You Win Some and You Lose Some – That’s Life

By Francesca Horsley

Daniel Belton had just 24 hours notice to travel to the Canary Islands to receive his international film award. Needless to say flying time prevented him from celebrating his award on Spanish soil – but back home in
Dunedin the rejoicing was just as jubilant. Daniel and film maker Jac Grenfell took the top prize in the Best Art Video category at the International Video and Multimedia Festival, Canariasmediafest 2004 for the film Figure[s] of Speech.

The result of his New Zealand Choreographic Residency at Otago University last year, Figure[s] of Speech was
completed in April this year, and enthusiastically received at the 2004 New Zealand International Film Festival.
Daniel says “We have had amazing responses from all sorts of people, different backgrounds, not often anything to do with dance, even though it’s quite an abstract work.”

But this positive response did not prepare him for winning top prize at a prestigious film festival. “The anariasmediafest 2004 is a huge, biennial festival, covering multi media and video. Art videos are one of the nine categories, and the winner of this category takes the premier prize. There were over four hundred entries, representing thirty two different countries. The ten judges from Europe had CV’s like encyclopaedias – and we won
the top prize!”

“It was a real lift for all of us involved. It is not easy working in this area and I’m reliant on piecemeal funding largely from Creative New Zealand, with some from the private sector and sponsorship. This kind of recognition really helps. It is also an affirmation for all the people involved.”

He describes the film “as a journey in black and white in the universe of body language. The energy of our body expresses itself through ‘the smallest movement of a finger, the breath, the heart pulsing’ and dance becomes a complex and dense language. He reminds us that “dance is regarded as the oldest of the arts, requiring only the body as its instrument. Just as the child learns to gesture and to walk before speaking, so is it believed that communication began in the earliest times through movement.”

Daniel has been making films since 1997, and has made 17 to date. He had a previous film, Henge, selected by Canariasmediafest two years ago, but it didn’t reach the competition section. His latest, Game, has just been sent off to a number of international festivals. “I think it is the strongest we have made yet. And it is not really a dance film; it’s more human kinetics and story telling through movement. It’s very comic and quirky and I think that will have wide appeal - but we will see how that goes. A lot of the festivals receive thousands of international entries. You just send your little entry off and cross your fingers. Sometimes I don’t hear back from them.”

In Figure[s] of Speech, Daniel was involved in every aspect of the project. “I used to bring in specific editors and still do, but what I have really enjoyed in recent years is learning those skills myself. So from a choreographer/dancer angle, I am actually cutting celluloid and editing the DV.”

“Working as a choreographer/dancer in that medium brings a whole other quality. I think that why Figure[s] of Speech is so strong, it’s like a solo voice in that regard. Jac Grenfell has done a huge amount too, and the camera work was mostly his.”

All of Daniel’s films are the result of collaboration and he works with a number of Otago free-lance artists. “They are very motivated people, and are great to work with.”

Daniel was also keen to acknowledge his family who support his work and life. He dances in all of his films. “I am passionate about dance – I love it – I’ve moved and danced since I was ten and performed over the years on many stages and in many countries. As I get older I feel a lot calmer about it and no longer feel the hunger or the need to be out there expressing myself in some profound way. Now I’m making films more than performing, and it may be partly this that distances me more, gives me a different perspective.”

The $7000 prize money will buy some high-end film gear – “which is great because we couldn’t have done this without the prize. We’re going to get everyone together and drink some wine – and celebrate here quietly in Dunedin.”

For a detailed discussion with Daniel on the framework and ideas behind the work see an interview with the Spanish media outlet CANARIASMEDIAFEST 2004 republished in the dance section of The Big Idea web site at http://www.thebigidea.co.nz

In his famous song “That's Life” Frank Sinatra says “That's life, that's what all the people say. You're riding high in April, shot down in May…”

These sentiments could ring a bell with Daniel – except the timing is opposite. Just days before winning the Spanish film award he was informed by the artistic director of the Royal New Zealand Ballet, Gary Harris, that the company was dropping his new work “The Happy Prince” from the 2005 February/March Tutus on Tour triple bill programme.

The work premiered at the Otago Festival of the Arts in October, and its one day season was well received. With costumes by Dunedin clothing designer Tanya Carlson and set by Daniel, it was promoted as “an enchanting translation of the Oscar Wilde fairytale”. But like the story’s little swallow who perishes from the winter cold while
delivering gold leaf the poor, Daniel fears the ballet may suffer the same fate.

His choice of music, String Quartet no. 1 by contemporary British composer Gavin Bryars was judged too demanding for country audiences. In a statement Gary said "We enjoyed the process of working with Daniel. His choreography is inventive and flows beautifully. The work, as good as it is, is accompanied by music that's very, very demanding. It was something Daniel and I talked about from day one. We still want to present The Happy Prince to a wider audience; unfortunately we won't have time to do this with new music for Tutus on Tour."

The Tutus on Tour travels to 49 centres, many of them rural. Daniel says “I am very disappointed that the rest of the country will not have the chance now to the work which was so well received in Dunedin. I do not understand the
logic of pulling it out of the RNZB Tutus tour. I gave my word to Gary that I would rework the piece to new music if he really wanted me to. I was prepared to do that.”

“People have stopped me in the street to say how much they loved the work. Sure it won't have been everyone’s cup of tea - but hey -at the end of the day I know I made a corker piece. Thankfully my colleague Jac Grenfell recorded the premiere so at least we have a good film record of it”.

The ballet has been replaced another New Zealand work by RNZB Ballet Mistress Turid Revfeim, Si Supieras, which also premiered at the Otago Festival.

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