 minutes

The Hourglass is a live dance and film work that uses sand to embody the passage of time and the delicate, shifting nature of human connection and identity.

The Hourglass Trailer

Description

Hourglass is a work that explores the passage of time and the fragility of human connection. Using sand as a central element—both grounding and ephemeral—it visualizes how time shapes our relationships and identities, slipping through our fingers even as we try to hold on.

Meet The Makers

Meet the Maker: Mackenzie Jones & Samuel Jones share about The Hourglass

I hope to remind the audience that while time is fleeting and uncontrollable, the connections we make and the presence we bring to each moment are what give it meaning.

Our theme this year is "Bodies in Motion: A Dance Film Celebration" to move beyond borders and dance through time. Telling stories only the body can speak. How do you think your film relates to this theme?

My film embodies Bodies in Motion by using dance to express the emotional weight of time—how it shapes us, connects us, and slips away beyond our control. Through movement, sand, and visual storytelling, it tells a story only the body can speak: one of impermanence, presence, and human connection across time.

Biographies

Nicolina Lawson is the Founder and Artistic Director of Ballet North Texas, the premier ballet company of Dallas. Since establishing BNT in 2017, she has premiered over 20 original ballets and built a dynamic repertoire spanning classical, neo-classical, and contemporary works.

Lawson's professional background includes principal roles in The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, and Swan Lake, and collaborations with acclaimed choreographers including George Balanchine, Donald Byrd, Alonzo King, and Mark Morris. Her training encompasses the Royal Academy of Dance, Vaganova, Cecchetti, Balanchine, and modern techniques such as Graham, Horton, and Limón.

She also founded North Texas Conservatory to train the next generation of professional dancers, continuing her commitment to education and excellence. Lawson holds dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Business Economics and Marketing and is the owner of Nicolina Dancewear & Design, which costumes all BNT productions.

Sam Jones is a company member with Ballet North Texas and has built an extensive career performing with some of the country’s leading ballet companies, including Joffrey Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, and Oklahoma City Ballet. His repertoire spans classical and contemporary works, with featured roles in Swan Lake, La Sylphide, The Nutcracker, The Little Mermaid, and ALICE (in wonderland). He has worked with renowned choreographers such as Lar Lubovitch, Val Caniparoli, Adam Hougland, Trey McIntyre, Cayetano Soto, and Septime Webre.

Originally from South Bend, Indiana, Jones trained under Alexei Kremnev and Anna Reznik at Southold Dance Center before earning a full scholarship to the inaugural Joffrey Ballet Trainee Program in Chicago. While there, he performed in company productions including Othello. He later danced five seasons with Cincinnati Ballet, and joined Oklahoma City Ballet in 2017, performing both classical and original works.

Jones earned his degree summa cum laude from the University of Cincinnati while dancing professionally. In recent years, he has expanded his creative practice into filmmaking, focusing on visual storytelling through the lens of dance.