Take One Press

Photo credits: Anka Garbowska

For Breton Tyner-Bryan, filmmaking isn’t just about telling stories.

It’s about bringing people together.

Whether she’s writing, directing, acting, choreographing or editing, every creative discipline serves the same purpose: building something that couldn’t exist without collaboration.

That philosophy sits at the heart of her feature directorial debut, Rhythm or Smooth.

Speaking with Take One Press, Tyner-Bryan reflected on the creative journey that led her to the project, the lifelong influence of dance, and why joy, not spectacle, is ultimately what she hopes audiences take away from her work.

“Dance has always been one of my favorite things,” she said.

Coming out of the isolation of the pandemic, Tyner-Bryan found herself searching for a story that celebrated connection, movement and laughter. Ballroom dance became the perfect setting, not simply because of its visual beauty, but because of what it represents.

“Dancing is for everybody,” she said. “If everybody was dancing, we’d have a happier planet.”

That belief shaped Rhythm or Smooth from its earliest stages.

Rather than treating ballroom dance as an exclusive world reserved for professionals, Tyner-Bryan wanted audiences to see it as an open invitation, a space where people of every age, background and experience could find belonging.

“I wanted this film to represent New York,” she explained, “but also have an intergenerational lens.”

That idea of connection extends far beyond dance.

Throughout the conversation, Tyner-Bryan repeatedly described filmmaking as the art of collaboration. Having worked as a writer, actor, choreographer, editor and creative producer, she sees every discipline as part of the same language.

“I think they’re all cumulative,” she said.

Instead of trying to master every role herself, she finds joy in surrounding herself with experts whose talents elevate the work beyond what she could create alone.

“I love working with people that are better than me.”

For Tyner-Bryan, directing isn’t about controlling every creative decision.

It’s about creating an environment where actors, cinematographers, composers, costume designers and editors feel empowered to contribute their best ideas.

“The whole point is to let other people fly at the highest level of their technical capability.”

That collaborative mindset also shaped her experience directing and acting in Rhythm or Smooth simultaneously.

While balancing both roles could have been overwhelming, Tyner-Bryan says performing actually became the place where she could briefly quiet her mind.

“It’s sort of like a little vacation,” she laughed.

Years spent performing as a dancer prepared her for that balancing act, allowing her to step effortlessly between directing a scene and becoming part of it.

As the conversation continued, one theme kept resurfacing: joy.

Not success.

Not awards.

Not legacy.

Joy.

When asked how she hopes audiences will remember her body of work years from now, her answer came without hesitation.

“God, she had fun.”

It’s a deceptively simple response, but one that reveals a great deal about the artist behind the camera.

Tyner-Bryan hopes people leave her films laughing, feeling seen, and reminded that art can connect people across generations, cultures and experiences.

“I think we’re all looking for camaraderie and commonality,” she said.

For her, filmmaking isn’t simply another creative outlet.

It’s a gathering place.

A conversation.

A dance.

And above all, an invitation to experience a little more joy together.