TAIAO (DANCE ART FILMS)
The TAIAO project brings together Māori, Chinese and Tibetan cultures in a new dance-art film series. A dakini (Tibetan: khandro མཁའ་འགྲོ་མ་) is a tantric deity described as a female embodiment of enlightened energy. In the Tibetan language, dakini is rendered Khandroma which means 'she who traverses the sky' or 'she who moves in space'. Sometimes the term is translated poetically as 'sky dancer' or 'sky walker'. Taiao in te reo Māori translates as Nature or Environment.
The Good Company Arts digital and design team with special guest Xiao Ke performing a traditional Tibetan Dance, are supported by renowned Taonga Pūoro artists. For the Lunar New Year we have collaborated with Zhou Zi Han’s electronic music to share a unique edition of the project: TAIAO-POIPOI
The TAIAO dance film series presents as a digital prayer for Mother Earth, Papatūānuku. This project was commissioned by the Asia New Zealand Foundation. Many thanks to all partners and collaborators.
"Taiao (Poipoi) integrates Māori, Chinese and Tibetan cultures in a new dance film concentrated on a captivating performance by Xiao Ke. The dancer performs a female embodiment of enlightened energy; a dakini, a ‘sky dancer’ or 'she who traverses the sky.' Xiao Ke performs a traditional Tibetan dance, accompanied by references to geography, and digital space(s), referring to sketching/drawing and tracing space and place.
Sound composed by electronic composer Zhou Zi Han with drone flute from Belton and spinning gourds from Al Fraser, accompany the sublime performance of Xiao Ke, in a phrase that brings attention to the very gestures that reference traditional and contemporary aesthetics. This highly resolved piece captures the dancers’ performance so intently. Foregrounding the performance, dancer Xiao Ke directs visual and aural accompaniment of sketches, traces and trails that layer digital elements so subtly partnering the pas de deux, between a replica of her dancing self, sketching, drawing and painting. The moments where her gesturing hands pull the viewer into and out of the cliff-side highlight specificity to the nuanced hand gestures; subtle and gentle amidst the landscape of the cliff and its alluring tone. Breathtakingly mesmerizing" Theatreview NZ
