Green Room Awards 2011

Here I go, crashing the Green Room Awards again with my opinions. Only on dance mind you - these are my picks from the 2011 nominations.
BETTY POUNDER AWARD FOR CHOREOGRAPHY
My Pick: Jo Lloyd, Future Perfect 
Against Assembly, Future Perfect was a far more interesting and original effort.


DESIGN
My pick: They were all fabulous! I can't choose a winner or loser amongst them.
The nominees are:

• Benjamin Cisterne (Lighting) and Byron Perry in collaboration with Ben Cobham (Bluebottle 3) (Set), Double Think (Byron Perry / Arts House / Force Majeure in association with Melbourne Festival) Adam Gardnir (Set), Happy as Larry (Arts House / Shaun Parker & Company)

• Reuben Margolin (Kinetic Sculpture), Connected (Chunky Move / Malthouse Theatre)

• Toni Maticevski (Costumes), Richard Nylon (Millinery), Matthew Bird (Nest Design & Backdrop), Gavin Brown (Curtain Design) & Benjamin Cisterne (Lighting), Aviary (Phillip Adams BalletLab in association with Melbourne Festival)

• Jacob Nash (Set), Belong (Bangarra Dance Theatre)

SOUND AND MUSIC COMPOSITION AND/OR PERFORMANCE
My pick: Robin Fox & Oren Ambarchi (Composition), Connected (Chunky Move)
I loved the sound for Connected, to my ears it was original andperfectly matched to the onstage action.


MALE DANCER
My picks: Luke George and Chengwu Guo 
These two men are totally different artists, yet each deserves to win for their outstanding efforts. Luke George is an anchoring presence onstage with Balletlab, courageously going where others fear to tread. Chengwu is an incredible physical talent, and showed some great character skills in Graeme Murphy's Romeo and Juliet.


FEMALE DANCER
My picks: Madeleine Eastoe and Kirsty Martin
Two of the best characterisations I've seen in ballet for a long time, totally absorbing and utterly believable, and paired with great dancing to boot. I can't separate them, they're both winners!


ENSEMBLE
My pick: Bangarra Dance Theatre - Belong
I didn't see Becky, Jodi & John (Dance Massive fatigue), and I didn't think Concerto (Australian Ballet) was danced particularly well on the night I saw it. Bangarra were on the final leg of a national tour of Belong by the time I saw it performed in Melbourne, which ensured a flawless ensemble performance, so it has to go to them I reckon.


CONCEPT AND REALISATION
My pick: I Could Pretend the Sky is Water (Trevor Patrick in association with Arts House)
Quite amazing - bemusing, very Australian, very original. Unlike anything else I've seen recently, kept me guessing right til the last moments. A treasure.

Tower Suites

Ros Warby, photo by Calista Lyon

Tower Suites
Conceived and Directed by Ros Warby
Arts House, North Melbourne Town Hall
26 February, 2012


Crumbling, toppling. Hillsides crowned by ancient ruins. A glance, a curled fingertip. The liquid architecture of looping vocals and cello.
Three women, standing tall. Three women mirrored and enlarged by film and recorded sound. Three tones combining to create a unified whole.
Internal, emotional landscapes. Built forms and scurrying crowds. A minute gesture, a grand idea.

Ros Warby traverses a fascinating terrain in her latest creation. Joined on stage by vocalist Ria Soemardjo and cellist Helen Mountfort, and accompanied by archival and specially filmed footage, Warby's style continues to be fascinating, detailed and just beyond recognition.

Wearing a white shirt and trousers, Warby draws our attention to her eloquent hands, the edges of her feet, the lines of her gaze. She carefully includes the musicians in her stage design, walking with them, approaching and interacting with them with practiced ease born from many years of collaboration.

There are structures within structures, not all of them immediately apparent, but with evident symmetry and purpose we become aware that there is a detailed design here, even if we can't immediately grasp it.

Warby's movement is as crisp and inscrutable as ever; arching back to glimpse the tip of a skyscraper, repeatedly falling as though torn down like a condemned structure. But not all of this action can be directly related to the built world, some of it comes from within, from negotiating those complex inner spaces and thoughts that allow us to get through each day, or leave us howling, sprawled over a chair. The interplay is subtle, wonderful.

There's a balletic elegance to her upright posture, which she then goes about dismantling, distorting or elongating her spine and limbs into briefly held poses.

As in previous work, she uses a nonsensical vocal language, which communicates on a similar level to her movement and the sounds created by Mountfort and Soemardjo. They are complementary instruments, the three of them, playing to a three dimensional score.

The filmed footage works on many levels. Looping Warby's choreography back on itself, creating a terrifying sense of loss and destruction as buildings are dismantled, highlighting the architectural nature of the work by examining structures.

It's deeply considered and richly textured work developed through a mature creative partnership, a rare and heady combination.


Conceived/Directed: Ros Warby
Created in collaboration with: Helen Mountfort, Margie Medlin, Ria Soemardjo
Choreographer/Performer: Ros Warby
Light/Projection/Set Designer: Margie Medlin
Composer/Performer (cello): Helen Mountfort
Performer (voice): Ria Soemardjo
Cinematographer: Ben Speth
Editor (film): Martin Fox
Costume Designer: Harriet Oxley
Tabla: Sam Evans
Production: Bluebottle
Management: Moriarty's Project Inc.

The Australian Ballet - Infinity

What a fabulous start to the Australian Ballet's 50th anniversary year - a triple bill of all new Australian work. Opening night was really satisfying, not necessarily perfect, but so exciting to see relevant Australian work performed.

My review is in The Age, but you can also check Jordan Beth Vincent's excellent, unrestrained commentary on her new blog: Talking Pointes, or for pictures, try The Australian Ballet's facebook page or this slideshow on The Age website.

Infinity - featuring new choreography by Graeme Murphy, Gideon Obarzanek and Stephen Page. Melbourne Season runs until March 6 at the State Theatre. Definitely worth a look, for all dance fans.