Did you go and see The Piano: The Ballet?
If not, what were you thinking? Well, now you can stop beating yourself up about it, because you have another chance to see Hazel, this time in the movie about the ballet.
'The Heart Dances' is the work of director and producer Rebecca Tansley, and it opens in 25 cinemas around New Zealand from 4 April, including Bridgeway Cinemas in Northcote, Monterey in Howick, the Lido in Greenlane and Rialto in Newmarket.
If Rebecca is able to successfully transfer her passion for the project onto the screen (spoiler alert - she has, according to those who’ve seen advance screenings), then the movie is sure to be a hit.
“It was such a privilege to be in the studio every day, so close to all the action,” she said. “If we go to see dance, we’re used to seeing it up on the stage, from our seats in the theatre. But to be able to see if from all angles, up close, and hear the breathing, and the pain, and see all the hard work that goes into it... it was amazing and I’m hoping we’ve captured some of that.”
One of Rebecca’s favourite scenes is the audition for the role for the main character’s daughter, Flora, in which the audience feels the tension almost as much as the dancers.
“I loved filming that scene,” recalls Rebecca. “You could feel all the hopes and dreams of the budding ballerinas in the audition. There were so many children and my focus was on a million things at once. There were multiple rooms to cover so I was running around like a mad thing. Once Hazel was selected as one of three who would learn the role of Flora, she instantly shone. She is calm, collected and very talented. I am sure she will be a star!”
Unlike many documentaries, 'The Heart Dances' is more than a fly-on-the-wall movie. Rebecca wanted her audience to be more immersed, more emotionally involved in the events unfolding before them, to be 'in' the room rather than simply observing.
To achieve that, among other things, she used two cameras. “I knew I would have very little control over what we were shooting, and that editing dance sequences with synch sound over one take would be impossible unless we had two-camera coverage,” she explains. “And because the subject is dance, it seemed appropriate to have a lot of movement in the camera work. So I did a lot of planning with the director of photography, Simon Raby, and we decided to shoot on two Sony cameras, except for the final performance, when we used five.”
So what gave Rebecca the idea to make the movie? “An insider told me the RNZB were planning to stage the ballet and I immediately thought it would make for a good documentary,” she said. “Jane Campion’s film The Piano was overwhelming, an incredible piece of work, and was literally life-changing for me, and I was interested in how that story would be adapted for dance. Plus I had a hunch that the politics of re-originating what had already been created in Europe by Europeans (the famous Bubenicek brothers originated the ballet in Germany as a short ballet) with and for New Zealanders would be worth exploring.”
Though the movie features some music from the ballet itself, Rebecca wanted it to have its own identity, so she filmed specific sequences with contemporary Kiwi tracks in mind, including songs from Bic Runga, Aldous Harding and Minuit, as well as music composed and performed by Flavio Villani, a pianist who was the subject of Rebecca’s first film.
Talking to Rebecca, it’s clear that she had as much fun making the film as we’ll have seeing it. Particular highlights include when she and Simon Raby filmed on a waka with Te Aputa Tira Hoe Waka Ama Club to get some shots of the waka prow and hoe moving through the water - “an incredible experience” - and filming on the stage of the Dresden Opera House, with all the set dressing going on around them.
But probably the biggest moment for Rebecca was when the film premiered at the New Zealand International Film Festival and Jane Campion (director of the movie that so influenced Rebecca all those years ago, the movie without which her movie wouldn’t be) came to see it.
“All the people I got to meet making this film made it so worthwhile, it’s been an extraordinary privilege,” said Rebecca.
“I think that shows in the finished product.” (BILL HARRIS)