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STACK
:
Have you been pleased with the
way the film has been received in other
countries?
TAMMY DAVIS:
I think it just goes
to show that we can make these sort
of positive, uplifting genre films. And I
think what we have proven is that we can
diversify and make lots of different films
– we can make dramas, we can make
comedies, we can make dance films…
we can make any films we like. We should
be making films about David Tua’s boxing
career and Valerie Adams… this really
opens up the door. Whatever kind of genre
of film you want to make, we can do it.
The film hasn’t been released in the US
yet, but have you had any feedback from
Americans?
I think there is a bit of a buzz
around it. I mean, Parris [Goebel, the
film’s internationally renowned Kiwi
choreographer] is doing amazing things in
America and if that is anything to go by, as
soon as they know that she was part of it,
people are going to rush to see it.
There are basic conventions that you
need to follow with hip hop dance
movies, but presumably you also
wanted to give it a uniquely Kiwi
flavour. How did you set about doing
that?
The film is about a young Maori boy
who is struggling to fulfill his dreams and
the obstacles that are put in front of him.
I think that makes it unique. But it’s also
an international film; we all have to make
those decisions at some point in our life.
We all go through that point when we
question ourselves about what we want
to do and then have to find the belief and
faced when it came to
shooting – was it staging
and shooting the dance
sequences?
You just have to let
people do their job and
Parris was amazing. It all
starts from the dance: she
choreographs it, we watch
it and then we say ‘OK, this
is the best way to do it’. And
we wanted the choreography to shine.
What you see in those final sequences… it
is edited, but we wanted everyone to see
the dancing and highlight how good our
dance community is. We wanted to show
them that there are no tricks – this is our
kids dancing and this is how good they
are. Other people and dancers around the
world will be watching them and say ‘hey
man, that’s awesome’.
How about yourself – did you have any
dance moves of your own you could
share?
No, man – well, maybe after
a few beers…I have got a little
cameo as an undercover cop but
that is as far as it got!
the courage to chase those
dreams. In regards to the
dance genre, I hope what
we have done has kind of
reinvigorated it. We’ve actually
gone back to the bones of it
and said “OK, what is it about
this genre that we really like?”
So it’s about having really
good dance moves, but also
telling a good story; people
want to be entertained but they also want
to feel something and want to leave the film
having learned something.
What’s your favourite hip hop dance
movie?
Born to Dance
– the film we made! No,
I think the early ones like
Step Up
1 and 2
were really good films. I think the later films
were just boring. But
Stomp the Yard
was a
good one,
Bring It On
…The first and second
ones are usually the best: by the time you
get to the sixth one or whatever, it’s usually
70 per cent dance and 30 per cent
story and no-one gives a sh*t.
What was the biggest
directorial challenge you
stack.net.nz1 2
•
Born to Dance
is out now on
DVD & Blu-ray