dance out there

Bach Suites, or the review that wasn't

2011-11-25T16:24:00.005+11:00

Helen Herbertson is one of the most interesting dance makers in Melbourne. She is one of the few who has managed to sustain a career past the ripe old age of forty-something. Along with Shelley Lasica, who also regularly makes work independently of the masthead companies, Herbertson and her regular collaborator Ben Cobham have made interesting and challenging new work at infrequent intervals over the last few years, perhaps it’s now even a decade?

The last work of theirs I saw, Sunstruck, was a beautifully conceived experience, originally staged in a cavernous warehouse in the Docklands. The live string music which surrounded and circled the audience in utter darkness was a highlight, as was the incredible lighting, which gave the piece an atmosphere worthy of its name.

In the centre of this beautiful construct was some physical performance by Trevor Patrick and Nick Somerville, which didn’t resonate for me at the time, but the world that they inhabited was something else.

It was this spine-tingling encounter that I was hoping to re-live through Bach Suites. Performed by the charismatic choreographer-dancer Michelle Heaven and John Salisbury (who I’ve not seen perform before) and cellists from the Australian National Academy of Music, it has all the ingredients of a Herbertson-Cobham masterpiece.

Sadly for me, it was not to be.

The thunderstorms and lightning which have become regular visitors to Melbourne this spring wrought some small havoc on my train line, causing a fatal delay. And so, despite my careful planning, allowing plenty of time to reach the venue, I was too late by mere minutes, locked out by the special effects of Herberston and Cobham’s rich imaginations.

So now, it will be only in my imagination, and in the words of others, that this meeting of dance, live music and theatrical wizardry exists. Maybe, if I’m very lucky, it will be presented again, one day. The sold out season would suggest that there is certainly an audience for it, especially unlucky punters such as myself.

For further, more descriptive reading, try these reviews by Jordan Beth Vincent and Eamonn Kelly.

Melbourne Festival 2011

2011-10-22T23:20:00.009+11:00

As is the case most years when I come to the end of Melbourne's arts festival season, I feel pretty flat. Too many shows, too many hours travelling and sitting in darkened spaces, too many late nights.

And to top it off, I didn't see one dance show which really excited me. Whether this is a reflection on the art or or on me as an audience member is hard to say.

You can read my hasty reflections on The Age website, and the (perhaps less hastily scrawled) views of my esteemed colleague Dr Jordan Beth Vincent.

Here are the links :

Tom Tom Crew: Urban beats and acrobatics, performed by a bunch of hot Aussie blokes.

Balletlab presented the world premiere of Aviary: Adorned with amazing costumes, this three act piece ranges from naturalistic mating rituals to nightclub scenes and brilliant, postmodern ballet.

We Came From the East: By Papuan choreographer Jecko Siompo, hip hop meets traditional dance, Indo-style.

Byron Perry's first full length piece Double Think: A duo of split-second timing for Lee Serle, Kirstie McCracken, some ingenious boxes and lighting.

Assembly: Gideon Obarzanek's last creation as Artistic Director of Chunky Move: made with the help of 60 young Victorian Opera singers and eight dancers, it looked at the choreography of crowds and the loneliness within them.

Hofesh Schechter returned to Melbourne with Political Mother: an onslaught of live guitars and drums, screaming vocals and gut wrenching action.

And finally, my less than effusive wrap of the festival from a dance perspective.

This Baby Life

2011-10-17T20:14:00.002+11:00

Presented at Art Play, Melbourne
October 13 -16, 2011
Created by Sally Chance

As we enter the warm, light filled space at ArtPlay, surrounded by mums and babies seated on soft pastel rugs, a sense of community is instantly established. Gentle music plays in the background, people smile and murmur. It’s a good place to be, the energy is positive and gentle.

And when Heather Frahn begins to sing, simple syllables and baby-like vocalisations in a lilting melody, it becomes clear that this experience will be about more than just warmth and light and comfort, it will also be very beautiful.

Created by Adelaide-based artist Sally Chance, This [Baby] Life is a half-hour of gently immersive, quietly playful art for babies aged four months to eighteen months. The babies are free to crawl and totter around the space, or remain closely snuggled with their carer. Adventurous little ones may find themselves playing peekaboo with a friendly adult, or having a blanket swirled through the air above their heads.

There’s nothing sudden or frightening or boisterous here, just gorgeous music and pleasant dance, performed by a trio of friendly grown-ups.

Dancers Tuula Roppola and Stephen Noonan crawl about the space, making eye contact with their young audience and mirroring the babies’ actions. Some children find it quite fascinating, to have a big person nearby who moves just like themselves. The crawling action flows into a floor-based movement sequence, set to Frahn’s wonderful instrumental sounds.

Mandola, melodic steel drums and a caxixi shaker combined with amplified voice allow for a variety of sounds and tonal colours, while keeping the music simple and soothing. The familiar melody of Row Row Row Your Boat is used several times, cocooning the young audience in familiarity while also coaxing them into a new environment. At an energetic moment, egg-shaped rattles are offered to the little people so that they can join in the bouncy music making.

As the final sleepy notes subside, there’s no rush to leave the room. That gentle energy remains, as do the performers and the instruments, allowing time for play and conversation and thanks giving for such a thoughtfully devised, nurturing experience.

Proximate Edifice

2011-10-11T23:16:00.000+11:00

Shian Law & Naryana Takacs
Performed at Arts House, Meat Market, as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival
1 Oct, 2011
JORDAN BETH VINCENT, Reviewer

Three dancers (choreographer Shian Law, Melissa Jones, Peter AB Wilson) wander into the performance space. They strike one nonchalant pose after another, seemingly vague and uninterested by their own actions. This sense of disengagement remains as the stillness gives way to sharp angular movements that emphasise a sense of structure and shape.

With Narayana Takacs’ shifting geometric light projection and John Nguyen’s wall of pulsing sound, this work would do well as a gallery art installation. This impression is confirmed at the end when the dancers disappear offstage, leaving only swirling digital shapes and the pound of electronic music.

Proximate Edifice is one of those works that is simultaneously mesmerising yet strangely uninteresting, never quite leaping from conceptual genesis to fully formed work. However, it does have potential for further choreographic development. Works like this, after all, are what the Fringe is all about.

Video Link: http://vimeo.com/30840749

Concept / Visual Media - Narayana Takacs
Choreographer / Performer - Shian Law
Performer - Melissa Jones
Performer - Peter AB Wilson
Music - John Nguyen
Costume - Osamu Miyagi
Dress - Craig Braybrook

Proximate Edifice was the winner of the 2011 Best Dance Award in the Melbourne Fringe Festival.

This review first appeared in The Age Newspaper

Duality

2011-10-11T22:53:00.000+11:00

Melenie Crowe Dance
Performed at Dancehouse, as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival
5 October, 2011

Danced by a skilled bunch of young professionals, Melenie Crowe's double bill Duality is mildly entertaining though roughly hewn work.

Gretchen’s Mind, a physical exploration of mental illness, struggles to avoid clichés. The mature presence of actor/dancer Meredith Kitchen provides a useful anchor for the younger artists, who mostly lack the butoh-type intensity required to pull off Crowe’s dramatic demands. A teddy bear, white night-gowns and strobe lights are sure-fire anguish inducers.

Evolution/Devolution eschews narrative, relying instead on dynamic movement. Insectoid shapes and twitching, twisting sequences are set to pounding electronic music with lurid, flashing lights. Lone male, Alya Manzart, cuts a powerful solo, but other sections are disjointed and unimaginative. Syncopated star jumps and knee slides top off a night of contemporary dance that might suit a general TV audience.

Performed by: Alya Manzart, Ashleigh Perrie, Charlotte Humphrey, Jayde MacDonough, Jin Cheng, Lisa Baruta, Lisa Wilson, Meredith Kitchen, Rain Francis & Paris (child performer).

A version of this review appeared in The Age newspaper.

Bangarra: Belong

2011-09-23T00:26:00.005+10:00

Belong
Bangarra Dance Theatre
Playhouse, The Arts Centre, Melbourne
September 16, 2011

For the past 20 years, Bangarra's artistic director Stephen Page has led the company from strength to strength, creating powerful dance theatre while encouraging the emergence of other choreographic voices.

One of those choreographers is Elma Kris, creator of About, the first piece in this program. An embodiment of the four winds of the Torres Strait Islands, Kris' ancestral home, the work fuses modern dance moves with occasional glimpses of traditional shapes or gestures.

Unfortunately, the movement lacks dynamic variation and choreographic complexity, and despite assured dancing and an attractive set design (by Jacob Nash), the ancestral stories are lost beneath the glossy surface.

Page’s latest work, ID, is an accomplished, occasionally shocking exploration of what makes up the identity of indigenous Australians today.

It begins with a filmed sequence of an older aboriginal woman and the dancers, who step out of the video and onto the stage. A solo by Daniel Riley McKinley is particularly striking, with sharply isolated wrist to head gestures contrasted against expansive, elastic moves.

Graphic images of a corpse being dismembered and death in custody remind us of the grisly past and present of relations with white Australia, though the violence is balanced by the beauty of totemic dance featuring a fabulously lit set of hollow gum trees.

Snaking through time under the steady gaze of a painted elder, family and culture continue on, represented by the traditional tap-step of the hunched dancers.

ID barely diverges from Page's established style, but it’s no less enjoyable for that.

Originally published in The Age newspaper

Graeme Murphy's Romeo & Juliet

2011-09-17T20:17:00.007+10:00

Kevin Jackson and Madeleine Eastoe, photo by Jeff Busby

Romeo & Juliet
Performed by The Australian Ballet
State Theatre, the Arts Centre, Melbourne
September 13, until September 24, 2011

There’s been a huge weight of expectation surrounding this new, full-length Graeme Murphy ballet. His Swan Lake and Nutcracker challenged conventions and won hearts. Now, Murphy tackles Romeo and Juliet, retaining the bones of Shakespeare’s tragic tale and much of the Prokofiev score, but bravely shedding any concrete allusions to time and place.

Storytelling is Murphy’s great strength. Propelled by exceptional performances from the dancers, his choreography embodies the violent delights of young love and the pitiful sight of its untimely end. Through skittish runs en pointe we notice Juliet’s youth, while Romeo’s swooping arabesque turns illustrate his prodigious burst of passion. In the title roles Madeleine Eastoe and Kevin Jackson are terrific, growing naturally from cheeky innocence to their distraught and decisive final moments.

The trajectory of their relationship is flawlessly developed in their pas de deux. From tentative beginnings to intimate embraces, delicately intertwining arm motifs and challenging balances and lifts, Murphy combines virtuosity with structural depth and pathos.

The playfully bawdy physicality of Daniel Gaudiello’s Mercutio and the intensely protective ferocity of Andrew Kylian as Tybalt counterbalance the romantic tenderness, with supporting roles also brilliantly devised and enacted.

Gerard Manion’s attractive sets switch rapidly between exotic locations, beginning with a sword fight in fair Verona and moving on to an Indian bazaar, a Buddhist temple and finally a bed of yellow skulls in the Sahara desert. The unstable setting points to the universal themes of the story, arguably a fantastically visionary contrivance or a clunky colonialist folly. Either way, the time-space shifts seem outrageously oblique in an otherwise linear narrative.

Other dramatic devices read with greater success. Freeze frames allow important characters to stand out in crowded scenes. Adam Bull is the embodiment of death in the newly invented Prince of Darkness role, skulking around the mortals, haunting their steps and influencing their fate.

Akira Isogawa’s divine costumes are equally as fascinating as Murphy’s choreography, both are endowed with beautiful detail and flair. Outfits and action are particularly well matched in the Capulet ballroom, a glamorous and spiky affair, with stiffly splayed fingers and gowns in icy tones.

Damien Cooper’s lighting makes the most of the richly designed space, while Jason Lam’s digital projections add another layer of depth and transformation.

Although this lavish exploration of death-marked love brings out the best in the Australian Ballet, its roving scenes are a gamble that do not always pay off.

First published in The Age newspaper

Reliquary

2011-06-15T22:51:00.005+10:00

Choreography by Soo Yeun Yoo and Gina Rings
Dancehouse, Melbourne
June 2, 2011

Choreographed by two women from very different backgrounds, Reliquary combines indigenous Australian and shamanistic Korean influences to create a distinctive meditation on ancestry and spirituality.

According to Soo Yeun Yoo, the two cultures share common spiritual roots. Using dance and beautifully crafted puppets to obliquely visit these intersections, Yoo and co-creator Gina Rings have produced a sacred space, shrouded in mist, where ceremonies are practiced and spirits enter the physical realm.

The dancers, three women of Asian descent and two indigenous Australian men, perform movement which ranges from traditional forms to modern abstraction and a blended, contemporary style. Former Bangarra dancer Albert David grounds the piece with his mature presence and earthy grace, while Lilian Grace Steiner and Eric William Avery shine in a powerful sequence of rippling, trance-like moves.

Whether hunting with spear and boomerang, or communing with a white tulle apparition, a heightened sense of spirituality remains. The two beautiful puppets, one with white mask and costume, the other an indigenous woman in colonial dress, appear as ancestral guides, gently nudging the performers. At one point, the masked puppet walks forward on the legs of a dancer, melding human and spiritual forms.

The sound, by Philippe Pasquier, is an evocative and sophisticated blend of natural, electronic and human noise, from breathy beats to didgeridoo, bushland chirping to mellow song.

Reliquary is rich in atmosphere, with strong contributions from the collaborating artists. While there are clunky moments in the choreography, particularly in the more contemporary sections, it’s a fascinating window into ritual dance.

A version of this review was published in The Age newspaper

Animal

2011-05-22T02:15:00.009+10:00

JACK Productions
Beckett Theatre, CUB Malthouse, Melbourne
May 20, 2011 (until May 28)

Choreographed by Lucas Jervies, Animal plays with metaphysics and non-human shapes. Chairs, hens, apes, moody women and even the odd Jesus Christ pose are thrown together in episodic fragments, without leading the audience to any definite conclusions about the choreographer’s intentions.

It’s performed by five mature ladies, including Kirsty Martin, current principal artist with the Australian Ballet, and highly respected former dancers Lisa Pavane, Alida Chase, Shane Carroll and Christine Howard.

Dressed in different combinations of black trousers and tops, possibly from their own wardrobes, the women step up onto the glossy black stage which is set between two opposing seating banks. They look around, curious, disorientated. They discover hidden doors in the floor of the stage, and each takes out an ingeniously folded wooden chair.

What follows is a rather banal sequence of position changes, shifting chairs and bodies in jerky but non-dancerly moves. It culminates in a dinner table arrangement, but Jervies fails to capitalise on the dramatic potential here. Instead, his protagonists look every which way except at each other and gradually splinter away. The same pattern of gradual build up to a point which then dissolves occurs several times, so that there is never a sense of climax, or progression.

Pavane and Martin duet on a human-as-metaphysical-furniture theme, with Pavane manipulating her chair and Martin emulating those shapes. It’s a simple premise, which could work if the two were able to get the timing exactly right.

Another duet, between Martin and Carroll, is more complex and far more interesting. Standing close and facing each other, they develop a relationship, something like that of mother and daughter, with Carroll at first mirroring the younger dancer’s actions, joined at the fingertips. Their arms entwine, but the mood shifts, becomes slightly combative, as Carroll’s attempts to invade Martin’s space are slapped away. Fingers aimed at groin, chest, face, fail to reach their mark. Eventually they come to rest on the floor, lying as though asleep.

In a solo for Martin, Jervies makes good use of her supple back to illustrate the common evolution of man image, from a beast on all fours to the upright shape we bear today. Again, it’s quite a simple idea, but Martin’s precise execution, including the jutting jaw of early hominids and the gradual lengthening of her spinal column, makes it worthwhile.

Less transparent is the repeated inclusion of a crucifixion-like pose. And the unfortunate combination of a sustained squat with an awfully loud raspy sound, which my juvenile mind automatically associated with toilet-humour.

That same squatting action, which turns these elegant women into a flock of flustered hens, appears to have been created by repetition of the earlier phrase of chair shifting, minus the chairs. It’s a blunt equation, people less furniture equals animals, and one that doesn’t translate effectively to the stage in this example.

Alas, the often harsh lighting and jarring sound don’t give us any further insight into Jervies’ choreographic vision.

JACK Productions have adopted the motto arrive excited, leave inspired.

And I do get excited about seeing new work by JACK. I love the idea of innovation in classical dance, of using the wonderful skills of ballet dancers to create something beyond fairy tales and ethereal beauty.

Which makes the two performances I’ve seen so far (this one, and Human Abstract in 2010) doubly disappointing. Particularly with Animal, as the concept of a piece designed for some of Australia’s finest mature dancers is very appealing.

Unfortunately, both productions have seemed overstretched, both in terms of movement material and concept development. Which is understandable for a tiny, fledgling company, working on scant resources. Understandable, but not necessarily forgivable. If these are sketches, then they should be sold as such. Continuing to present half-baked work in the main theatres at the CUB Malthouse, which is also home to the Malthouse Theatre’s subscription season of highly polished productions, is not good form. While it’s a bold move, it makes JACK look poor in comparison to other work recently seen in the same space, and it reflects badly on an already marginalised artform.

There is certainly a place in Melbourne for experimental choreography, but without several choreographic development periods and a dedicated production budget, a mainstream theatre is probably not the right fit for JACK to be presenting this type of work. A smaller scale, more intimate showing, with the possibility of further rehearsals, research and dramaturgical assistance would lead to a much finer product, and a higher likelihood of leaving us inspired.

Inform

2011-05-16T21:58:00.003+10:00

Rockie Stone, photo by Roger Mitchell

Fran Swinn Trio with Eugene Ball and Rockie Stone

BMW Edge, Federation Square, Melbourne

May 6 2011, as part of the Melbourne Jazz Fringe Festival

When watching live circus, I often find myself holding my breath. I get caught up in the riskiness of the act. My instinct to breathe disappears, squeezed out by the combination of sympathetic fear and hope for the performer. Then when I do remember to catch some air, it’s usually sucked into my lungs in order to whoop and holler my appreciation at the successful completion of a stunt.

This was certainly the case when I saw the premiere of Inform, a truly synergistic performance for jazz quartet and circus artist.

Rockie Stone has been performing circus for quite a while, with Circus Oz amongst others. Her material hasn’t changed substantially, but years of hard work have lent her an elastic strength and quietly assured presence, not to mention several flawless routines. Whether in an inverted balance atop a stack of chairs, or making the corde lisse look as sturdy as a pole, her skills are silky smooth.

In Inform, Stone’s physical dexterity was impeccably matched by joyously resonant sound composed by Fran Swinn. Standing to one side of the stage, the responsive and varied jazz/pop numbers were performed live by the Fran Swinn trio, with the addition of special guest trumpeter Eugene Ball. Interesting textures and rhythms combined with soulful tunes made it not only immensely enjoyable to listen to, but carefully crafted to meet the pitch of Stone’s contribution.

Particularly satisfying was the way each element made space for and enhanced the other. When suspense was called for, Swinn provided it subtly but persuasively. When the music wanted our attention, Stone faded to stillness.

It’s a simple concept which was deftly arranged and executed brilliantly. Inform brought out the best of both music and circus, presenting a closely knit collaboration which was surprising, exciting and beautiful. I held my breath, and hollered.

Drift

2011-03-30T21:49:00.002+11:00

Photo by Byron Perry

Choreographed by Antony Hamilton
Performed outdoors, in Melbourne
March 2011, as part of Dance Massive

Approaching the site, it’s dark. Scratchy, alien noises are emanating from the car stereo. Under a soaring concrete overpass, we stop, huddled in our vehicle.

Dust-coloured creatures are visible, holding on to each other as if to avoid being separated in a storm. They are dressed for the elements, wearing boots, craftily aged jackets and pants, outfits reminiscent of a previous decade, possibly borrowed from the set of Star Wars. Occasionally lights flash, briefly illuminating the bridge above. We have been transported to another world, or at least another age.

Gradually the shuffling of the three hooded beings develops into idiosyncratic movement. Isolated, insular, the sense of otherness is heightened by these unfamiliar manoeuvres. Standing closely together, their appearance and actions have a tribal likeness.

It’s a technique choreographer Antony Hamilton has employed before, though this spears to be a more sophisticated stage in the evolution of his style. Small movements, inspired by hip hop but with a focus on spatial and rhythmic invention, popping through the torso and arms of a group of closely placed dancers.

After several minutes, something changes… they leave. Enter a woman, bare breasted, dragging a long, smooth tree branch. She begins a sequence of spinning, gathering momentum until the wooden limb is airborne. The contrast of her soft flesh against the unbending timber is painfully marked, the weight of it pressing against her body as she swings it. There is something ritualistic, pagan, ancient but also naïve in the scene. Like a child in the wilderness, or a priestess enacting a sacred dance, it’s primal, simple, unaffected.

The dust creatures return, surrounding the newcomer. The sense of tribalism and ritual is heightened when they begin a unified sequence of rhythmic stamping and hand movements. There’s a sense of danger, desperation and exhaustion. Is she being converted, captured, or saved?

Intermittent grids of light flash and move across the roof of this post-industrial space, which could just as easily be a scorched planet in another galaxy as a post-apocalyptic earth. Viewing it through the prism of a car windscreen adds to the sense of unreality. We could be at the drive in, watching a sci-fi movie, or in our own personal space-pod, observing alien life forms. It’s a pleasant change to the ubiquitous black box theatre experience, and Hamilton’s ambitious scenario easily justifies the outdoor setting.

The four dancers are totally committed, the sound broadcast to our car stereo by Robin Fox is out of this world, Paula Levis’s costumes are worthy of a film-set and the site specific projections by Kit Webster are sparse enough to be a constant surprise, subtle enough not to intrude and so well focussed as to appear native to the space.

It begs the question, why don’t we have more site specific dance in Melbourne? Maybe this production will spark a new wave of thoughtfullly devised ventures outside the theatre.

Performed by Alisdair Macindoe, Jess Wong, Melanie Lane, and Lily Paskas as the intruder.

Chunky get Connected

2011-03-21T22:52:00.009+11:00

Alisdair Macindoe and Marnie Palomares, photo by Jeff Busby

Connected
Choreographed by Gideon Obarzanek for Chunky Move
CUB Malthouse, Melbourne
March 15, 2011
As part of Dance Massive

It’s been a while since Gideon Obarzanek created anything even close to a pure dance work. Not that Connected is pure dance. Featuring a kinetic sculpture by Reuben Margolin and snippets of spoken word, it’s a hybrid creation which heralds a new maturity in Obarzanek’s choreographic output.

The whole piece is in tune with the quiet grace of Margolin’s contribution. A delicate white grid, suspended by strings and attached to a wooden wheel, the sculpture is both set and subject, at times almost another performing body. Whether directly controlled by the performers, or in the mathematically precise and mesmerizingly beautiful waves created by a small motor, it’s amazing.

A mellifluous duet for Alisdair Macindoe and Stephanie Lake is one of the best Obarzanek has produced. It’s a variation on the manipulation technique he has favoured for years, now developed into a sophisticated and seamless exchange of undulating bodies, which echoes the sculpture’s oscillations.

The kaleidoscopic patterns shaped by the five dancers in the final scene, particularly when in full silhouette, are an embodiment of elegant geometry, constantly unfolding through symmetrical forms. This abstraction is balanced by a humanistic section inspired by gallery security workers.

Anna Cordingley’s flatteringly functional monochrome costumes and Benjamin Cisterne’s restrained but effective lighting states continue the simple, clean aesthetic, while the exquisite soundtrack by Oren Ambarchi and Robin Fox winds through cyclical progressions using electro-acoustic instrumentation.

The scope of this multi-faceted work is wide, but Obarzanek draws all the elements together with finesse.

Performers: Stephanie Lake, Alisdair Macindoe, Marnie Palomares, Harriet Ritchie & Joseph Simons

A version of this review was first published in The Age newspaper.

In Glass

2011-03-17T09:49:00.009+11:00

Paul White and Kristina Chan, image by Regis Lansac

I'm sure there will be some beautifully well-rounded responses to this work (including this one by Jana Perkovic, and this one by Stephanie Glickman), but mine is not one of them. It's just a few notes I scribbled down after seeing the show.

In Glass
Choreography by Narelle Benjamin, performed by Paul White and Kristina Chan
CUB Malthouse, Melbourne
March 16, 2011
As part of Dance Massive

Paul White and Kristina Chan are EASILY two of the best dancers in Australia, but In Glass isn’t the masterpiece it could be.

Unlike Meryl Tankard’s The Oracle, which was also custom built for White, In Glass doesn’t build an overall sense of character for the performers to inhabit. There are glimpses of brilliance, when choreography, cinematography and production design meet in glorious moments of liquefied reality, but then the limits of Benjamin’s choreographic language intervene again and the sublime possibilities are lost.

Benjamin does exploit the extraordinary physical abilities of her dancers, and it’s hard to deny the pleasure of being amazed at the capacity of the highly trained human body.

Her yoga-infused choreography requires hamstrings to stretch beyond any kind of normal range, combined with headstands, lots of manipulation and that ‘stand/sit still and make gestures with your hands’ idea that often crops up in contemporary dance.

Chan often appears to be tying herself in knots, or bourréeing with arms almost outstretched, in something like a Jesus Christ pose. Her solo with a projected mirror suggests body image is the theme, but the dance has trouble communicating that concept – it appears much like any of the other movement sequences.

White has a solo comprised of spins. Wearing a slippery long-sleeved top and leggings, he spirals on knees, thighs, biceps, almost all surfaces of his body, but again, doesn’t quite reach the same heights of virtuosity as in the Oracle. Another solo makes great use of two large hand held mirrors, which he moves around his head, becoming a Narcissus, using facial expressions to finally create some sense of the existence of a character.

The contact duo section is divine, a whirlwind of momentum-driven lifts, spirals and counterbalances that embody all a modern duet can and should be.

The set and lighting design and cinematography/video projection work is integral to the piece, which is great to see. Synaesthesia! One moment which really stood out was when Chan walked between two mirrors, appearing to enter the world on the other side of the glass. When White tried to follow, the mirror suddenly became an opaque wall again. Brilliant timing meant that this simple trick took my breath away.

For the life of me I can’t remember a single thing about the sound.

Despite my griping about the faults in this work, it is still a very exciting experience. A great concept, well developed and presented, just lacking that final step into dance as theatre, rather than just a gymnastic display.

Green Room Awards 2010

2011-03-17T00:13:00.006+11:00

Not long now until the 2010 Green Room Awards will be announced (March 21 at the Spiegeltent). If I were on the dance panel, here's what I'd vote for:

Music Composition & Performance - David Page - Of Earth and Sky (Bangarra Dance Theatre). That final scene with the ghostly voice sent shivers up my spine.

Design - Jacob Nash (Set) - Artefact (Bangarra Dance Theatre). What looked like a giant piece of bark made a wonderful backdrop and prop.

Male Dancer - Waangenga Blanco - Artefact and Riley (Bangarra Dance Theatre). Admittedly, I didn't see Daniel Gaudiello in Coppelia or Tony Yap in Rasa Sayang, but Blanco was particularly good.

Female Dancer - tied between Emily Amisano - We Unfold (Sydney Dance Company) and Carlee Mellow - Expectation .

Ensemble - Another tie, Sydney Dance Company - We Unfold and The Australian Ballet - Molto Vivace

Concept & Realisation - I *shamefacedly* concede that I saw neither Private Dances or The Oak's Bride (I was out of town). So, I won't vote on this one.

Betty Pounder Award for Choreography - as much as I enjoyed We Unfold and Mix Tape, I think I would give this one to Frances Rings - Artefact (Bangarra Dance Theatre). I particularly loved the Weaving section. I didn’t want it to end!

The Australian Ballet's Butterfly

2011-03-06T20:34:00.008+11:00

Miwako Kubota as Madame Butterfly

Madame Butterfly
Performed by the Australian Ballet
25 Feb 2011
Reviewed by Jordan Beth Vincent

Madame Butterfly, choreographed by Stanton Welch and based on Puccini’s opera, tells the story of a naïve geisha (Rachel Rawlins) who puts her trust in a two-timing American cad, Pinkerton (Robert Curran). It is a nod to 19th century romantic ballets with exotic characters, lavish costumes, and tragic content.

In addition to its decadent exterior, Madame Butterfly is riddled with conflicting emotions and cultural clashes. These elements find easy expression in the operatic libretto but are lost in translation in Welch’s classical ballet vocabulary. The dancers ‘explain’ the action through wild gesticulations, and present sketchy characterisations of coquettish geishas, grimacing Japanese warriors, and blond American bimbos.

However, Welch excels at crafting more straightforward emotions, such as in the pas de deux that closes Act I. Pinkerton’s lust for Butterfly is shown through his masterful manipulation of her body– he catches her as though snatching a length of silk from the air. She responds with a spinning serpentine embrace, sliding limply to the floor in a puddle at his feet.

Rawlins is an interesting choice for Butterfly. She has the poise and experience to execute the challenging choreography beautifully, yet is a little too assured to convince as a naïve, lovestruck teenager. Leanne Stojmenov, as Butterfly’s loyal servant, and Tzu-Chao Chou, as the creepy marriage broker, bring outstanding relief to a somber and laboured landscape.

For tragic romantics, Madame Butterfly will hit the mark. Those who cringe at the notion of a 19th century style story ballet had best sit this one out.

A version of this review was published in The Age newspaper

Coming soon: Jasperse and Friends

2011-02-14T23:08:00.006+11:00

The Dance Massive Festival is coming to Melbourne next month. It's going to be a slightly overwhelming, rather huge feast of Australian contemporary dance, with many new works along with some delicious remounts on the menu.

It's going to be tough choosing what to see, but here are a couple of snippets I found about Becky, Jodi and John, a piece choreographed by John Jasperse several years ago.

This glowing review by Roslyn Sulcas for the NY Times is worth a read, and if you're still not convinced, here are a couple of cute video excerpts from the show:

One of the performers, Becky Hilton, is a cornerstone of Melbourne’s contemporary dance scene. She was one of the first graduates of the Victorian College of the Arts Dance School, and went on to have a fabulous career, both here and overseas. She is loved as a teacher and mentor by many young dancers.

In this work, Becky and two of her oldest friends, Jodi Melnick and John Jasperse, perform a portrait-style piece about sustaining a dance career past the ripe old age of forty. Jasperse has peppered his abstract movement with plenty of humour and personal anecdotes, which is one of the reasons this will definitely be on my shortlist of things to see during the festival.

Becky, Jodi and John is on at Dancehouse from March 24 til April 3, 2011. Visit dancemassive.com.au for more information and bookings.

Mulan Acrobatic Show

2011-02-07T23:23:00.003+11:00

Performed by the Chongqing Acrobatic Art Troupe
State Theatre, Melbourne
February 3, 2011

The Chongqing Acrobatic Art Troupe have created a stunning circus show which is loosely based on the Chinese myth of Mulan, the girl who joins the army in place of her elderly father. It’s colourful, incredible and most of all, great fun.

The iridescent stage design and breathtaking stunts are all geared toward supporting the light-hearted, pantomime narrative, which gives some cohesion without being overbearing. There are good guys and bad guys, a love story and cheeky kids, just the right formula for families.

But it’s the skills of this Chinese troupe which form the centrepiece. Whether juggling, tumbling, twhirling or clowning, they are nothing short of amazing. As if balancing a lantern pole in their teeth isn’t hard enough, four of the women climb atop each other’s shoulders while keeping their lanterns aloft. Men in blazing gold unitards build several mind-boggling human pyramids, mostly involving handstands atop handstands.

Talented child-clowns, surely no more than 12 years old, play a starring role. Interacting with the audience and performing amazing acrobatic feats, they are professional beyond their years.

The techno-fuelled meteor act is a brilliant climax, with the reflective spinning props thrown high and dexterously caught. Soaring aerials make for a picturesque love scene, while the combination of gymnastics and high jump required to complete the astonishing two metre high hoop dive is worthy of Olympic gold.

The acting may be patchy in places and the final scene is disappointing, but these are minor quibbles. On the whole, Mulan is marvelous.

Review by Chloe Smethurst

First Published in The Age newspaper

Carnival of Mysteries

2010-10-14T09:13:00.006+11:00

The Carnival of Mysteries. Image by The Sisters Hayes, Photo by Jodie Hutchinson

Created by Finucane & Smith

Showing at fortyfivedownstairs, Melbourne until 30 October, 2010

www.melbournefestival.com.au

Review by Jordan Beth Vincent

In the nineteenth century, the carnival would tail the traveling circus like some parasitic, commercial venture. Lurking in the shadows of the big top was the sideshow world of snake charmers and magicians, games and brightly painted carousel horses, and the unfortunate displays of ‘human curiosities,’ so aptly characterised by sociologist Robert Bogdan as the ‘pornography of disability.’ In recent years, the carnival has kind of lost its charm– coin-fed machines have replaced the wandering Carnies, and the Ferris Wheel seems slow and daggy compared to the latest gravity-defying roller coaster.

Up until last night, my own personal carnival experiences were less than satisfactory; I remember buying lengths of tickets from a pimply teenager in a booth, dreaming of winning the largest stuffed teddy or, more recently, ending my day at the Carnival by weaving unsteadily home from Flemington, all bedraggled feathers and blistered toes.

Within half an hour at the Carnival of Mysteries, however, I was propositioned by an undead, sex-crazed Anatomically Correct Librarian, had an ink portrait of my hands drawn, and was serenaded by The Living Radio in a sideshow tent the size of a wardrobe. I watched a magic show where every trick went hilariously wrong, and saw a demonstration in shakin’ it by The Handsomest Dance Ever Born.

These are just a handful of the acts created by thirty artists, all of which explore the broad themes of innocence, passion, mercy, forgiveness, and love.

Pass the ectoplasm, please.

Performance artist Moira Finucane and theatre director Jackie Smith have combed through history, fiction and Hollywood legend to create this warped and wacky carnival, transforming the bowels of fortyfivedownstairs into an opulent– and authentically shabby– den of iniquity and awesomeness. You can almost imagine these performers rolling up the colourful curtains and lengths of golden beads to take their little bit of sawdust magic to the next town.

Hand-painted panels and flickering signs point the way to The Tent of Miracles or The Shrine of Mysteries, where acts as varied as a Burlesque striptease or a tap dance number are squeezed into tiny, curtain lined spaces. The Pleasure Garden, packed with tables, is the site of more impromptu performances and, of course, fairy floss for sale.

The beauty in Carnival of Mysteries is all in the imaginative details. A ticket to the show buys a wad of ‘Illegal tender’ and entry into as many performances as you can afford. A Carnival Passport doubles as a program, featuring pages of old-fashioned advertisements describing the curiosities on display; promising seers, gigolos, and erotic performances for those with enough Carnie Cash to enjoy them.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to see every act in Carnival of Mysteries and so no two experiences can be quite the same. As you might expect, some of the individual acts are more exciting than others; the performances by Finucane and Maude Davey, in particular, are worth hanging around for. However, most acts have that edginess of irony and dark humour that balance the sexuality of burlesque performance, gently mocking everything we love–and love to hate– about a trip to the carnival.

First published in The Age newspaper

Melbourne Fringe Show: Cake!

2010-09-25T11:31:00.006+10:00

Created and performed by Katrina Rank and Hayley Thompson

At Synergy ‘shopfront' Gallery, 253 High Street, Northcote

Until 25 September, 2010

Reviewed by Jordan Beth Vincent

Oh, it’s good to be an audience member when homemade scones, gingerbread and– you guessed it– cake are on the menu. Two women (Katrina Rank and Hayley Thompson) play perfect hostess in this short and sweet Fringe production, offering up angelic smiles and etiquette tips as they obsessively salivate over pink frosting and sprinkles.

What begins as a little work about women’s work suddenly transforms into a commentary on fad dieting, the dancers fighting a losing battle with the scales and measuring tapes in their effort to achieve classic femininity. Crinoline petticoats are swapped for sweat bands and t-shirts, and a cute ‘sweating to the oldies’ aerobic routine is layered with self-loathing and body dismorphia.

Gender expectation is a fairly common theme in contemporary dance, and while Cake! could benefit from a more intense investigation of its topic, its light comedic touch– plus sugar– make a pleasant combination.

First printed in The Age newspaper

The Australian Ballet does another Nutcracker

2010-09-19T14:29:00.009+10:00

Damien Welch as Drosselmeyer. Photo by Jeff Busby

The Nutcracker
Performed by the Australian Ballet
The Arts Centre, State Theatre, Melbourne
September 18th, 2010

Almost exactly two years ago, I wrote a blog post having a bit of a whinge about how many times the Australian Ballet has recently programmed Nutcracker ballets. There are two in the current repertoire: Nutcracker – The Story of Clara by Graeme Murphy and a more traditional Nutcracker by Peter Wright. Having since seen both ballets performed brilliantly by the company I am prepared to recant my gripe, though in my heart of hearts I do still wish there was a wider variety of stories being told by ballet companies the world over.

So, if we must do Nutcrackers then let’s do them well, just as the Australian Ballet have done with this glorious version, originally created by Peter Wright for the Birmingham Royal Ballet. I mostly agree with Eamonn Kelly’s positive review in The Australian, the thoughtful design by John F. MacFarlane and some sensible narrative tweaks give this Nutcracker great authenticity.

In the matinee performance I saw on September 18, the casting for principal roles was superb. Damien Welch looks and acts every bit the imposing magician in Act One, and continues to anchor the narrative with his magnetic stage presence throughout Act Two. Miwako Kubota was delightful as Clara, giving a sweet characterisation and a very strong technical performance. Ty King Wall continues to impress, with his charming good looks he makes the perfect Disney Prince, which combined with his confident partnering and smooth allegro variation is a joy to behold. Danielle Rowe can’t seem to put a foot wrong, she is dazzling as the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Juliet Burnett also deserves a mention, ethereally beautiful as the Snow Fairy, and Daniel Gaudiello who stood out in Act One as Clara’s special friend.

This is the last season the Australian Ballet will present in Melbourne this year, so if you’re yet to see them, now’s the time to get to it! And for Sydney audiences, be sure to book early as I’ve not doubt that this Nutcracker will be another sell out for the company.

From the archives: Akram Khan

2010-08-25T22:24:00.006+10:00

In all my pre-Melbourne Festival excitement about Akram Khan's company FINALLY performing in Melbourne, I began looking back through my notes from 2005, when I first saw Khan and his dancers perform in Perth. Their performance of MA in the Perth Festival of that year was brilliant, so I thought it might be worthwhile to drag out the brief description I wrote for The Age at the time...

For me, the highlight of the festival was Akram Khan’s MA. With exquisite detail and unique movement that could be compared to the choreography of Lin Hwai-min (Cloud Gate Dance Theatre), Khan is an exceptional new talent.

MA, which means both earth and mother, is without a linear narrative, but focuses on our relationship with the environment. There is a lot of anger within the work, a white hot energy that simmers beneath the surface. Both dancers and live musicians work with intense percussion which is contrasted against quiet moments of suspended beauty.

Khan blurs classical Indian Kathak dance with contemporary dance, creating a new movement vocabulary that is exhilarating for its elaborate physicality and speed. He masterfully manipulates stillness and explosive energy, reflection and action, sending his dancers scooting through the space with arms like steel-edged ribbons.

Khan is also an astounding performer. While the dancers of his company are excellent, none can quite match his charisma, grace and physical embodiment of the work.

For more examples of Khan's recent work, YouTube is your friend. The duets he has created with Sylvie Guillem and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui are both worth watching.

The Akram Khan Company will be premiering their latest work, Vertical Road, at the Melbourne Festival in October this year. I reckon it's going to be great!

Mathematical Models of the Sublime

2010-07-25T01:07:00.006+10:00

Photo by Heidi Romano

Walpole & Sister
July 15, 2010
Dancehouse, Melbourne

Sisters and artistic collaborators Grace and Helen Walpole deal in an intriguing genre of performance; combining scientific theories with artistic explorations. Their latest creation is a dissertation on mathematics, infinity and how these scientific concepts relate to the body through the experience of pain.

It could be dry, but the Walpoles have cleverly constructed the piece to undulate through poetry and improvised dance, arriving at both abstract and literal representations of such advanced concepts as hyperbolic space and logarithmic perception.

The result of this complex amalgamation is a surprisingly accessible invitation to re-awaken our curiosity about the wondrous fabric of our universe and our place within it.

Grace is the on-stage presence, combining refined movement with a well researched and constructed science lecture. Her tone is something like that of a friendly geometry teacher, gently expounding the profundities of pi.

The elegantly simple design and evocative text are Helen’s domain. Her celestial dinner plate sculpture echoes extends the discussion of pi, while a poignant passage emanating from the ashes of Black Saturday alludes to the infinitesimal and over-awing power of nature.

Accompanying the piece is an apt but unobtrusive score by David Corbet, along with a series of drily amusing descriptions of pain inflicted by insect bites. Intelligent lighting design by Jenny Hector and Rose Connors Dance makes the most of the idiosyncratic venue.

With philosophical and physical treasures to please both specialist and generalist audiences, Mathematical Models of the Sublime is a fascinating performative essay.

This review was commissioned by The Age newspaper.

Human Abstract

2010-07-08T01:06:00.006+10:00

JACK Productions

Choreography by Lucas Jervies

Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne, July 7, 2010

Human Abstract is the first performance by JACK Productions, a group of Australian Ballet dancers who have branched out from the parent company to present ‘innovative dance’. Well done to them, and to the Australian Ballet for supporting them in this experimental endeavour.

As much I would have loved to rave about the piece and herald a new era in ballet for Melbourne, there are just too many flaws in this fledgling work, choreographed by young Australian Lucas Jervies.

At times the dancing is great, as you would expect from such wonderful artists as Leanne Stojmenov, Danielle Rowe and Kevin Jackson, not to mention the founding members of JACK; Andrew Killian, Robert Curran and Laura Tong.

The ample text is eloquently spoken by international guest artist Sabina Perry, but it’s impossible to know who is the author, as there is no credit given in the program notes. [Apparently it's from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Thankyou Mr Boyd]. And, there are the usual problems which arise when choreographers employ language– it tends to bludgeon the movement into insignificance and feels clunky next to the airy subtleties and endless possibilities for interpretation which dance can offer.

I can see where Jervies is perhaps trying to go, combining ballet technique with dance theatre elements; a sofa, a fencing mask, a bizarre aerial prop something like a giant pair of inverted stockings plonked on Perry’s head. Even a comical scene toward the end of the piece with Killian disdainfully holding a mirrorball as Perry enthusiastically mimes a soulful version of Someday (you’ll want me to want you).

But it just doesn’t gel. It’s too long and there’s no real dramatic impact. Jervies is still in the early stages of his career as a choreographer, and his inexperience is evident.

It will be fascinating to see if JACK and Jervies can continue to experiment and mature, pushing Australian ballet into new territory. They just haven’t quite reached it, yet.

Merchants of Bollywood

2010-02-21T10:39:00.009+11:00

Spinning Drummers of Serendip

February 17, 2010
State Theatre, Melbourne

With more hip shaking, toe tapping numbers than you can poke a poppadom at, Merchants of Bollywood has all the glamour and romance of a Bollywood musical.

Based on the real-life story of choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant, it traces the development of the Bollywood film industry through gaudy dance routines and simple dramatic passages. Merchant is a Bollywood dance guru, combining classical grace with modern energy in true Bollywood style. Some of her most famous routines are lifted straight from the films for which they were created and included in the show. (See one of the better ones here: a Youtube clip of Kajra Re)

It’s daggy, but mostly fun, with extra spice added by an occasional pelvic thrust from the outrageously handsome and bare-chested Deepak Rawat. As the young choreographer, Carol Furtado performs speaking and dancing roles with elegance and charisma.

Although some of the movie-style sequences are a little overstretched and repetitive, the hip hop flavoured, ultra-modern routines really raise the roof while intricate and fast-paced classical dances set the heart alight.

Rajastani folk dances, including spinning drummers, invoke a village atmosphere and give a touch of authenticity to this unashamedly glitzy show. Barrel leaps and back flips in vividly coloured and richly adorned outfits provide relief from the relentlessly pounding Bollywood rhythms.

The large cast shimmy their way through innumerable costume changes with plenty of enthusiasm, and thankfully the show doesn’t take itself too seriously. If there were more space in the aisles, the audience would surely be up and dancing, singing along with one of the catchy encores.

Review by Chloe Smethurst
First published in The Age newspaper

Hope for the Future - Victorian College of the Arts

2010-02-11T21:40:00.008+11:00

I know it's last minute, but I've done it!

I just submitted my response to the Discussion Paper on the future of the VCA. I've pasted it below, if you're interested in my thoughts. But more importantly, be sure to send the Review Committee your own thoughts.

Visit savevca.org for a template that you can use, or write your own. If you're passionate about Melbourne's vibrant dance scene, make an effort to save the VCA. Just make sure that you send it in by February 12. (Yes! today!)

Dear Review Committee,

Thank you for the opportunity to have input into the future of the Victorian College of the Arts. I write to you as a graduate of the VCA Dance school and the Arts Management course which was run jointly through the VCA and University of Melbourne. I have also attended many performances of the VCA Dance school in my capacity as dance critic for The Age newspaper.

Studying at the VCA had a profound effect on me. As a dance student, being immersed in the ‘Melbourne Scene’ was possibly the best contemporary dance training one could hope for without leaving Australia. Having close contact with active performing artists and choreographers, who were engaged as sessional teachers and who created new and exciting dance works for us to perform, was an invaluable experience.

When I attended last year’s VCA Dance graduation performance, it was clear that the students continue to enjoy this close relationship with prominent Australian contemporary dance artists. It only makes sense, for this city, which is a hub of contemporary dance, to also be home to a leading training institution.
• It benefits the students, who complete their training in close proximity to practicing artists and have access to regular live performances
• It benefits the artists, who find paid work within the institution to supplement their own practice
• It benefits the choreographers and employers of contemporary dancers, such as Chunky Move and Balletlab, who often absorb VCA graduates directly into paid work.

In reading the discussion paper, it seems to me that in relation to Curriculum Options, either Option 1 or Option 3 are the only options which could provide appropriate outcomes for students if the VCA hopes to maintain the high quality of its dance school. Option 2, demoting the current Dance Degree to a generalist degree with the option of dance as a major, would devalue the course to the point where it would no longer be a viable choice for those hoping to find work as a professional dancer.

The possible demise of the specialist dance degree at VCA is a real threat to the ecology of contemporary dance in Melbourne. Without this artistic incubator where choreographers find employment while future artists are trained, the current climate of constant creation could easily stagnate, strangling the vibrant organism that is Melbourne dance.

If maintaining the dance school in its current state requires seeking additional funding, directly from the federal government or from other sources, then I would urge the Review Committee to make such a recommendation.

Yours sincerely,
Chloe Smethurst

ABC doco: Bangarra Fire

2010-01-06T21:25:00.006+11:00

After performing their 20th Anniversary retrospective program around the country this year, Bangarra Dance Theatre have cemented themselves as one of Australia's most important and fascinating dance companies.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) recently screened a special Message Stick program on Bangarra. It combines recent and historical footage, interviews and rehearsal clips from Fire. If you missed it on the telly, you can still catch it on the ABC's Arts website.

Watching the doco is not nearly as satisfying as seeing the live performance, but it gives a really good overview of the company's history, and an insight into what the future may hold.

2009 - of births, deaths and dancing

2009-12-19T17:29:00.009+11:00

Sasha Waltz and Guests, Korper. Photo: Bernd Uhlig

2009 has been a pretty big year for me. My son was born, my mentor and friend Hilary Crampton passed away, and in between all the living and dying, there was work.

You can read the summary of the year's dance performances that I wrote for The Age here, but I also thought I'd share the replies I made to the Dance Australia Magazine's critics survey. They're brief, but at least give an overview of how I saw the year.

Highlight of the year:
Sasha Waltz and Guests, Körper (my review for The Age here)

Most significant dance event:
The deaths of Merce Cunningham, Pina Bausch and Hilary Crampton

Most interesting Australian group or artist
Meryl Tankard and Paul White - The Oracle

Most interesting overseas group or artist:
Sasha Waltz and Guests

Most outstanding choreography
Graeme Murphy’s Nutcracker – The Story of Clara for the Australian Ballet.

Best new work (can be local or international)
The Oracle

Most outstanding dancer
Sergei Polunin – Royal Ballet – performing in the International Ballet Gala
Paul White – The Oracle
Harriet Ritchie – Lucy Guerin Inc - Structure & Sadness
Lana Jones – Australian Ballet - One of the only dancers to nail Dyad 1929 in the Concord program

Dancer to watch
Annabel Knight – Sydney Dance Company (my review of Rafael Bonachela's 360 for The Age here)
Daniel Gaudiello – he was outstanding in the Australian Ballet’s Concord Program

Critic's gripe:
The misconception held by the general public that any ballet company from Russia must be wonderful. And the generally low performance standard of said companies. (My review of the Imperial Russian Ballet Company's Swan Lake here)

Mobile States: Apply now to tour in 2011

2009-12-19T14:01:00.006+11:00

dance out there is very excited to hear that Mobile States are putting together two tours for 2011:

• A conventional tour of a single work;

• A contemporary performance event featuring multiple works of diverse genres & formats

Excited because it means that audiences (like my good self) will get to see some fantastic new Australian work, but more excited for the artists who will be involved.

Touring around Australia is never easy, but the support of well organised, government funded bodies like Performing Lines makes it slightly more achievable. Previous Mobile States tours include Dancenorth's Underground, Lucy Guerin Inc's Love Me and Back to Back's small metal objects.

So, to all my dear movement-based practitioners, get busy and send in your proposal! Applications close February 8, 2010. See www.performinglines.org.au for more details.

The Oracle

2009-12-07T09:55:00.004+11:00

Directed by Meryl Tankard
Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne
December 2, 2009

The Oracle is a brief but powerful piece which builds to a climax of unearthly energy. Choreographed by Meryl Tankard with performer Paul White, the movement is driven by Stravinsky’s masterpiece The Rite of Spring.

Tankard draws on many sources of inspiration, not least the life of Vaslav Nijinsky, the virtuoso dancer and original choreographer of this score. Nijinsky’s battles with mental illness are alluded to through tortured postures and a constant sense of vulnerability, despite the obvious strength of White’s muscular body.

The strange landscapes created by Scandinavian painter Odd Nerdrum are also a strong presence. The dark colour scheme, peculiar costume and even distinctive actions such as licking the floor are clearly inspired by Nerdrum’s paintings, so that at times it seems Tankard is meticulously extrapolating, bringing his haunting and mysterious world to life.

Régis Lansac’s videography builds the sense of other-worldliness, morphing and manipulating footage of White into images of pagan gods, with unseeing eyes and ever- evolving appendages. The video is also functions brilliantly as a mirror, allowing White to duet with his shadowy reflection. This duality heightens the sense of mental and physical instability, as though the Oracle is at once real and imagined, an elemental force unhappily trapped in human form.

White’s physical prowess is astounding, particularly in the explosive final section. Seemingly impossible, gravity-defying leaps inverting and suspending his body horizontally are linked with delicate and detailed spiralling shapes through his spine and arms, distressingly propelled by the dramatic notes of Stravinsky’s score. Combining fine, fluid technique and bombastic power with an impressive stage presence, he is thrilling to watch.

Potent, unsettling, and hard to define, The Oracle is a psycho-drama which communicates on a primal level. Tankard is back at her best with this visually ominous and aurally stunning piece.

First published in The Age newspaper

Opportunity for young dance film makers

2009-10-11T20:57:00.005+11:00

PrivateDances, a 2010 Next Wave Festival project, is seeking young aspiring dance filmmakers.

Next Wave and ReelDance are commissioning the creation of up to five new short dance-films for a new project in the 2010 Next Wave Festival.

Next Wave wants to hear from young Australian artists who are keen to experiment with the medium of dance on screen.

The films will be screened as part of the 2010 Next Wave Festival’s PrivateDances, an adventurous dance/food/wine project conceived by choreographer/curator Natalie Cursio. PrivateDances will be focused around intimate encounters and conversation based on dance. In addition to receiving a $1000 fee for the complete works, selected filmmakers will also receive “Arts Bus” travel passes to attend the 2010 ReelDance Festival of Dance on Screen in Sydney, where they will receive free tickets to all screenings and will have the opportunity to talk with and see the work of an array of national and international dance-film artists.

The deadline for proposals is Wednesday October 21, 2009.

FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO APPLY: Contact natalie@nextwave.org.au or visit nextwave.org.au

Six Women Standing in Front of a White Wall

2009-10-11T20:44:00.007+11:00

Congratulations to Little Dove Theatre Art, winners of the Best Dance Award at this year's Melbourne Fringe Festival.

If you didn't get a chance to see it, here's a brief description via the mini-review I wrote for The Age a few weeks ago:

With social isolation becoming a common problem, theatre maker Chenoeh Miller has taken it upon herself to remind us of the importance of human contact. Her interactive physical theatre/butoh piece is an affecting demonstration of the idea that we need to be touched in order to survive.

The Six Women stand behind a rope barrier, upon which hangs a sign reading ‘Please Do Touch’. Their painted faces are contorted in silent cries of agony, amplified gestures of fury and despair send them into fits of shaking, their fingers distorted with tension.

As audience members approach, the joy of the performers is exaggerated but nonetheless authentic, their incredibly expressive faces fill the room with ecstatic, childlike delight at the generosity of a stranger’s touch.

They never speak nor move off the spot, but at such close range their smiles are enormously infectious, making this cleverly designed encounter an uplifting, playful experience.

P.S. There's also a snippet of the show on Youtube

Iris

2009-09-30T01:20:00.004+10:00

Created and Performed by Gülsen Özer and Dani-Ela Kayler

As part of Melbourne Fringe Festival

Arts House, North Melbourne Town Hall

September 29, 2009, until October 10

www.melbournefringe.com.au

Iris reminded me so strongly of something my busy adult self had nearly forgotten, the imaginary world my best friend and I created at primary school. We would constantly be adding characters and having adventures to the point where sometimes it really did seem real. It was somewhere to escape to, which made our daily lives so much more exciting.

Gülsen Özer and Dani-Ela Kayler have captured the essence of that magical childhood time, where anything is possible if only you can imagine it. Their sing-song rhymes, bossy arguments and sophisticated games have one foot in this world and one in a slightly different place, where watching flies while sitting on a country gate can be great entertainment. They have been working on this piece for over three years, and the time spent in development shows in the layers of meaning they’ve been able to compile. I won’t try to point them all out after just one viewing, as I’d be sure to miss too many, but suffice to say I was sitting well forward on my seat to be sure to catch all the little details.

As often happens when dance is combined with spoken word, the movement is sometimes trampled by the more direct power of speech. This is particularly the case when abstracted movement is used in conjunction with seemingly unrelated script, arms and legs waving about in a manner easily spoofed by those who love to hate ‘interpretive dance’. Nevertheless, occasionally Özer and Kayler manage to strike the right balance, finding postures that ring true and speak for themselves, like their ingenious opening sequence where their faces become conjoined, physicalising the emotional interconnection that inseparable friends experience.

It’s by no means a virtuosic dance performance, but neither does it need to be, with a very well developed and delivered script, evocative sound design by Zoë Barry and good direction from Tim White, Iris is a solid piece of dance theatre.

Michelle Heaven's The Swooning Gloom

2009-09-25T02:14:00.006+10:00

If you're a fan of Michelle Heaven's work, particularly her brilliant show Disagreeable Object, don't miss Weave Movement Theatre's triple bill Triplicity as part of this year's Melbourne Fringe Festival.

Heaven's piece The Swooning Gloom is only short, but sharply focussed and really well composed, not to mention evocative and entertaining.

It was choreographed in collaboration with performers Janice Florence, Noelle Rees-Hatton and Trevor Dunn, and the brilliant lighting design is by Oscar Seaburgs.

Other pieces in the same program are Trample by Gerard Van Dyck, and Dirt by Kate Middleweek.

Visit the Fringe website for more info, but be quick! The season only runs until Sunday 27 September.

Vale Hilary Crampton

2009-09-08T22:39:00.003+10:00

It is with great sorrow that I mark the passing of my dear friend, mentor and colleague Hilary Crampton.

She will be sorely missed, by me and many others, not only for her invaluable contribution to dance in Australia, but also for her guidance, encouragement and companionship.

Her many achievements and absolute dedication to dance are a constant inspiration.

Julie Dyson has written a wonderful professional tribute to Hilary on the Ausdance website, the final sentence of which says it all for me:

"While Hilary was best known as a writer, educator and advocate, she primarily saw herself as an artist and an arts practitioner who could write, a sentiment well reflected in her insightful writing."

Thankyou Hilary, I miss you already.

Concord: The Australian Ballet triple bill

2009-08-29T15:16:00.005+10:00

Tzu-Chao Chou & Lana Jones in Dyad 1929. Photo: Jim McFarlane

August 21 - September 1, 2009
State Theatre, Melbourne

With fresh creations from two of the world’s most in-demand choreographers and a modern favourite, this is a most contemporary Australian Ballet triple bill.

Nacho Duato's Por vos muero sits alongside Wayne McGregor's post-modern Dyad 1929 and Alexei Ratmansky's reworking of the Massine story ballet Scuola di ballo.

Opinions have varied about the success of the program, so for those unable to see it for themselves, here's a collection of links to reviews:

Michelle Potter's blog calls Dyad 1929 "brave and challenging", but Eamonn Kelly in The Australian found the movement "cold".

Stephanie Glickman on Australian Stage lauds the commitment of the company's versatile dancers.

My review is published on Arts Hub, and Robin Grove's brief but positive review is on The Age website

Got an opinion of your own? Let me know what you thought!

DanceNorth: looking for new dancers

2009-08-29T14:21:00.004+10:00

Dancenorth, one of Australia’s leading contemporary dance-theatre companies is calling for expressions of interest from male and female dancers for contracts beginning February 2010.

Applicants should have trained at a recognised school or conservatoire and have strong contemporary and classical dance technique. Dancenorth repertoire is highly physical and will often involve character development, so an ability to improvise and participate in the creation of choreographic material is essential. Understanding you will be part of a small company, and the need to make a commitment to living in the North of Queensland is essential in making an expression of interest. Auditions will be by invitation only and be held on Sunday, 18th October at Dancehouse in Melbourne, Australia.

To apply please follow the instructions as follows: Please complete your contact details and attach the following information then email directly to raewyn@dancenorth.com.au by 15 September 2009.

Name / Date of Birth / Best contact email / Express why you are interested in working with Dancenorth?
Include a short Bio and a photo

From the above submission the Artistic Director will make an invitation directly to you by email to participate in the audition, in Melbourne. Selected participants should be prepared to take part in a ballet class, followed by performing a short solo of your own choreography that lasts no longer than 1 minute.

From this process a second short-list will be compiled and if selected you will then complete a set task and a brief interview with Artistic Director Raewyn Hill.

Traces

2009-08-22T23:51:00.004+10:00

Created and performed by the 7 fingers (le 7 doigts de la main)

Comedy Theatre, Melbourne

August 19, 2009 (until August 29)

In an unidentified disaster zone, a group of young people attempt to leave some trace of themselves in what could be their final moments. It’s a relatively flimsy excuse for an extraordinary display of contemporary circus, which, despite the very loose narrative thread, is an excellent production.

The personalities of the five young performers gradually emerge as they introduce themselves, telling us their names, personal attributes and revealing some of their many talents. Their friendly banter is woven into a seamless combination of high-level acrobatics with classical piano, live sketching and skateboarding skits.

Their skills are truly fantastic and the acts themselves are generally very well conceived and directed. The group sequences are particularly spectacular, reaching gasp-aloud climaxes in the gravity-defying double pole and hoop diving acts.

In an awesome display of strength and power, Antoine Carabinier-Lepine spins and rolls inside the Cyr wheel, his continually changing combinations growing ever more spectacular. Geneviève Morin and Antoine Auger have great rapport in their angsty duet, a smooth blend of amazing stunts with the push-pull dance of a complicated relationship. Atop a headless mannequin, Philip Rosenberg gracefully executes one-handed balances, while Raphael Cruz is the ultimate all-rounder, cheeky and confident.

Despite the vague sense of impending doom, Traces never takes itself too seriously, maintaining a high level of youthful energy throughout, driven by an eclectic soundtrack which ranges from Broadway tunes to electronica and Radiohead.

Ultimately, it’s the brilliance of the performers and their acts which makes this French Canadian circus a success.

First published in The Age newspaper

International Ballet Gala

2009-08-02T19:43:00.004+10:00

July 30, 2009

Hamer Hall, Melbourne

In the parade of gorgeous tutus and double fouettes, majestic leaps and brilliant pirouettes, it was the men who outshone their partners in this showcase of international ballet talent.

Young Australian star of The Royal Ballet, Steven McRae, demonstrated why his career has been so meteoric in his performance of the Don Quixote pas de deux with fellow Royal Ballet dancer Roberta Marquez. His legs were whip-crack sharp beneath his rock solid torso, while Marquez was the perfect foil, all smiles and easy grace.

Joseph Phillips from American Ballet Theatre also made a huge impression in the Diana and Acteon pas de deux with his bouyant leaps and assuredly smooth turns, while his partner Venus Villa had a delightful presence, light on her feet and technically brilliant.

Yet magnificent as both McRae and Phillips were, they were trumped by another rising star, Ukrainian-born Sergei Polunin, who danced Le Corsaire as though it was made for him. At just nineteen years of age, Polunin’s dancing is full of passion, his spitfire technique absolutely marvellous. He was partnered by Mara Galeazzi, also of The Royal Ballet, whose abilities were absolutely overshadowed by the intensity of his talent.

Beatrice Knop and Dmitry Semionov of the Staatsballett Berlin displayed their prowess in an interesting modern duet from Caravaggio, a contemporary ballet by Italian choreographer Mauro Bigonzetti.

Mathilde Froustey from the Paris Opera Ballet and Australian Adam Thurlow made a charming pair in Paquita, and the obligatory Black Swan pas de deux was competently danced by Russians Natalia and Yuri Vyskubenko, though it was somewhat lacking in characterisation.

The program was supported by students of The Australian Conservatoire of Ballet, who, despite being very well rehearsed, couldn’t help looking dowdy in comparison with the glamorous international superstars.

First published in The Age newspaper

Disagreeable Object

2009-07-27T21:50:00.004+10:00

Choreographed by Michelle Heaven, performed by Michelle Heaven and Brian Lucas
July 25, 2009
Chunky Move Studios, Melbourne

Disagreeable Object demonstrates the value of investing in the development of work over an extended period of time. Over years of consideration, development and research, Michelle Heaven and her collaborators have rattled this piece down to a grimy little nugget of theatrical gold, perfectly polished in every regard.

I couldn’t possibly hope to better the words of Alison Croggon on Theatre Notes, so go there for a wonderful description of the piece.

Miracle

2009-07-19T19:47:00.005+10:00

I reviewed Balletlab's production Miracle for The Age, and have posted that review below. It feels terribly insubstantial given the enormity of the piece, but nevertheless, this is what I came up with given the constraints of time and space. Were I reviewing it with unlimited words and time for reflection, my response may have been slightly different...

For those who missed the show, Martyn Coutts' blog post gives a great version of what it was like to be in the audience: click here to read his post

Miracle by Balletlab

Choreographed by Phillip Adams, performed by Brooke Stamp, Luke George, Kyle Kremerskothen and Clair Peters

July 15, 2009

Arts House, Meat Market, Melbourne

For what seems like an age, four dancers stand in silence beneath the heavenly atmosphere of a gently drifting haze. When they finally charge forward, their screaming voices amplified and distorted, it becomes immediately clear that this is not going to be a comfortable theatrical experience.

Choreographed and directed by Phillip Adams, Miracle is equal parts performance art and sound installation, broken into three distinct sections.

The first is something like a dance of ecstasy, a choreographed meditation or prayer using almost entirely pedestrian movement. With ankle-length robes trailing, the well-rehearsed dancers tread a crisscross pattern, pulsating and gagging on the enormity of their brush with divinity, contributing to the piercing soundscape with harsh vocalisations.

Part Two takes place within an abstracted cult compound, replete with strange rituals, blasting megaphones and wooden clogs. Amongst an endless feedback loop of voices and resonant strings engineered by composers David Chisholm and Myles Mumford, both transcendence and domination are explored in repetitive physical patterns. The rhythmic thwack of coiled extension leads across naked torsos has a hypnotic effect, though a seamless quartet of swooping falls and spiralling lifts is one of the only pure dance sequences.

There’s a touch of absurd humour in the final segment, a rocket-ship ride past a crazily gesticulating astronaut and gracefully orbiting heavenly bodies which leaves the stage strewn with discarded harmonicas and tambourines. The surprising and fabulous illusion in the closing moments is accompanied by ultra-loud, brassy notes which drown out the mumblings of the pair wrapped in saffron silk.

Toni Maticevski’s evocative costumes are perfectly suited and the drenching sound is totally appropriate, yet it’s hard to get inside Miracle. The long and repetitive sequences en route to rapture are exhausting to watch, but don’t incite the sympathetic ecstasy required to lift the piece beyond experimentation.

First published in The Age newspaper

I left my shoes on warm concrete and stood in the rain

2009-07-16T01:52:00.007+10:00

Choreographed and performed by Gabrielle Nankivell
July 8, 2009
Dancehouse, Melbourne

Gabrielle Nankivell is an incredible dancer. When she moves she seems to leave traces in the air like a wisp of smoke. She dissolves into the floor at speed, hurtling into rolling sequences and in the next motion leaping skyward with lightning strength.

She is also a choreographer and writer, employing all her talents to create this poetic work in collaboration with sound man Luke Smiles and designer Benjamin Cisterne. Her words are spoken, projected and danced, creating a slightly naive world of imagination and flickering images, where surviving the tribulations of daily life is both a struggle and a joy.

The dance is fragmentary, each episode revealing a different character, mood or situation. In one scene she embodies the carefree waft of a summer breeze, while another under strobe lighting has all the violence and speed of a martial arts movie. From a visceral crawl through the trenches of World War I to a comedic sequence with instructions on how to survive an attack by a metaphorical bear, Nankivell seems to be extrapolating from personal experiences, revealing something of herself and how she sees the world.

Her colourful text coexists with the choreography, running parallel without overpowering. The audience has time for immersion in the aural realm of voices and soundscapes, and projections are displayed long enough for their impact to be properly absorbed.

In the main, the piece is polished and effective, but just occasionally it slips into the obvious and saccharine. There are great surprises and evocative images, but some of the poetry is a little under par and certainly not as refined as Nankivell’s physical performance. Ultimately, it’s her skill as a dancer and the calibre of her collaborators which makes this piece a success.

First published in The Age newspaper

The Burlesque Hour LEGENDS!

2009-07-06T01:40:00.000+10:00

Created & Directed by Moira Finucane & Jackie Smith
June 25, 2009. Until August 2
www.fortyfivedownstairs.com

Yes, this show contains nudity, though it’s clearly not just the bare flesh that keeps audiences coming back to Finucane and Smith’s parlour of feminine delights. The Burlesque Hour is a razor sharp variety show with guts and wit, exploring sexuality through the empowering and increasingly popular medium of burlesque.

With tongue firmly in cheek, this team of talented and feisty women have brought together skits both old and new to titillate and entertain. From Maude Davey’s beguiling and clever vagina monologue to Jess Love’s raunchy aerial swing, there’s just the right amount of sugar and spice.

Fabulous guest artist Ursula Martinez is alternately a beer swilling bogan in a flaming bikini, a skilled magician who finds her disappearing hanky in all kinds of unmentionable places and a wonderfully witty chanteuse with very well practiced fingers.

Harriet Ritchie and Holly Durant bring some bump and grind to the mix, becoming busty babes in a bouncy satire of R&B music video clips.

In contrast, Yumi Umiumare is deadly serious in her riveting solo Mouth Piece. Dressed in a business suit, she adjusts her appearance, gradually becoming more forceful and frenzied until almost her entire hand is down her throat. As she calmly wipes away the vomit, we are reminded why body image is such an important issue. Later, with fans swirling about her like swords and eyes flashing, she strips down from kimono to loincloth, a warrior-like figure with Japanese characters scrawled on her skin.

Yet it’s Moira Finucane who anchors the show, performing a range of stunning, sexy and terrifying routines. She is a captivating presence, whether as a shuddering, orgasmic waitress, a deathly wraith beneath a black veil or the outrageous and hilarious milk-splattering Dairy Queen. It’s very enjoyable, polished theatre that revels in feminist mischief.

First published in The Age newspaper

My recent writing exploits

2009-05-17T22:04:00.006+10:00

No blogging lately, partly due to a quiet time in Melbourne's dance calendar, and partly due to a lack of time in my personal calendar.

However, I have written two reviews for The Age newspaper recently. Here are the links, in case you missed them:

STOMP09

and

Sydney Dance Company performing 360˚, choreographed by Rafael Bonachela (pictured right)

Green Room Awards 2008

2009-03-30T22:30:00.006+11:00

It’s Green Room Awards time again, when Melbourne’s performing arts community pat each other on the back, or rip each other to shreds… depending on your point of view. See Theatre Notes for great examples of the latter.

The 2008 awards will be announced on April 20, but until then, here are my picks in the Dance section:

Male Dancer – Marc Cassidy (A Suite of Dances – The Australian Ballet). Absolutely beautifully danced.

Female Dancer – I didn’t see Inuk2 or either of Jo Lloyd’s pieces, so I won’t make a judgement on this one. Kate Harman, Danielle Rowe and Harriet Ritchie are all good candidates, but the works they performed were so very different, it’s too hard to compare.

Dance Ensemble – Dance North (Underground). All of the dancers were excellent, in their characterisations, technique and commitment to the work.

Music Composition & Performance – it’s got to be Livia Ruzic, Tamil Rogeon and Tim Blake for Sunstruck (Helen Herbertson and Ben Cobham). At times it was difficult to tell what sound was intentional and what was just naturally occurring in the warehouse, but the fact that it all blended together and worked so perfectly for that particular performance space makes them my pick.

Concept & Realisation – Eek, wish I had seen Disagreeable Object! Though out of the other three nominations, Balletlab’s Axeman Lullaby was the most powerful piece of theatre.

Betty Pounder Award for Choreography – I’d give it to Shelley Lasica for Vianne. Mature, complex, well structured dance-art.

Lighting Design in Dance – a tie between Paul Jackson and Nik Pajanti for Axeman Lullaby and Ben Cobham for Sunstruck.

Set and/or Costume Design for Dance – for grandeur and striking beauty, Michael Pearce wins hands down for the set of Nightpath (The Australian Ballet)

For a full list of the nominees, visit www.greenroom.org.au

Applications closing soon for Tanja Liedtke Fellowship

2009-01-16T21:31:00.005+11:00

There can be no doubt that the tragically untimely death of Tanja Liedtke in 2007 was a great loss to the dance world. Yet under the auspices of the foundation named in her honour, her amazing creative energy lives on.

The Tanja Liedtke Fellowship for 2009 is an incredible opportunity, open to Australian citizens aged from 20-35 years.

The artistic component of the Fellowship consists of a 7 week residency in Berlin, during which time the successful applicant will have access to the Tanz im Augus t festival, workshops, touring with Sasha Waltz & Guests, tickets to performances, plus a rehearsal space for creative development.

Plus, it's all fully financially supported with return flights to Berlin, accommodation and a living allowance supplied.

This unique opportunity is aimed at developing contemporary dancers/choreographers, and the combination of a structured schedule with open space for creative development would be of great benefit to any young artist.

The closing date for applications is January 31, 2009. To download the application form, click here or visit www.tanja-liedtke-foundation.org

Dance film event

2009-01-14T14:33:00.007+11:00

Anamnesis

For the last month or so, Melbourne has been indulging in some time off from the regular schedule of dance performances. However, if you're craving some contact with the moving arts, here's an event to ease you back into the swing of things....

Some Screendance
7.30pm to start at 8pm, Tuesday 27 January 2009
Horse Bazaar
397 Little Lonsdale Street
Melbourne, Australia

It's an opportunity to:

get together and have a quiet drink to kick off the new(ish) year

watch short dance films by David Corbet, Cobie Orger, Dianne Reid and Tim Halliday & Simon Ellis

see the premiere of Anamnesis – a new film by Cormac Lally, David Corbet, Bagryana Popov and Simon Ellis

For more information, visit skellis.net

Anamnesis has been developed with the support of the Australia Council Dance Fund

2008 - it's a wrap

2008-12-31T00:12:00.001+11:00

With one day to go before the end of the year, you can now check out my brief summary of 2008 as published in The Age newspaper. To read the full article, click here

For those of you short on time, here's an even briefer summary of what happened in Melbourne's dance scene this year:

Our local contemporary dance companies made some great work, though oddly a lot of them relied on text
The Australian Ballet were conservative in their programming, as usual, but the dancers were excellent
Despite the release of the Australia Council's latest strategic plan, there doesn't seem to much hope of dance becoming a viable full-time career option any time soon

I'd love to hear your thoughts on what happened in Australian dance during the year... post your comments here, email me, or send me a tweet on twitter.com

Dancenorth seeks new Artistic Director

2008-12-17T15:24:00.000+11:00

Just when audiences around Australia were getting to know (and enjoy) Gavin Webber's work for Townsville-based company Dancenorth, it seems he is leaving the company. While I'm yet to find out who instigated the change in artistic leadership, see below for the position description...

Closes 2 February 2009
Dancenorth, one of Australia’s fastest growing arts companies seeks an Artistic Director to create cutting-edge dance-theatre productions and lead a dedicated team in Townsville North QLD. The successful applicant will drive further growth and create works that will appeal on multiple levels to diverse audiences.
Working closely with the General Manager you will manage all aspects of Dancenorth’s creative team. Facilities include our own 190 seat theatre and rehearsal space.
The successful applicant will have relevant industry experience, have excellent organisation and communication skills, and be excited by the potential of the company. The position is full time with a start date negotiable.
Download the Position Description here
For further enquiries, contact joanne@dancenorth.com.au or phone +61 7 47722549.

UPDATE: Dancenorth say that Gavin will be leaving the company in March 2009 for personal reasons, "Gavin has indicated that he will take time off and will look to pursue a career as an independant choreographer down the track."

Summer Break

2008-12-11T14:00:00.000+11:00

Well, for me, the dance year has come to an end. I have grand plans of writing a summary of the shows I have seen and the general trends I have noticed, although whether I actually get around to writing and posting it is another matter.

With my second child due to arrive in January, it's quite likely that this blog will be inactive for a few months... I can't imagine that seeing performances and writing about them will be very high on my list of priorities with a newborn in the house.

However, please do sign up to receive updates, either by email or feed, so that when my blogging adventures resume in 2009, you'll be the first to hear about it.

Chloe Smethurst
dance out there

Vianne

2008-12-07T23:05:00.000+11:00

Deanne Butterworth with sculpture by Anne-Marie May.
Image by Rohan Young

Direction & Choreography by Shelley Lasica

fortyfivedownstairs - Flinders Lane, Melbourne

December 4, 2008 (until Dec 14 - get along if you can. Tickets from www.fortyfivedownstairs.com )

Shelley Lasica’s years of experience as a choreographer are clearly evident in her latest creation, Vianne. It’s a complex, beautiful, subtle piece supported by excellent contributions from a very talented group of artists.

The space is sparsely adorned with Anne-Marie May’s clear plastic sculptures. One resembling a water fountain hangs at the rear of the space (pictured), while an open-sided cube is raised on ropes halfway through the performance. Ben Cobham’s lighting design is similarly pared back, using only bare globes and lights placed outside the building, which shine through the exposed, arched windows onto the naked walls.

The five dancers wear glittering, hooded jumpsuits and small, sparkly false eyelashes, designed by Lasica and Kara Baker for PROJECT. Upon entering, their very first movement sequence appears totally abstract, like a series of May’s sculptures gently moving in the breeze. But gradually, more personal touches emerge. They communicate with each other through tiny fragments of conversation, a nod, a pointed glance, a gesture, at times seeming to be in rehearsal, learning and practicing the movement phrases together.

The mix of abstract and literal content continues as the dancers splinter away into distinct solos or coalesce into a unified group, using a movement palette which varies from the smallest shift of the eyes to energetic limb thrashing. Each dancer has a unique ‘voice’, often performing idiosyncratic phrases that, particularly in the case of Jo Lloyd, are clearly identifiable as being drawn directly from the dancer.

In one powerful moment, the three women, Lloyd, Deanne Butterworth, and Bonnie Paskas, slowly straighten their knees from a deep bend in unison. It’s the simplest of movements, yet their intense focus makes it seem profound.

At another point, Butterworth seems to make time run backwards as she repeats a fast, flicking walk that looks as though it’s being played in reverse. Hers could be the central character, the only one dressed in orange (rather than brown), often regarding the action with a half-smile.

A brilliantly timed duet for she and Lloyd evokes a sense of interdependency and friendship, like a physical history of their relationship. Other interactions with the men, Tim Harvey and Lee Serle are almost sensual, but could equally be read in platonic terms.

The beauty of the work is its ambiguity. It could be viewed as a narrative about personal relationships and memory, or simply for the aesthetics of the spatial design.

The excellent structure of the piece is augmented by the ever-present music, an electronic composition by Milo Kossowski and Morgan McWaters for PEACE OUT !, which fits perfectly with the action on stage. It’s reminiscent of a ballet score in the way that the many short tracks serve to delineate the different sections of the choreography.

The end result is a harmonious combination of all the elements into a mysterious yet unified whole, satisfying yet open to interpretation.

An abridged version of this review was published in The Age newspaper.

Want to read more? here's another review at mono no aware

Coming Out!

2008-12-01T08:42:00.000+11:00

LINK Dance Company

Dancehouse, Melbourne

November 27, 2008

Coming Out! is an opportunity for graduating students from tertiary dance courses around Australia to showcase their work. Program A was performed by LINK, the honours-year company from the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts, and featured choreography by Narelle Benjamin, Martin del Amo and Michael Whaites.

In Benjamin’s Out Of Water, the all-female ensemble move through a series of modified yoga postures, demonstrating their extreme flexibility and strength. Set to an atmospheric soundscape by Huey Benjamin, the dancers maintain good unison and a sense of continuous, fluid motion, yet the overall impression is more akin to a gymnastic display than a dance piece.

In contrast, Mountains Never Meet by del Amo makes no attempt at virtuosity, instead relying on increasingly intricate arrangements of pedestrian movement. Wearing jeans and sneakers, the performers walk, jump, skip and run in the deceptively simple, well structured choreography, which speaks volumes about the human condition through clever manipulation of space and time.

Surrealism is the focus of the final piece, created by Whaites in collaboration with the dancers. Titled Miss Muffet Eats a Mushroom, it combines inventive costuming, some ironic spoken word and detailed original movement. The ideas and images presented are constantly surprising and engaging, though more stringent editing would make for a stronger result.

The eight women of LINK gave solid performances, though with so few graduate positions available in Australia, they’ll need more than just technical proficiency and tertiary qualifications if they hope to build a career.

First published in The Age newspaper.

Members of LINK Dance Company 2008: Carly Armstrong, Li-yi Chiu (Courtesy Taipei National University of Arts), Jamie Lee, Jessica Lewis, Jehane Lindley, Kylie Murray, Rhiannon Spratling and Amy Wiseman.

Here, Where We've Always Been

2008-11-28T12:30:00.000+11:00

Women’s Circus

Arts House, North Melbourne Town Hall

November 24, 2008

The Women’s Circus are celebrating an important historical milestone with their latest production. Marking one hundred years since most women were granted the right to vote in Victoria, Here offers a glimpse into the struggles of the past, as well an argument for continuing the fight into the future.

Set in a 19th century laundry where legions of women pound, scrub and sweat for minimal wages in the steaming suds, director Nadja Kostich illuminates the difficult working conditions of women in that era. The atmosphere of the laundry is cleverly evoked by the huge group of performers who fill the space with heaving, repetitive movement and sounds.

From the drudgery emerges a sense of sisterhood, as the somewhat fractured narrative unfolds to tell real and imagined stories of women and women’s suffrage in this state. The performers climb on and support each other physically while a historical voice berates these “he-women” who would “de-sex” themselves through their involvement with politics.

German wheels roll like giant cartwheels, carrying suffragettes as they collect signatures for petitions, while other scenes are more abstract, including well executed trapeze, aerial tissu and rope routines. The action is accompanied and enhanced by live music and song, pounding percussion alternating with melancholic melodies under the musical direction of Irine Vela.

There are significant differences in skill levels within the cast, but Kostich manages to highlight the strengths of each performer, creating some powerful moments for soloists and the ensemble.

Unfortunately the show is in need of more judicious editing. The pace is often depressingly slow, which, while historically accurate in terms of voting rights, doesn’t make for good circus. Snippets of projected video and animation aren’t given enough time or space to develop, while issues with sound mixing and voice projection mean that some spoken lines are unable to be heard.

After years of agitation for change, the eventual outcome for women in Victoria was a positive one. Yet the ultimate message of this production is that for many others around the world, there is still a long way to go in the fight for equal rights.

First published in The Age newspaper

I Like This

2008-11-25T14:23:00.001+11:00

Directed and Choreographed by Antony Hamilton & Byron Perry

Chunky Move Studio, Melbourne. Presented as part of the Next Move program.

November 21, 2008

Two men sit crouched in front of a row of chairs, surrounded by stereo equipment and electrical cables which cover the floor like over-sized spaghetti. With split-second timing, they flick handheld globes on and off in time with the music, illuminating the small cast.

As the piece develops, the two men (director/choreographers Antony Hamilton and Byron Perry, pictured) occasionally step out of their performance role, slipping into a reality-tv style discussion about where next to direct the action. It comes close to being another experiment in ‘what makes a performance’, a prevalent theme of the dance program in this year’s Melbourne International Arts Festival.

The young performers (Lee Serle, Stephanie Lake and Alisdair Macindoe) are well suited to the cartoonish antics required of them, Lake in particular holds the show together in her role as narrator.

It’s a light-hearted romp, clearly stamped with the personalities of the two creators, but it’s also pretty light on content. While vaguely entertaining, it doesn’t bode well for the future of dance as an artform if this pop-art is all we have to look forward to in the next generation of choreographers.

I have seen work by both of these artists which was more promising, but also less adventurous (see A Volume Problem and The Counting, which will both be remounted by Rogue in the 2009 Dance Massive program). With I Like This, Hamilton & Perry have joined the ever expanding discipline-creep of choreographers who take on too much responsibility for directing and writing cross genre work, and generally fail. The worst part is, that even the ‘pure movement’ in this piece is not much beyond what you would expect of a recent graduate, and certainly far below the potential of these two.

Many elements of the work contained echoes of other performances we have seen this year, which isn’t really surprising, given that it’s the same group of people creating them. What bothered me was the lack of further development and investigation.

Which leads to the question, why were these two dancers given this opportunity? Sure, they have been dabbling in choreography, but are they really ready to create a full-length production with all the trimmings? Isn’t there someone else on the cusp of a choreographic career, possibly outside the clique of regular Chunky performers, who could have come up with something a little more solid?

It seems bizarre that even with all the choreographic research going on in the post-graduate dance program just across the road at VCA, there was nothing valuable or interesting enough for the slick marketing of our flagship contemporary company to take on. Instead, they opted for the media friendly, well known names of popular performers who were sure to draw the crowds.

That’s not to say that we shouldn’t congratulate Chunky Move for using their resources to support the industry and encourage choreographic development. Let’s just hope that subsequent pieces produced under the Next Move banner will be given the time and space required to blossom into more fully fledged artworks.

Happy Hour

2008-10-23T23:25:00.000+11:00

Image by Chris Nash

Performed by Wendy Houstoun, developed by Wendy Houstoun and Tim Etchells

Beck’s Bar, Arts House, Meat Market, Melbourne

October 17, 2008, as part of the Melbourne International Arts Festival

Wendy Houstoun is a unique artist. Not only is she able to perform text and movement with equal skill, she’s also a talented comedian.

In this solo piece she deftly combines all three elements, playing a barmaid in a pub, or in this case, a corner of the Meat Market which has been set up as a tacky bar. Partaking of as much alcohol as she serves, our barmaid winds up in a state of inebriation which inevitably leads to wonky speeches and turns on the dance floor. The humour is both physical and verbal as she sends herself up, tells bad jokes and gets tangled in the streamers, though she never crosses into slapstick.

The strength of the work lies in the undercurrent of sadness and desperation that runs throughout. Both on a personal and a broader social level, Houstoun demonstrates without preaching the pitfalls of alcohol as a social lubricant and solution to life’s problems. It’s like being the designated driver and watching your friends make fools of themselves, though Houstoun is a more interesting drunk than most.

With good direction and a clever script, her wit seems to grow sharper while her sentences grow ever more incoherent. Whether in a series of depressing toasts, exaggeratingly clichéd bar talk or a repetitive sequence of falling movements accompanied by equally repetitive conversation, she represents all too well why the Government has become so concerned about our binge drinking culture.

Houstoun makes direct eye contact and interacts with the audience as she moves around the very close space, a similar and equally effective approach to that of her other festival show, Desert Island Dances. Both of these insightful, innovative works speak clearly to audiences while remaining sophisticated and meaningful, making art accessible even for the most inexperienced festival-goer.

Originally published in The Age newspaper. NB the image above is from an earlier incarnation of this production. In the version I saw, Houstoun's costume was totally different, and she didn't wear the red wig.

Auditions for Chunky Move

2008-10-19T23:02:00.000+11:00

Chunky Move Audition Applications Open Now

Chunky Move is pleased to announce a new full-length work to be commissioned by international choreographers, Erna Ómarsdóttir (Iceland/Belgium) & Damien Jalet (Belgium). This production will be rehearsed and premier in Melbourne in the latter part of 2009.

To determine the cast, Chunky Move will hold a public audition in its Melbourne home studio from December 2nd – 5th, 2008. Both Erna Ómarsdóttir and Damien Jalet will be in Australia to host these auditions.

Application forms to audition can be downloaded from www.chunkymove.com

Applications close at 5pm, OCTOBER 31

Successful applicants will be notified by November 21st and will be required to be available for the complete audition period.

For any further enquiry please contact Chunky Move on 03 9645 5188.

Erna and Damien’s combined performance background have included working with Jan Fabre, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Wim Vandekeybus and the Poni collective amongst others. Their work represents some of the more recent progressions in Europe by an emerging new generation of choreographers.

Damien Jalet – Director/Choreographer
Damien Jalet is French and Belgian. He studied theatre at the I.N.S.A.S. (National Institute of the Performing Arts, Brussels). He currently works exclusively in contemporary dance for the most part in Belgium and New York. He started his choreographic career with Wim Vandekeybus in The Day of Heaven and Hell (1998). Damien studied ethnomusicology and polyphonic singing with Giovanna Marini, Christine Leboutte and Nando Acquaviva.

Erna Ómarsdóttir – Director/Choreographer
Erna graduated from PARTS in Belgium in 1998. Since then she has worked as a dancer with various companies and choreographers including Troubleyn / Jan Fabre, creating and performing in various works. Since 2002 she has worked with Les Ballet C dela B and Sidi Larbi Cherkoui. Her most recent projects include IBM 1401 (a users manual) created in cooperation with the musician/ composer Johann. Erna has performed her own work and that of others all over the world and in recent years has been invited to some of the most renowned festivals and venues. She was announced Best Young Dancer by Ballet International in 2002 and in 2003 won the award for the Best Young Choreographer.

Sunstruck

2008-10-14T01:14:00.001+11:00

At last, a blog review by Chloe Smethurst, not previously published elsewhere!

Concept by Helen Herbertson and Ben Cobham, Direction by Helen Herbertson

Shed 4, Docklands, Melbourne

October 13, 2008. As part of the Melbourne International Arts Festival

It’s good to get away from the major performance venues once in a while, to venture into an unknown space without adequate heating or sound insulation. It makes performance feel somehow more alive, real, special.

Even just getting to the venue for Sunstruck is an adventure. With all the road works and development going on, the Docklands area is still largely under construction, its character yet to be ultimately defined – a fine setting for experimental theatre.

The sense of journey and arriving at one’s destination is heightened as we enter the huge warehouse, with the offer of warm sake or green tea to take the chill off the Melbourne spring air. When the dividing tarpaulin is drawn back, the circular performance space becomes visible at the far end of the shed. Lit by a single yellow lamp, the two dancers, Trevor Patrick (pictured) and Nick Sommerville, stand within a circle of chairs, awaiting our approach.

As the small audience is seated, the first of many aural shifts occurs - the stereo which was playing the ‘foyer music’ begins to move toward us, emitting the first part of Livia Ruzic’s soundscape. The dancers stand in the glow of the suspended lamp, eyes closed, drinking in the warmth like sunshine.

Both lamp and sound continue to move around the space throughout the performance – at one point the light is shining directly in your eyes, at another, rolling, shushing waves are right at your back. The ambient sound is also a special feature, the cry of seagulls and squeak of rusty hinges providing punctuation to moments that would otherwise be silent. But for me, the most effective use of the space is the final piece of music, played in darkness by Tamil Rogeon on violin and Tim Blake on cello. With Rogeon in the distance and Blake seated amongst the audience, they play a melancholy call-and-return melody that perfectly mirrors the mood of the performance, their notes echoing off the tin roof.

The choreography is difficult to define, often more akin to acting than dance. Which is perhaps why even from the beginning, it’s unfortunately clear how great the divide is between the skills of the two performers. While Sommerville’s emotions play over his youthful face like cloud shadows on a windy day, Patrick is much more subtle, and certainly the more commanding, experienced artist. Sommerville expends his energy running circles and rolling on the concrete floor, but Patrick is able to evoke characters, memories, love and loss, less through his face than through his whole being.

Under Helen Herbertson’s direction, the piece is structured something like a dream half-remembered, or a future half-imagined. Foreign dialogue and nonsense sounds play around the edges of the action, which comes to light in fragments. It’s an interesting experiment, and certainly a memorable experience, but probably not Herbertson’s greatest work to date.

Desert Island Dances

2008-10-13T12:15:00.000+11:00

Photo by Carla Gottgens

Choreographed and performed by Wendy Houstoun

Fairfax Studio, the Arts Centre, Melbourne

October 10, 2008. As part of the Melbourne International Arts Festival.

Wendy Houstoun’s performance style is disarmingly unconventional. With the house lights still up, she walks on and warmly says hello, chatting as she arranges items on the stage. Much of the piece is delivered in this conversational way, making direct eye contact with the audience, so that in the small Fairfax Studio it’s easy to feel involved in the performance.

Dressed casually, with no makeup and few props, Houstoun presents a series of vignettes, like a collection of favourite songs. The first is a description of the island, an idyllic image of blue skies and golden sands which gradually descends into murderous violence.

She goes on disrupting the expectations of the audience throughout the show. In her rambling, anarchic and occasionally very silly way, she comments on the performance and our reactions to it as she goes along, even graphing our response on the blackboard at the rear of the stage.

Another section is set under an ultraviolet light, though Houstoun expresses her disappointment that nothing on stage was glowing as she had hoped it would. She goes on to explain all of the extraordinary and impossible things she would have done, and tells us, “you would have loved it.”

There are occasional moments of pure movement, but for the most part, Houstoun combines speech and physicality in a very natural way. Her choreography reads as fragments of movement memories, suggestive of other people, other places. A particularly resonant image emerges of a woman doing the twist to a crackly piano recording, like an old home movie of your aunty in the lounge room.

But the mood never stays serious for very long, as Houstoun gently makes fun of herself, the audience and performance tradition.

In one cleverly constructed scene, her manner becomes vague as she starts to speak about being ‘present’ in the moment, while listening to an MP3 player. To cap it off, her voice is repeatedly overwhelmed by an instrumental version of the 1970’s ballad All By Myself.

Desert Island Dances is a light hearted exploration of some complex ideas, including the nature of memory, expectation and performance. Yet whether shunting around the stage inside a large box or coaxing us through a guided relaxation to the sound of gunfire, Houstoun seems set on achieving very little. It’s oddly enjoyable, though often disconcerting theatre.

First published in The Age newspaper

Two Faced Bastard

2008-10-11T14:57:00.001+11:00

Vincent Crowley and Stephanie Lake, with Brain Lipson in the background

Chunky Move

Arts House, Meat Market, Melbourne

October 9, 2008. As part of the Melbourne International Arts Festival

Chunky Move are well known for their unconventional productions, and Two Faced Bastard is no exception. Created by Gideon Obarzanek and Lucy Guerin, it’s a performance about performance, where dance and theatre intrude upon each other’s territory.

The large space is divided by a curtain of vertical blinds, with the audience seated to either side. The curtain remains closed for much of the performance, so each seating bank sees a different version of the show.

On one side of the curtain, Stephanie Lake’s fingers busily creep over her body, an action reminiscent of another recent Guerin piece, Aether. On the other side, the remaining cast speak in a theatrical forum. Both choreography and conversation are interesting on their own, but the amplified speech sullies the purity of the movement, making it impossible to for the choreography to be viewed independently of the dialogue.

As more of the dancers defect from the forum and enter the dance, Brian Lipson begins to interview them about what the movement means. Spoken from the midst of the intricate movement patterns, their answers are well delivered and quite funny.

The noise pollution problem continually arises, totally disrupting the mood created by a sensuous duet for Lake and Vincent Crowley (pictured above). Though their silent romance continues, oblivious to the disjointed text in the background, we can’t help but be distracted.

The piece becomes increasingly chaotic, to the point where the performers even decide to stop the show, to allow the audience to swap sides. A mock battle follows soon after, featuring fanciful armour made from styrofoam and bubble-wrap.

Though the performers frequently cross the divide, they never leave the space. We see them switch from on-stage to back-stage mode, changing costumes, lounging, even quietly chatting before their next cue, a neat demonstration of the two-faced nature of performance.

Obarzanek and Guerin play to the strengths of their performers, bringing out the best in each of them. The well constructed scenes are brought to life with humour and great skill, yet by obscuring half of the performance and allowing the remainder to be tainted by overlapping sound, the experience they have created is a frustrating one.

When the curtain does finally open, we return to a version of the opening scene. As the stage lights begin to dim, the audience is illuminated, until we are left looking at each other across the vast space, wondering about what went on behind those blinds.

First published in The Age newspaper

The Heart of Another is a Dark Forest

2008-09-27T19:23:00.000+10:00

Restless Dance Company and Rawcus Theatre

Dancehouse, Melbourne

September 24, 2008. As part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival.

Combining playfulness with poignancy, this joint production is a tapestry of theatrical images, woven together by directors Kate Sulan and Ingrid Voorendt. Inspired by the question of how well we can ever really know each other, the duo have created a movement-based performance which incorporates improvisation into a choreographed structure.

The companies involved, Restless Dance Company from Adelaide and Rawcus Theatre from Melbourne, both employ performers with and without disabilities. Some are wonderfully fluid movers, while others have larger than life personalities which emerge through the many brief vignettes.

The pace is slow to begin with, but the momentum eventually builds with the assistance of the live music by Jethro Woodward and Zoe Barry. A simple yet resonant sequence for the women, set facing away from the audience, leads to a sombre passage as a lone performer walks toward the audience, flanked by dark and grotesquely shaped figures moving in slow motion.

The episodic fragments grow ever more personal, including an intimate moment between a blind, wheelchair-bound man and a young woman as they gently explore each other’s faces, and an eerily fascinating dance where a performer’s shadow becomes a giant of ever-changing proportions.

Using wallpaper and ramps, Emily Barrie’s design transforms the Dancehouse theatre into an accessible, multi-level space, while Richard Vabre’s excellent lighting heightens the sense of isolation within the group.

Despite moments of joy and tenderness, much of the work in this contemplative production suggests that we may never truly know what lies inside the heart of another.

(First published in The Age newspaper)

Graduate Exhibition

2008-09-23T19:29:00.000+10:00

The Australian Ballet School

State Theatre, the Arts Centre, Melbourne

September 21, 2008

The Australian Ballet School has a tradition of providing outstanding ballet training, producing the majority of dancers in Australia’s professional ballet companies and many others who find work overseas. The graduating class of 2008 is no exception, displaying not only fine technique but more importantly, great performance skills.

In a range of solos, pas de deux and ensemble pieces from the traditional story ballets, all of the students are extremely well rehearsed, with barely a miss-step to be seen. Whether as playful cats or royal courtiers, their characterisations are charming. Standing out from the cohort, Kristy Corea is delightful as the dream-like Dulcinea in the Dryad Scene from Don Quixote, while Luke Marchant is perfectly princely in the Florestan pas de trois from The Sleeping Beauty.

Another side to the training at the school is shown in a series of neo-classical vignettes taken from Jiri Kylian’s early works, including Sinfonietta (pictured above). Unfortunately some of the Dream Dances didn’t come off quite smoothly enough, although Brett Chynoweth was impressive in his lyrical solo. Karen Nanasca and Daniel Roberts handled a complex duet from Kylian’s Return to a Strange Land with great skill and emotional maturity.

Choreographed by former Australian Ballet company member Timothy Harbour, Ignis is an interesting modern ballet which the performers appear to relish. Accompanied by a luscious Paul Giger score, Harbour contrasts dynamic male allegro sections against elegant partner work, experimenting with hand-held lighting and original movement pathways.

From the opening parade of the entire school in Grand Defilé to the exuberant joy of the final Graduation Waltz, the young dancers fill the cavernous space of the State Theatre with their enthusiasm and energy. Their versatility and competence in both classical and contemporary pieces bodes very well for the future of ballet in Australia.

First published in The Age newspaper

The Australian Ballet 2009 season

2008-09-17T22:40:00.000+10:00

The AB launched their 2009 program last night, another year of David McAllister's safe-as-houses scheduling. There's been a real pattern emerge in recent years; the traditional story made-over, some new short works and a classic to keep the punters happy.

Not much has changed for '09. In fact, there are quite a few repeats of ballets performed by the company in just the last couple of years.

One of two full-length story ballets to be performed is Stanton Welch's Sleeping Beauty, which premiered in 2005. The other is Graeme Murphy's Nutcracker. While this particular Nutcracker hasn't been seen in Melbourne since 2000, Peter Wright's version of the same fable was performed by the company in 2007. Is ballet really so short of storylines that we have to recycle them in such short rotation?

Murphy will also create a new work for the company - a re-visioning of the Ballet Russes classic Firebird. It will feature in a triple bill with the original Fokine ballets Petrouchka and Les Sylphides. Sylphides is also a repeat - it was performed in the Fokine tribute McAllister put together for the 2006 program - but a safe bet for marketing purposes.

Another well known name, (and thus guarantor of bums on seats), Nacho Duato, will anchor the second triple bill. Duato's Por vos muero will accompany two new works by Wayne McGregor (UK) and Alexei Ratmansky (Russia), both upcoming choreographers in the ballet world. Here at least is a chance for an interesting night of contemporary choreography!

Which brings me to wonder why Melbourne is still excluded from the Bodytorque season. Surely there is enough audience interest to warrant it? Or are the AB worried about competing with the fabulous independent contemporary dance scene here?

They certainly have the independents out-done in the marketing stakes. Teaming black with white, the Paris Match double bill features yet another repeat in Suite en Blanc (last performed in 2005, see my review here) plus Stanton Welch's Divergence, created on the AB in 1994. I never saw it performed, but I can remember the fabulous photos of Justine Summers in that black industrial-strength tutu (above), which I'm sure will also help to draw the crowds.

So, for us fussy, regular dance goers, 2009 will be a year of few surprises at the ballet. Lets hope that when the Ballet Russes tributes are over we'll get some more interesting fodder.

To help you make up your own mind, the company has also launched a flashy new website:australianballet.com.au

From the archive: Sounds of the Pacific

2008-09-15T12:35:00.000+10:00

Te Matarae/Orehu, Tolegeu, Te Vaka

23 March, 2006. As part of the Commonwealth Games Festival

Myer Music Bowl

It was a night filled with pounding rhythms and passionate dance. Bringing together performers from all over the region, Sounds of the Pacific was a showcase for some wonderful talent and cultural knowledge.

The Maori kapa haka performers of Te Matarae/Orehu filled the stage with their fierce, physically powerful presence. The large group of men and women alternated between melodic musical items and garish war dances, in arrangements that were entertaining and fascinating. Humorous and concise explanations of some of the elements allowed the audience to gain a deeper understanding of Maori culture, while still enjoying the show.

Creating a very different, almost celebratory atmosphere was the Solomon Islands group Tolegeu. Their music was created using panpipes of all sizes, ranging in pitch from tiny soprano to enormous bass, with larger, percussive versions as well. In striking white body paint and traditional dress, the all-male group performed traditional dances whilst playing their instruments. With knees bent, their stamping, hopping and occasional spear thrusting movement had a wonderfully natural rhythm and energy.

Completing the evening was the highly polished troupe Te Vaka (pictured above). Primarily from New Zealand, but with strong ties to the tiny islands of Tokelau, Tuvalu, Samoa and the Cook Island group, they combine contemporary sensibilities with traditional Oceanic beats. With lyrics sung almost entirely in Tokelauan, the harmonies and melodies of the 12-strong group were very easy on the ear.
The dancers of Te Vaka were also fantastic. Performing with great enthusiasm and cheeky smiles, a young woman dressed in coconut-shells and grass skirts performed a beguilingly-good hip swiveling dance, while the men's positively potent routines lit up the ampitheatre.

While the breaks between the groups were quite long, it was worth the wait to see these highly skilled, traditional yet entertaining acts.

More traditional dance from the Australasian and Pacific region can be seen in Melbourne in November 2008 at the Australasian World Music Expo

On dance criticism

2008-09-11T22:12:00.000+10:00

Some interesting thoughts from Deborah Jowitt's article in the Village Voice, Getting it

How much should a critic know about a choreographer's intentions and talk about them? There often seems to be a disconnect between what choreographers say they're doing and what actually occurs onstage. Although several colleagues I queried mentioned the value of advocacy criticism at a time when new and unfamiliar art is baffling the public (John Martin on modern dance in the '30s, Jill Johnston on radical dance in the '60s, and Rosenberg on the abstract expressionists come to mind), we also found we had similar reactions to Tere O'Connor's brief that critics familiarize themselves with an artist's intentions beyond those in the program notes.

Joan Acocella of The New Yorker magazine: "I do not see my job as requiring me to go to artists, find out their intentions, report their intentions to the reader, and then talk about how they fulfilled or didn't fulfill their intentions. There's actually a word for that approach; it's the intentional fallacy in criticism (that is, you judge [a work] on its intentions). . . . I see myself as a member of the audience, so whatever the artist's intentions are, many of them—maybe most of them—I won't be able to discern."
Jennifer Dunning of The New York Times: "I don't think reviewers should have any inside knowledge; it seems to me very important to respond as an informed audience member. I hate the word critic; I like the word reviewer because I think that [what I write] is a second view, a re-view."

John Rockwell of the Times: "Even if [critics] think they're deeply involved in the birth of a work, they have to be seeing it from the outside—and not just as the audience's representative; the very nature of the perception of artwork places one at a distance from the creator, or indeed anybody else watching the artwork. To pretend otherwise is kind of futile."

Rockwell also puts forth the notion of criticism as a parallel art form: "Then the issue is not so much replicating the choreographer's thought processes and somehow analyzing the work in the terms that the choreographer himself would use; it becomes a parallel exercise in which some combination of intellectual analysis and poetic and tactile invocation are all used in an effort to create for the reader a vivid picture."

A critic usually struggles to get at something essential about a dance (and is very happy when a choreographer feels he or she has succeeded). However, it's impossible for anyone to write of an artist's work exactly as the artist might, nor would the attempt necessarily produce interesting prose. To me, reading dance reviews opens multiple perspectives on a single event (somewhat the way O'Connor's choreography does). I wouldn't want controversy to fade from the commentary that surrounds the art form and, I hope, supports it.

I agree with everything Jowitt puts forward here. In my opinion, it is important for a critic (reviewer) to advocate for the art form and to find the most appropriate language with which to do this. Unfortunately, given the constraints of writing for a daily publication, there's rarely much time or space in which to do it.
It's always a question of balance; how to divide the few words I have into description of the mood, movement, design and music; critical analysis of structure, style, technique and performance; along with any relevant historical notes or background information.
Squeezing as much as possible into each sentence and still finding a way for the words to 'sing' is my greatest challenge. Higher aims include preserving the work, describing it for those who didn't see it, following the progression of an artist's development and sometimes even the development of a new form.
It's an ongoing learning process and a great responsibility, being a dance critic.

The Treasure, White Fan and Xing

2008-09-11T16:48:00.000+10:00

Red Span Dance Company

Dancehouse, Melbourne

6 September, 2008

Reviewer: Jordan Beth Vincent

The Red Span Dance Company merges traditional Chinese with contemporary Western dance in its three works, The Treasure, White Fan and Xing, all choreographed by Feng Feng Wang. In each piece, the beauty is in the detail-- the flutter of a fan, the gentle intertwining of limbs, or the framing of bodies in windows of light.

The Treasure gives an intimate portrait of a relationship beginning with the wonderment and discovery of new love. Two dancers (Nick Sommerville and Suhali Ahmad Kamil) emerge from a cocoon of dark fabric into a circle of light. In one marvellously intimate moment, the tips of the dancers’ middle fingers remain connected as their bodies sway and arc through the air. Frustration and playfulness are simultaneously explored as Kamil leaps at Sommerville, only to be caught midair in a tangle of legs and borne gently to the ground. The two dancers eventually find solace in one another’s arms, rotating on the spot, captured in a perfect moment of understanding.

White Fan, a solo piece performed by Wang, explores traditional Chinese fan work within the context of contemporary dance. Wang brandishes her fan as she moves with absolute control and precision across the stage.

The third work, Xing, looks to the five traditional Chinese elements of Taoism: wood, fire, earth, water and metal. Although it feels overlong, there are some wonderful moments such as when the three women slowly roll and sway, cradling the air around their bodies. In another moment, the two men, (Sommerville and Tony Ng) slide, tumble and fall along a slim corridor of light, their casually crossed arms belying the energetic movement of their lower bodies.

Wang creates a meditative environment on stage across the three works. The focus of the dancers is reflective and their movement gentle. The result is beautifully crafted and mesmerizing.

For more information about the company, www.redspandance.com.

From the archive: Quiet Listening Exercises

2008-09-05T15:05:00.000+10:00

Julia Robinson and Phoebe Robinson

Bus Gallery, 117 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne

25 May, 2004

In a novel take on the intimate performance experience, dancer/choreographers Julia and Phoebe Robinson have created Quiet Listening Exercises, a dance piece wherein viewers listen to the score via headphones while the performance proceeds in silence.

Transmitting the sound through headphones allows the audience to fully immerse themselves in the work, removing the distraction of outside sounds. While gaining an intimate connection to the sound score, some of the personal connection with the dancers is lost, as though they are performing behind a glass wall. Their gaze is faraway throughout, increasing the divide. The feeling of separation is magnified in a moment of darkness, the audience isolated by their headphones with only the haziest square of light illuminating the space. Are the women moving or are our eyes playing tricks?

The choreography is almost completely abstracted, leaving only the vaguest reminders of the fairytales that it apparently developed from. It is rather in the delicate tracery and other-worldly manner of the movement that we see the influence of the mythical tales. It seems that the strength of this work lies in its ambiguity, allowing the viewer to project their own imaginations onto the scenario rather than following a prescribed narrative.

Quietly beautiful, the dancers refrain from virtuosic movement and yet imbibe the work with precise shifts in dynamic. In one section they subside into the ground, their languorous poses soon to be contrasted against tense snatches of phrase that dart in and out from behind a wall. The women lightly shunt along the floor, adding to the intrigue as their hands weave intricate patterns in the air.

The sophisticated sound score by Felicity Mangan evokes a tinkling, ethereal landscape whilst retaining an air of abstraction and ambiguity. Intermittent blue and orange globes are strung along the walls like tangled thorn bushes, the only adornment to the small, bare space. Childishly simple yet finely textured costuming by Jamie Hurst Nelson is suitably indeterminate in its intention, mixing adult flourishes with juvenile forms.

Quiet Listening Exercises is tantalising in its brevity, a finely tuned performance infused with mystery throughout.

(Originally published in The Age newspaper)

From the archive: The Earth Beneath Our Feet

2008-09-04T01:00:00.002+10:00

Front: Jason Lam. Left to right: Tanya Voges,
Kyle Kremerskothen, Trisha Dunn, Joshua Thomson

Tasdance

6 July, 2006

Dancehouse, Melbourne

To celebrate their 25th year, Tasdance presents a triple bill of new and existing works by Australian choreographers. The Earth Beneath our Feet is at once entertaining and challenging, offering a range of choreographic styles that cross generations.

As the Crow Flies, by Nanette Hassall, was originally performed in 1988, by the recently disbanded Melbourne company Dance Works. It is a masterfully structured piece, invoking gentle geometries through the careful use of space, timing and sinuously recurring movement phrases. Set to the orchestral strings of Shaker Loops by John Adams, both music and movement build from languidly graceful sequences to an energetic crescendo. It requires strong technique from the dancers, who achieved a good level of precision.

Tanja Liedtke explores themes of construction and collapse in her new dance theatre piece, Always Building (pictured above). Incorporating a surfeit of bright costumes, props and movement ideas, the end result is disjointed and somewhat cluttered. While some inventive, clear images emerge, including a dioramic skyline of head-stand sky-scrapers, this draft needs more work to develop beyond the scattered building blocks.

The most tightly focused and entertaining of the three works is A Volume Problem, by Byron Perry. Featuring small speaker cores which come to life in the hands of the dancers, Perry creates an amorphous, non-human world in episodic fragments. A duet for Trisha Dunn and Kyle Kremerskothen is particularly well crafted, their alien postures and wafting touches reminiscent of two animated anemones. With simple yet sharp lighting, set and costume design, the choreography is clean and creative, sensitive yet amusing.

The six young performers of the ensemble generally handled the diverse program well, yet occasionally lacked cohesion and dramatic presence.

In the ever-diminishing contemporary dance landscape, it’s wonderful to see a small company investing in the development and promotion of quality Australian artists.

(Originally published in The Age newspaper)

From the archive: White

2008-09-03T23:36:00.001+10:00

The Australian Ballet

June 9, 2005

State Theatre, the Arts Centre, Melbourne

Reflecting on the history of the white tutu in ballet, White is a trilogy of ballets spanning three centuries.

Couched between two well-known ballets - La Bayadere and Suite en Blanc - is Relic, a new work by resident choreographer Adrian Burnett.
Burnett tries to acknowledge history and move towards the future of the "ballet blanc", but is not entirely successful.
Relic features 11 men and a woman, a play on the large female cast and single male of traditional white ballets.
In the opening scene, Rani Luther, in a fussy white tutu (pictured), is ensconced in pale drapery with a large chandelier, immediately linking the tutu with a past era.
Emerging from the cocoon, she is joined by the men, who are wearing loose white skirts. As the work progresses, layers of costume are stripped away, down to a bare beige tutu and finally unisex, skin-toned leotards.
The movement is an incongruous mix of showy ballet steps interspersed with modern dance cliches. Unfortunately for Burnett, a flexed foot and an off-balance tilt do not constitute new movement, as he purports to create.
Nor does he explore alternate partnering techniques. Even in the two male pas de deux, there is little variation from traditional ballet forms.
Despite his insistence in Relic's program notes that the woman is more than an object of beauty - "She is the equal (of the men) in every way" - Burnett's choreography reads otherwise. Luther is repeatedly lifted, paraded and manipulated, rarely moving independently. Her expression is strong, yet the choreography betrays her, constantly returning her to passivity.
Relic is far from a satisfactory modern ballet experience. The one saving grace is the fascinating score by Bartok, Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste.

Act 4 of Petipa's 19th-century ballet, La Bayadere, is titled The Kingdom of the Shades. It follows Solon, an Indian prince, hallucinating about finding his murdered lover Nikiya in a ghostly other-world. The shades, in gauzy white tutus, slowly descend in a snaking line to the dark stage, illuminated by a murky moon, with symmetrical grace.
The technical demands of the two lead roles are easily met by Lucinda Dunn and Robert Curran, yet the dramatic possibilities are not entirely realised.

Suite en Blanc is a series of picturesque ballet variations, choreographed in 1943 by Serge Lifar. While beautifully simple to watch, the choreography is deceptively difficult for the dancers, who gave an outstanding performance.
Madeleine Eastoe was demure yet gorgeous and Lana Jones again displayed her astounding athletic ability. Lynette Wills' brilliant technique shone in the pas de trois with Curran and Matthew Lawrence. But it was the star performances of Rachel Rawlins and Gaylene Cummerfield that really impressed. Cummerfield performed the fiendishly difficult Variation de la Cigarette with confidence, chic style and joyful effervescence, while Rawlins was elegant and musical in her equally demanding variation and pas de deux with Tristan Message.

(First published in The Age newspaper)

Interplay

2008-09-03T12:43:00.001+10:00

The Australian Ballet

State Theatre, the Arts Centre, Melbourne

August 28, 2008

Interplay is a triple bill of new ballets, focusing on the interaction between choreography, composition and design.

Choreographed by Stephen Baynes, Night Path is a mysterious piece, set in the world of the subconscious. It follows a woman, exquisitely danced by the ethereal Madeleine Eastoe, as she floats impassively through dreamscapes, surrounded and supported by a small but excellent cast.
Leanne Stojmenov, Daniel Gaudiello and Tzu-Chao Chou are brilliant in their jazzy trio, while Andrew Killian as Eastoe’s main partner is both tender and strong.
Using non-traditional yet elegant shapes, the choreography is carefully structured and closely allied to the music, which was composed by Richard Mills. With flattering costumes, draped fabric backdrops and delicate tree branches suspended above the stage, Michael Pearce’s stunning design enhances the overall concept.

Matjash Mrozewski’s Semele is based on classical technique, but uses a wide movement vocabulary to express the mythical narrative. The cinematic score by Gerard Brophy helps to build the drama, assisted by Adam Gardnir’s evocative yet simple design.
The gods, Juno and Jupiter, dance a restrained yet powerful duet, performed by Olivia Bell and Robert Curran (pictured above, image by Jeff Busby). There’s a sustained sense of possession as Bell sinuously extends her long limbs, intimately entwining them in subtly controlling embraces of her husband.
Meanwhile, the illicit love scenes for Jupiter and mortal Semele, danced by Juliet Burnett, are arranged with seemingly endless positions for creative lovemaking, yet even their kisses are executed without passion. While technically sound, Curran and Burnett’s characterisations are unfortunately weak in comparison to Bell, who is outstanding as the imposing, jealous goddess.

The most abstract of the three ballets, The Possibility Space by Nicolo Fonte is busy and modern. Set to an incredibly difficult score by Ross Edwards, Fonte’s convoluted choreography echoes the constantly changing rhythms and melodies of the music.
There’s a sumptuous moment of clarity when the ensemble perform a languid adage, perfectly suited to the breathy strings of the accompaniment, yet it’s all too brief. In chaotic solos, duets and trios, the dancers rotate their hips, shoulders and elbows while performing demanding leaps, turns and balances, often at breakneck speed.
Combined with Markus Pysall’s kingfisher-blue costumes, a black set and bright white lights, the detail is overwhelming.

In what was a risky program for The Australian Ballet, the gamble has mostly paid off due to the high calibre of artists involved and some fine performances by the dancers.

First published in The Age newspaper

For more info and images visit the Interplay website

More about this blog

2008-08-29T22:57:00.000+10:00

So far, I have used this blog to post some reviews that have been published in the print edition of The Age, but which never made it online.

I hope to expand it soon, posting new items as well as archiving some of my old work.

There are so many dance performances coming to Melbourne in the next couple of months, with the Fringe Festival, Melbourne International Arts Festival and independent productions all vying for space.

Hopefully, my notes on some of them will make it up here...

Lands End

2008-08-15T15:02:00.000+10:00

Performed by Compagnie Philippe Genty

State Theatre, the Arts Centre
August 12, 2008

Lands End is a journey into the imagination, following two characters as they travel through dreamscapes both whimsical and unsettling. Directed by Philippe Genty and Mary Underwood, it’s a triumph of theatrical illusion.

Right from the outset, it’s clear that this is a world where anything is possible. Fish fall from the sky and emailed correspondence flies through the air in the first of many perfectly executed, often comic, special effects.

The magic continues as baby dolls are transformed into giant puppets, who unashamedly explore each other’s hilariously unusual body parts.

It’s not all cartoonish humour though. Lovely synergy is created by a performer and a piece of paper as they flit about, windblown, mirroring each other’s jerkily charming movement. In another passage, an eerie mood is created by a part-insect, part-man puppet as he hovers above one of the women in a skilfully manipulated, complex duet.

Moments of melancholy and longing emerge as the two main characters struggle to connect with each other, emotionally balancing the frivolity of capers in wedding gowns and super-sized cardboard tubes.

Whether dramatic or abstract, the numerous scenes are succinctly directed and expertly performed. Aided by unseen technicians and ingenious props, the seven members of the multi-talented cast are able to create visually stunning tableaux that communicate on a level which goes beyond language.

The staging is extremely clever, yet ultimately simple. Rolling black curtain flats at the front and rear of stage allow for seamless entries and exits, as well as cinematic framing of the action. The lighting design is central to the work, creating striking black silhouettes against intensely coloured backgrounds or giving oversized, inflatable plastic bags the appearance of diaphanous jellyfish.

Compagnie Philippe Genty have brought wonder back to the stage in this marvellous meander through the subliminal.

(First published in The Age newspaper)

The Counting/Ocular Proof

2008-06-01T16:03:00.000+10:00

Performed by Rogue

Arts House - Meat Market, North Melbourne
May 28, 2008

Rogue are a collective of recent Victorian College of the Arts graduates. With so little work available for young dancers, this motivated group are literally making work for themselves.

Choreographed for them by Antony Hamilton, The Counting is a sharply focussed short work. The dancers begin standing in two tightly arranged lines, the four pairs each performing a different sequence, with contrasting pace and rhythm to their neighbours. It’s at once mechanical and organic, suggesting a complex internal process of the body.

A series of vignettes follows, the most convincing of which is a viscous duet danced by Harriet Ritchie and Holly Durant. Combined with the whooshing, pumping sounds of Pansonic’s accompanying music, the effect is that of blood rhythmically coursing through veins.

The group also presented their own piece, Ocular Proof, which features a brilliant multimedia design by Olaf Meyer.

Relationships, technology, reality and illusion are some of the themes that are explored, and early in the piece it seems there are too many ideas competing for attention. Happily, Meyer’s projections help to illuminate the integral concepts and the performance begins to make sense.

Doyle Barrow’s skin-toned costumes allow Meyer to project subtle images directly onto the dancers’ bodies, turning them into anonymous streams of Matrix-like dots, or layering flickering images of mannequins over their motionless forms.

The choreography is most effective when it makes use of the entire ensemble in unison. Repeated motifs, including tender moments between a love-struck couple, help to unify the disparate images.

Rogue are yet to find their own choreographic voice, relying instead on the influence of established choreographers, very much in the ‘Melbourne Style’. Nevertheless, with some disciplined editing, Ocular Proof could become a solid piece of dance theatre, a remarkable achievement for this young group.

(Originally published in The Age newspaper)

Get a Grip

2008-05-15T16:43:00.000+10:00

Performed by Trace elements

Arts House - North Melbourne Town Hall
May 6, 2008

In darkness, an athlete slowly rolls his heavily taped wrists, warming up, preparing. As the light gradually shifts, more black-clad men appear, stealthily moving through a metal scaffold like urban warriors. The energy builds as the men test themselves against their surroundings, now balancing on a handrail, now leaping over a waist-high cube. A climax is reached as the six performers hurl themselves in sequence over two large cubes spaced a metre apart, travelling at great speed and yet landing with ease.

These lithe and muscular men are members of Trace elements, local practitioners of parkour and free running, recently developed artforms that require incredible strength and agility. With directorial assistance from Natalie Cursio, the group have developed GET A GRIP, a performance which also features filmed sequences of their amazing feats on, over and around well-known Melbourne city landscapes.

Created in a documentary style, the film demonstrates how practising parkour allows one to travel quickly through space, running, jumping and climbing obstacles rather than simply following the footpath. The men move so fluidly through the air and along the ground they could almost be wild animals, fleeing predators or chasing prey.

The live element, however, is very human, including precarious balances, acrobatic flips, breathtaking leaps and tricks on the purpose-built set. Most of the stunts are performed solo, yet some of the most thrilling moments involve synchronised movement, particularly when the entire cast leaps simultaneously onto and over the scaffold.

The whole production is tightly edited and flows surprisingly well between film and live performance. Unfortunately the seating (or lack thereof) is a problem, with no chairs provided for the audience at all.

The closing image of the company climbing over the arch of the pedestrian bridge at Southbank as pedestrians pass underneath is a brilliant demonstration of how parkour and free running can allow us to look at our landscape in new and liberating ways.

(Originally published in The Age newspaper)

Blazeblue Oneline

2008-05-05T15:41:00.001+10:00

Choreographed by Antony Hamilton
Arts House - Meat Market, North Melbourne
April 30, 2008

Inspired by hip hop culture, Antony Hamilton’s first full length work features live graffiti and dance, presented with a tongue-in-cheek attitude.

Wavering between serious and silly, Hamilton weaves visual art and dance together. At times the experiment is clear, as Hamilton works on a graffiti design, his performance partner Luke Smiles performs similar movements without a spray can, demonstrating the physical element inherent in the activity. While Hamilton does his best to spray quickly, the tempo and energy tends to drop when he turns his back to the audience. Other sections are more abstract, with hip hop postures thrown in amongst the contemporary dance moves.

Breaking up the focus on graffiti are random moments of humour and imagination. A pair of cardboard boxes perform a very cute duet, spinning, popping and caressing, before a remote control mini-van drives across the stage. Super-size cardboard cut-out puppets make an appearance, as does a brilliantly constructed cardboard robot monster, performed by Stuart Shugg.

The set and lighting by Bluebottle play a large part, right from the outset of the performance when swathes of light arc across the space like paint from a spray can. The white performance space is gradually overtaken by Hamilton’s abstract, angular line drawings and colourful paintwork, both of which find echoes in the movement material.

Hamilton clearly has a good eye for design, and both he and Smiles are seasoned performers, yet some elements still seem a little sketchy. The mixture of dance and painting is a risky proposition, and it doesn’t always come off well. The final sequence, painted under ultraviolet light, ends in an attractive design, but the process of creating it is a little flat. Yet even if there are a couple of low points, it’s hard not to enjoy a performance by such charismatic artists.

(Originally published in The Age newspaper)

What is this?

2008-01-01T20:33:00.006+11:00

Hello!

Welcome to dance out there, a blog dedicated to news and reviews of dance in Melbourne, Australia. Want to get straight into reading? Click here to read my latest post, or go to reviews of ballet or contemporary dance.

If you like what you see and want to stay up to date with new posts, why not subscribe via email or in a reader? You can also follow me on twitter, or if you're really keen, become a fan of my work on facebook!

So, who am I?

My name is Chloe Smethurst. I'm a trained dancer, but I also work as a writer and teacher of dance.

I started this blog in 2008 for several reasons. After reading other Australian performing arts blogs (theatre notes, the morning after) I was inspired to start my own, focusing specifically on dance. I hope that it may be of some use to the smaller groups and individual artists whose work may get some publicity here, but I will also focus on the larger companies and issues for the industry.

I hope that you'll find something of interest here....

Chloe Smethurst
dance out there