Ad Parnassum Purapurawhetū

AOTEAROA NZ | Good Company Arts

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Daniel Belton and Good Company Arts present their internationally award-winning dance film Ad Parnassum — Purapurawhetū, recreated for immersive VR and full dome transmission. The heart of this project draws inspiration from Māori, Mediterranean and European cultures, as well as paying homage to Paul Klee's painting Ad Parnassum through digital augmentations of Mount Parnassus as a temple or wharenui.

Director Daniel Belton’s film edit and design re-choreographs the prerecorded dance to synchronise with Gillian Whitehead's music that steers the narrative through nine interconnecting dance solos linking to Delphi and the Muses of Antiquity.

The film opens with dancer Jahra Wasasala, centipedes partnering mountain ranges, dragonflies playing, emerging as Flower of Life blueprints. Mount Parnassus’ linear form resonates with ancient and futuristic dimensions, representing a hierarchical world that is superseded and rebalanced through new leadership from women.