Celebrate Chinese New Year with new contemporary-dance films by Xin Ji and Daniel Belton.
Xin Ji is a Chinese-born New Zealand–based dancer known for his work with Footnote Dance, Okareka Dance Company, Muscle Mouth, Movement of the Human, and New Zealand Dance Company. His dance film All Good If Not explores comfort with others, respectful connections between people.
Daniel Belton is a choreographer, dance-film maker, and co-founder and artistic director of Good Company Arts, who create live multi-media events. He is a 2015 Arts Foundation Laureate. His three black-and-white films—Astrolabe Whakaterenga (Pounamu), Taiao (Poipoi), and Infinite Octagon—were made especially for New Zealand's 2021 Chinese New Year Festival. They draw on Māori, Chinese, and Tibetan traditions, and combine ancient and electronic musics.
Belton’s Taiai (Poipoi) concerns a female tantric deity—a dakini (a ‘sky dancer’). Xiao Ke performs a traditional Tibetan dance, with sound from taonga pūoro artist Alistair Fraser and electronic composer Zi Han.
Presented with Asian Events Trust for the Chinese New Year Festival.