A spellbinding array of extraordinary dance films by Kiwi expat Sue Healey is currently on exhibition as part of the 2010 Tempo Dance Festival. Seven articulately crafted films blend choreography and technology and Healey utilises time, space, form and motion in a myriad of dimensions that intrigue and capture the imagination.

Motion, text and animation intermingle as we see a visually arresting double projected installation on screen in Reading the Body (2009). Based on the poem “Reading the Body” by Jenny Bornholdt, the human form moves within the space as we see text from Bornholdt’s poem fade in and out to the dancer’s synchronous movements. An intricate web of red threads seep across the surface, skeletal limbs appear and hang suspended as the dancer envelopes the animated moving forms.  The body jumps, twists, falls and lies still, the heart beats, blood courses through veins and anatomical images merge with the dancer seamlessly.

Will Time Tell? (2006) reveals a series of rapidly changing images and settings in which time and space is juxtaposed. Set in Japan, dancer Shona Erskine is perceptibly evident in a brightly coloured red coat amidst the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. Erskine switches from one setting to another as tourist and curious spectator and her presence is disconnected. We also see exquisite moments of warmth and quirky connections with others as time is manipulated and passes by. Fine Line (2003) illustrates a marked enclosure in which dancers enter and exit. A communicative physicality is portrayed between the dancers as they move with sharp distinctive pose within the space.

Hand gestures, flickering lights, wallpaper, billowing smoke, and the dancer’s face appears close by. We see a repetition of actions as images cut between three women in their own space and time in Three Times (2005). Once in a Blue Moon (2006) presents a beautifully crafted film in which three dancers and their mothers share movement, memories and affection on the screen. The Ritual Room (2007) provides an up close and personal view in the art of traditional Japanese dress. Three screens display the same images yet at separate intervals in which a young girl is dressed in a kimono by the Japanese elder. When this is complete the image fades and a Japanese girl appears on screen. Her face is painted in traditional Japanese custom. As the three screens repeat their actions at varying speeds the ritualistic process is enchanting.

Within the exhibition space three suspended layers of gauze hang from the ceiling and four films placed side by side make up The Door, the Chair, the Bed and the Stair (2010). The films shimmer across their surface and projects a striking image.

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