ab [intra]. Sydney Dance Company (2022 season)
…this point. Chloe Leong and Davide Di Giovanni in ab [intra]. Sydney Dance Company, 2022. Photo: © Pedro Greig Being closer also gave me a new feeling about the lighting (Damien Cooper). The darkness that enveloped those dancers who occasionally moved to the front of the stage and turned their backs to the audience achieved a strong contrast with dancers further upstage, a contrast that I didn’t notice to the same extent in 2018. But as is charact…
Jungle Book Reimagined from Akram Khan Company. A review
…that happened among the characters. I also found it frustrating that the sound often seemed to be coming from spots in the auditorium, which I guess was meant to make the production immersive, although to me it was distracting. While there were also parts of the show that probably needed a second viewing to fully understand the story, I nevertheless found Jungle Book Reimagined, and the transmission of its message for those who inhabit our earth,…
Myth & Ritual. Orchestra Wellington, with Ballet Collective Aotearoa
…ulous Mandarin, who dies several times, but returns to life. That role was compellingly played by Björn Aslund who faced the orchestra in defiance of the inevitable. The harlot, Mimi, was played with aplomb by Alina Kulikova, and the rough rogues—Alisha Wathen, Zoe White, Callum Phipps and James Burchell—were extraordinarily agile in their clambering through rails and seats. No need to design a set for this—it was there in the architecture of the…
Rotunda. The New Zealand Dance Company
…© John McDermott, 2013…
Anzac Day 2020 in Australia. Who’s dancing?
…y throw themselves around the performing space in athletic leaps as they become more and more bound up in the process of war. Then, dramatically, an upstage screen lifts and four of the five men walk slowly backwards into the grey recesses that are revealed. The screen descends and just a single soldier, ‘The man who lived’ danced by Jack Lister, remains onstage. A lyrical pas de deux between Lina Kim and Camilo Ramos follows. It is a duet recalli…
Annie Greig (1953–2021)
…programs.’ During her tenure as artistic director of Tasdance, Greig also undertook an AsiaLink Residency in 2001, which resulted in opportunities for Tasdance to perform in Asia, including in Korea and India. Under Greig’s direction Tasdance performed over 70 works, of which at least half were choreographed by young, emerging artists. Greig’s last production was Affinity, which focused on Tasmanian born or oriented creators including Graeme Murp…
Frame of Mind. Sydney Dance Company
My review of Sydney Dance Company’s new program, Frame of Mind, encompassing William Forsythe’s Quintett and Rafael Bonachela’s Frame of Mind, is now available on DanceTabs at this link. This program was ecstatically received on opening night, 9 March 2015 at Sydney Theatre, and deservedly so. It tours to Canberra in April–May and Melbourne in May. Chloe Leong and Sam Young-Wright in William Forsythe’s Quintett, Sydney Dance Company. Photo: © Pet…
The Eternal Lovers. A ballet by Paul Grinwis
…otated scores, popular magazines are present, and photographic material is coming. The captions refer to interviews, although there is no sound capture from the interviews. The dance collection at the National Library is incredibly rich, crosses eras and dance styles, and is supported by extensive material from other art forms and by organisational records, all held by the Library across its many formats. I can but hope that more material will be…
Capturing the vanishing. A choreographer and film. Sue Healey
…sents at the end of the paper. They basically relate to the role of independent dance and independent artists in society and culture. In a slightly abbreviated form the provocations are: Independent dance artists deserve to be funded in a more realistic and sustainable manner. Dance must extend its boundaries without losing sight of its own intrinsic qualities as a discipline. We need an active debate about why dance continues to be relevant, who…
What remains. Bodytorque digital, 2023
…the floor of the carpark space as a kind of mirror, was engrossing. All in all a really beautiful, captivating production with great input from all involved in its creation. Watch below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw54Eq64PFg Michelle Potter, 19 February 2023 Featured image: Kevin Jackson in a scene from Tim Harbour’s What remains. Photo: © Edita Knowler…