If you think dance films are merely recordings of dance performances, Christopher Lau Pak-kei invites you to check out the Jumping Frames dance video festival.
'Dance video is an independent art form that sits in the media art category,' says the festival curator. 'It is a merger of dance and video art. It's not only a dance performance, but it's also about body movement, camerawork, aesthetics and focusing.'
He says the festival's name reflects the symbiosis of the two art forms. 'We want to have a name that shows the dynamism of body movement while reflecting a connection to screen art,' he says.
Jumping Frames 2008, organised by the City Contemporary Dance Company (CCDC) and Emergency Lab artist collective, will open with Coffee with Pina. Directed by Israeli video artist Lee Yanor, the 57-minute video offers a rare, intimate look into the world of German contemporary dance master Pina Bausch, with scenes from cafe conversations to dance rehearsals. 'We hope Coffee with Pina will give a good introduction to what a dance film can be,' Lau says.
The biannual festival began as a programme within Le French May in 2004, and two years later it was held as part of the Hong Kong Dance Festival. 'Only this year did it become an independent festival,' Lau says.
The festival's Local Focus programme will feature three works commissioned from local artists. CCDC resident choreographer Helen Lai Hoi-ning and dancer-turned-filmmaker Terry Chan Ting-on collaborated to make A Dance Film on Xing Liang, starring the eponymous CCDC lead dancer.
Video artist Maurice Lai Yu-man and choreographer Noel Pong Chi-kwan joined forces to remake Rainy Days and Mondays, which premiered in 2006 as a dance video. The film, which features CCDC artistic director Willy Tsao Sing-yuen's debut screen appearance, depicts the Monday morning feeling in an office inhabited by a freaky boss and his fussy staff.
