Through exhilarating dance and stories from the heart, feature-length documentary 'Virtuosi' reveals intimate and astounding portraits of eight New Zealand dance artists.
Created by award-winning choreographer and filmmaker Sue Healey, with music by New Zealand jazz legend Mike Nock, this film explores the drive to be an artist and the special nature of virtuosity in dance.
Following the paths of eight artists who all seemed destined for greatness — artists who all left their homeland in their youth to pursue careers around the world — the audience can see how they have each achieved remarkable things in the world of contemporary dance. Through this film, audiences have the rare chance to witness their artistry as they reflect on their careers.
Weaving ideas and dances across many cities and cultures including Berlin, London, New York, Sydney, Melbourne, Townsville and Brussels, 'Virtuosi reveals fascinating dance lineages and creative insights. Sue Healey is passionate about this project and shares her behind-the-scenes thoughts about the film.
Describe your film in five words?
Have a dream, do it.
Fill in the blanks...
This film will make you see dance in a different way and encourages you to be creative and notice creativity in all aspects of your life and is exactly an antidote to bad Hollywood cinema.
Who's in it?
Eight amazing dancers who were all born in small country towns in NZ, but took on the world, and are now leaders in contemporary dance in New York, Berlin, London, Brussels and here in Australia.
How did the project come about?
I wanted to make a feature film that portrayed the passion, persistence and sheer brilliance that dancers possess. They are the unsung heroes of our contemporary culture.
Tell us about your feelings about film and the impact it has on the world?
Film is an incredibly powerful medium. Ideas can be ingeniously shaped and disseminated across borders and around the world, in ways that were simply not possible before. We live in a screen culture. People are now hard-wired to 'read' visual languages in very sophisticated ways. Also, the technology to create a film is now affordable and readily available, and there are ways of getting your film screened without huge budgets and distribution deals. So anyone and everyone can make a film which is a remarkable thing. However it is vital to keep film rigorous (rather than just cheap entertainment), and to push innovation and the poetic nature of this extraordinary medium. I love to make films, every step of the process is exciting for me, from the shoot, to the edit, to the screening — a remarkable journey of collaborations and problem-solving.
What would you like audiences to say after they've seen the film?
“That was inspiring!”
Best career advice you've received?
Work hard, and then some more.
Do you have a history as a dancer or an affinity towards this artistic medium?
My mum was a dancer, I have always danced and can't imagine life without dancing. I make dances for many contexts and spaces, theatres and galleries, and I create films about dance. Movement is the thing. I am currently making a doco about a company of dancers aged 65 – 90 years who have shown me I can continue to create in this medium for the rest of my life. Dance is definitely not only for the young!
Fav moment in the film and why?
A scene near an airport with Ross, who lives out of a suitcase and stays on friends couches because he travels the world constantly. We shot his dance with low flying planes landing just above his head AND with him dancing on an abandoned couch that just happened to be sitting there. Fortuitous improvisation!
Anything else readers should know?
I am currently completing the film for 'The Red Shoes', an amazing new production by Expressions Dance Company at QPAC in July. The dancers are simply divine and the story compelling. The film is projected into the stage design that the dancers perform within. To have the film projected at such large scale with live performance and live music is, of course, a filmmaker's dream. I shot the film with my cinematographer Judd Overton and two local production assistants in several locations around Brisbane — a great opportunity for me to try some new film techniques using a MOVI (steadicam) and a quadbike! The results are exciting. Come and see!
'Virtuosi' will screen for one night only, June 26 at the Judith Wright Centre.
We also have three double passes to giveaway to see the film. For your chance to win, head to our competitions page.
