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 led by Te Tumu Toi New Zealand Arts Laureate Daniel Belton with special guest Xiao Ke performing a traditional Tibetan Dance, are supported by renowned Taonga Pūoro artists. For Lunar New Year 2021 we collaborated with Shanghai based electronic music composer Zhou Zi Han to deliver the multi-award winning TAIAO-POIPOI
The TAIAO dance film series presents as a digital prayer for Mother Earth, Papatūānuku. This project was commissioned by the IN TOUCH Digital Art Programme of the Asia New Zealand Foundation Te Whītau Tūhono. Ngā mihi maioha, xièxiè, thu-chi che all our 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
Best Experimental Film Masters of Cinema Rome* Best Production Design New York International Women Festival* Best Art Music Video International Sound Future Awards New York* Best Visual Effects LNDN Music Video Awards* Best Dance Film Roma Short Film Festival* Best Dance Film New York Tri-State International Film Festival* Best Dance Film Seoul International Short Film Festival* Best Art Music Video Euro Video Song Awards* Honorable Mention Emerald Peacock Berlin* Honorable Mention International Music Video Awards Budapest* Honorable Mention Rome Music Video Awards* Honorable Mention Hercules International Film Festival Sevilla* Honorable Mention Tokyo International Short Film Festival*
TAIAO (Dance Art Film Series) KARAKIA and KAPOWAI editions commissioned by the Asia New Zealand Foundation Te Whītau Tūhono IN TOUCH initiative for web release. TAIAO POIPOI edition Official Cinema Premiere City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi for Chinese New Year Festival Wellington 2021. Official Semi and Finalist Selections at SENSEI FilmFest Tokyo, Japan International Film Festival, ARFF Paris International Awards, Accord Cine-Fest Mumbai, San Francisco Indie Short Festival, Cairo Indie Short Festival, Berlin Shorts Festival, Niagara Falls International Short Festival, Calgary Independent Film Festival, Moving Body Festival Bulgaria, Hong Kong Indie Film Festival, Kansas Arthouse Film Festival, Vancouver Independent Film Festival, Toronto Independent Film Festival of Cift, Stockholm Short Film Festival, Munich Music Video Awards, Fox International Film Festival, Halo International Film Festival, Eternal International Film Festival Florence, International Music Video Awards London (Honorable Mention), New York International Women Festival (Award Winner), Brno Film Festival, Dubai Indie Film Festival, Rotterdam Independent Film Festival, Rome Music Video Awards (Honorable Mention), Paris Women Festival of Ontario, Paris International Short Festival, Vienna Indie Short Film Festival, Emerald Peacock Festival St Petersburg (Honorable Mention), Hercules International Film Festival Sevilla (Honorable Mention), Tokyo International Short Film Festival (Honorable Mention), Amsterdam FIIFF, Phoenix Shorts, New Jersey Short Awards, Palm Springs Movie Awards, Sacramento World Film Festival, International Cosmopolitan Film Festival of Tokyo, Tokyo Shorts Festival, Japan International Film Festival, Stockholm Gold Film Awards // SGAIFF Selection, Liber Films International Festival Athens, Eternal International Film Festival Florence, Geneve Awards Nominee, Nocturna Festival New York Nominee, Seoul International Short Film Festival, Sofia International Film Festival, Sydney World Festival, Roma Short Film Festival. Semi-Finalist Selection FilmHaus Berlin: Best Dance/Poetic Film, Best Experimental Film, Best New Media, Best Editing. Semi-Finalist YETI Filmfest Reykjavík. Finalist Selection FilmHaus Berlin: Best Production Design/Art Direction, Best Costume Design. Winner Best Dance Film Roma Short Film Festival, International Sound Future Awards New York (Award Winner), International Sound Music Video Awards Prague, LNDN Music Video Awards Best Visual Effects, Winner Best Experimental Film Masters of Cinema Rome, Winner Best Dance Film New York Tri-State International Film Festival, Winner Best Dance Film Seoul International Short Film Festival; Winner Best Art Music Video Euro Video Song Awards.
