About the Filmmaker

Serene Meshel-Dillman

New York native Serene Meshel-Dillman began her dancing career at the School of American Ballet. Growing up in the shadow of George Balanchine, Serene well knows the heartaches and challenges of “Getting to The Nutcracker.”

After studying at Melissa Hayden’s and the Alvin Ailey School, Serene’s formal dance training transitioned gracefully into the Main Street Dance Theater where she earned her degree at the University of Vermont.

A brief stint in the world of New York City advertising prompted a change in both her career and her location, as her love of the visual medium took her from the East Coast to the West. Her professional acumen combined with her artistic eye found her rising rapidly in the world of commercial production, but she never forgot her very first love of the ballet. And after 20 years of producing commercials and photographing people, crafting a documentary was a natural progression in her dynamic career trajectory.

Through the course of this transition, Serene found the process of both producing and directing a feature-length documentary a unique test of skills both organizational and artistic. Her unfailing capacity to “never take no for an answer” served her well. Ultimately, Serene loved the challenge, the people that she met and influenced and the reward of seeing the story brought to life. She is already working on her next film project and continues to dance as much as humanly possible.