Filling the Space. Quantum Leap/QL2 Dance
…© Lorna Sim Ruth Osborne’s Naturally Man-Made was danced against a background of footage shot on and around the grand staircase of Canberra’s Nishi building, a staircase made of recycled timber and a spectacular part of the building. Sometimes we saw the staircase as an installation devoid of people, at other times the footage included dancers performing on the staircase. In front of this footage dancers performed what might be called Osborne’s s…
James Upshaw and Lydia Kuprina in South America
…rmance shots. It is especially interesting to see the repertoire that was being performed, and to see that it was sometimes being performed outdoors. A performance of L’Après-midi d’un faune, Viña de Mar, Chile 1942 But what makes this album particularly significant is that it documents the activities of the Original Ballet Russe following the infamous strike of 1941, which resulted in a period of several months when the de Basil dancers were stra…
Australian Dance Awards 2013
…in The Canberra Times this morning. Scene from 2 One Another, Sydney Dance Company 2013. Photo: © Ken Butti Of the performances that were interspersed between the presentations of awards, it seems a shame that there was just one that featured classical ballet. Brooke Widdison-Jacobs and Matthew Lehmann from West Australian Ballet performed the Act II pas de deux from Swan Lake. There was some frank, post-performance discussion in certain circles a…
Anna Karenina. Eifman Ballet
…hink of Martha Graham, perhaps even Nacho Duato at times, and also musical comedy routines. But it is more a case of it being Eifman’s own brand of eccentric movement where bodies are twisted and contorted and thrown around dramatically. I am not particularly a fan of Eifman’s ‘flash-bang’ choreographic style, although the dancers clearly relished what they were dancing and that in itself is something to admire. For a while I didn’t notice that th…
Liz Lea. More Canberra dance in 2013
…ell, and the developed work will, as Lea puts it, ‘explore the nature of being a performer, where we come from and how we go forward’. ‘Kaught’, created and performed by Lea, is inspired by the writings of the freedom fighter Ahmed Kathrada, who was imprisoned alongside Nelson Mandela for 26 years. In particular, ‘Kaught’ focuses on Kathrada’s favourite Hindi song about a trapped bird. In addition to Lea, ‘Kaught’ will feature the ARIA Award winn…
In a flash. Australian Dance Party
…ence. Michelle Potter, 20 February 2018 Featured image: Opening scene, In a flash, Australian Dance Party, 2018. Photo: Lorna Sim, edited by Anna Trundle Note: For various reasons, this is the first National Portrait Gallery dance commission that I have attended without seeing first the exhibition that was the inspiration for the show. This of course has it drawbacks. But by the same token, it means I came to the show without prejudices. Take it a…
Crisp, Cunningham, Choreography
…’s Cunningham review is more than interesting. ‘The Merce Cunningham Dance Company, as the choreographer left it when he died two years ago, will cease to exist at the year’s end. Cunningham’s wish that his troupe should cease must be seen as wise. The keepers of the flame who proclaim that “this is what our Dear Master intended” are among the added indignities to mortality. Choreography mutates, Chinese-whispers fashion and for all the stern guar…
LEÓN/LIGHTFOOT/VAN MANEN. Paris Opera Ballet
…do so only from the waist upwards. They gesticulate wildly. Other dancers come on stage and perform until at the end one dancer is left alone as the curtain falls. I love being asked to create my own interpretation of a work, but this one, despite its inherent theatricality, left me without anything to hang on to. I have so much admiration for the dancers of the Paris Opera Ballet, but this program was not the most admirable one I have seen. Mich…
Power. QL2 Dance
…t theme. This theme is examined through a series of short works, which are combined seamlessly into one, hour-long production. Each section is choreographed by a professional choreographer and a few older dancers from the broader QL2 Dance community join with the younger ones to help the overall work move along effectively. In 2019 the Chaos Project had the theme of power—in a variety of manifestations. The youngest performers danced out ideas of…
Paradise Rumour. Black Grace
…on-Bourke—carry the story of the conflicted missionary forward. The rich soundscape by Faiumu Matthew Salapu underpins the whole show. Fuaao Tutulu Faith-Schuster and Rodney Tyrell in Neil Ieremia’s Paradise Rumour. Black Grace, 2024. Photo: © Duncan Cole The dancers are running—and my, how they are running! Is that to get to somewhere or away from somewhere? The answer is yes, because they are running on the spot. Alchemy turns this dance show in…