INDance Returns to Sydney Dance Company with a double program of experimental independent dance work.
Returning in 2023 after selling out its inaugural 2022 season, Sydney Dance Company’s INDance initiative sees the presentation of works from four independent Australian choreographers across two separate weekends. Selected by a panel of industry professionals including SDC’s Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela, this year’s event brings together the works of choreographic artists Kimberley Parkin, Rachel Arianne Ogle, Ryuichi Fujimura and Jasmin Sheppard.
Rachel Arianne Ogle – precipice
Having had its initial debut in 2014, and a second run in 2019, West Australian choreographer Rachel Arianne Ogle’s precipice returns to the stage for INDance. “Presenting precipice at INDancehas generated exciting reimagination of the work’s choreography and design, allowing us to focus on the essence of the work with a newfound sense of intimacy,” she says.
Originating in a 2012 STRUT Dance Seed Residency, precipice’s conceptual raison d’être revealed itself following a period of a lengthy movement exploration. “At that point, I didn’t have any ambition to make a show," she explains. "I invited the dancers into the studio to play with ideas, just physical provocations. It wasn’t until the end of the residency that I realised that there was something there, and the meaning of the work started to be revealed. Ideas of interconnectedness to the universe, gravitational pull, interplanetary movement - our place inside of this immense system.
“When we brought in the design team [of composer Luke Smiles and lighting designer Benjamin Cisterne] we created this expansive universe. Very sci-fi.The design is a large part of the work - the choreography, light, sound, and performers, all hold equal weight. All meet to go somewhere where they couldn’t independently.”
Kimberley Parkin / Parkin Projects - Cry Baby
Debuting at Perth’s Fringe Festival in 2021, Parkin’s Cry Baby was conceived post-Covid as “something that I could enjoy and let a little bit loose with … Something that doesn’t take itself too seriously.” Parkin developed the work into a stand-alone show for live performance venue, The Rechabite. “It was actually the venue’s first contemporary dance show. I was interested in creating work for a space that isn’t your usual dance performance venue. It influenced Cry Baby’s development to become like a concert within a concert.”
Inspired by music and 70’s rock and roll, Cry Baby explores the legendary characters and performances from a time of social and cultural revolution. “I was listening to a lot of rock & roll and looking at old videos of Mick Jagger and Iggy Pop. I became obsessed with their authenticity on stage, their ego, their genuineness. [For Cry Baby] I wanted to emulate those icons and how they perform on stage through a contemporary dance lens."
Ryuichi Fujimura - Here Now (Double Bill)
Sydney-based dance artist Fujimara’s presentation for INDance comprises two short works from the artist's choreographic trilogy Here Now, named Fall! Falter!! Dance!!! (2022) and How Did I Get Here?(2014). The Here Now trilogy is Fujimura’s first choreographic exploration, stemming from a blind leap taken on his 50th birthday.
“I was doing a project with Force Majeure and Kate Champion encouraged me to make work. But at the time, the idea was too daunting. But then when I turned 50, I thought I should celebrate by making a work. It was well-received, so I thought, instead of making one long work, to make a trilogy of three short works.”
Both works feature Fujimara as solo performer, with Fall! Falter!! Dance!!! exploring the agonies and ecstasies of performing, and How did I get here?, looking at perceptions of time, aging, and mortality.
“SDC has been very supportive," he says. "I didn’t have a producer, I am self-producing, and I’m just a team of one – choreographer, performer, everything. But now so many people said that they’ll come to the show, that usually wouldn’t hear [about it].
“The work I am presenting is quite different from what Sydney Dance Company’s audiences are used to. I hope they enjoy my work, and I’m interested in how they will respond.”
Jasmin Sheppard - The Complication of Lyrebirds
This work, by former Bangarra dancer Jasmin Sheppard, premiered in 2021 at the Sydney Festival during peak Covid-19. It is a choreographic exploration into social experiences of Indigeneity.
“Having the premiere at the height of Covid lockdowns was really hard," she reveals. "It’s been a blessing to have the opportunity through INDance to present the work to Sydney audiences again.” Integrating charged historical documents like the White Australia Policy as choreographic tools, Lyrebirds casts a sharp eye onto contemporary impacts of Australia’s colonial history. At the heart of Sheppard’s creative process has been the incorporation of varied Indigenous voices, achieved through working collaboratively with her artistic team. “Bringing in Audrey [Goth-Towney], a young Wiradjuri emerging artist, to perform my role alongside Kaine [Sultan Babij, Eastern Arrente], has helped the work evolve and elevated the diversity of voices. And Cris [Derskon], the live musician for the work who is Cree/Indigenous Canadian, has been able to contribute his own experiences as a Indigenous man from another colonial context.”
To bring their works to life for InDance, each choreographer receives administrative, production and technical support from SDC and supporting partner The Neilson Foundation, a rare and vital opportunity for an independent dance maker to focus solely on the art of choreographing. Furthermore, Sydney’s dance culture benefits greatly from bringing fresh voices into the mix: exposing new styles, approaches, and ideas to foster a vibrant creative culture.
InDance opened on Thursday August 17 and takes place across two weekend programs comprising two works each. precipice and Cry Baby are first and run till Saturday August 19th. Here Now (Double Bill) and The Complication of Lyrebirds open on Thursday August 24 and run till Saturday August 26.
For more info go here.
- BELLE BEASLEY
INDance
Week One: 17 – 19 August; Week Two: 24 – 26 August
Neilson Studio at Sydney Dance Company
50 mins approx. per performance