Dance Australia catches up with Shaun Parker & Company dancer, Marnie Palomares.
Marnie Palomares is an eye-catching contemporary dancer. There's something super-cool about her style – a touch of street-style groove. So it’s not a huge surprise to discover that her training background leans in that direction. “Growing up training in jazz, I started as a commercial dancer,” she explains. “After school I completed the full time performing arts course at Brent Street and it wasn’t until I was 20 that I discovered contemporary dance at the University of Western Sydney Nepean.”
Palomares’s professional career kicked of in 2004 when she performed in a duet by Sydney independent Jason Pitt entitled Inasmuch. “The work integrates live dance and film. It was after dancing in Inasmuch that my passion for performing ignited and I didn’t want to do anything else,” she remembers.
Palomares has been working with Shaun Parker for many years now. “I auditioned for Shaun in 2006 for a role in This Show is About People,” she says. “It was a lengthy audition that tested an abundance of skills that I didn’t think I was remarkably good at, but that I had fun attempting none the less. It was my first proper taste of dance theatre. I learnt a lot from the experience and it built my confidence in performing different skills beyond just pure dance.”
The best thing about working with Parker, says Palomares, is his ability to bring artists together. “Shaun has an incredible ability to carefully choose his team of collaborators,” she remarks. “From dancers to musicians, to dramaturgs and stage managers. The rehearsal room is always filled with varied colourful characters who are generously talented and always inspiring. “
Palomares is brimming with enthusiasm for Parker’s new work Am I, which will hit the Sydney Opera House in January. “Although Am I has not quite reached the stage, I would have to say it is my favourite role of Shaun’s works to date,” she says. “Besides the fact that I am performing alongside my sister (Melanie Palomares), my best friend (Sophia Ndaba) and my favourite dance partner (Josh Mu), I am graced with the rest of the magical cast who blow me away everyday. My dear friend Nick Wales, whom I met during This Show is About People, is leading some of Australia’s finest musicians to play a live score on stage. The beautifully detailed movement, driving live music and somewhat dangerous props make my role as a dancer both exciting and challenging. This work requires an incredible focus in combining a natural calm energy with elements of raw and wild. The work has heart, depth and a gentle intricacy that provides a visceral experience.”
You can see Marnie Palomares performing Am I with Shaun Parker & Company at the Sydney Opera House, as part of the Sydney Festival 9-12 January.
Bookings:
www.sydneyfestival.org.au
www.sydneyoperahouse.com
Below: Marnie Palomares with Josh Mu. Photo: Shaun Parker.
