Theatreworks, Melbourne
April 12 2012

By Paul Ransom.

There are many ways to review a show but most involve name dropping, encapsulation and a measure of what we might call analysis. Ultimately however, reviews are simply one person’s considered and (hopefully) informed opinion. This is no different. But for me at least Collide was.

Not that the two short works contained under that umbrella were ground-breaking in any way. Indeed, a dance cynic may well dismiss the programme as nothing more than standard issue, over wrought contemporary writhing. However, to do so would miss the point entirely.

Choreographer/director Paul Malek once told me that he was “a very intense person” and that shines through with Collide. Both these works (Freya List’s stunning debut Half Full and Malek’s passionate and conceptual Evolve) burn with introspective drama. Both are like a brooding Bronte sister novel; melancholy, dark, existential. Even a touch erotic.

Stepping away from the details though, Collide reminds us why anyone bothers to dance at all, for right there in front of us the dancers give us their blood by diving headlong into the moment and immersing themselves. Perhaps it is a kind of self-absorption – but it’s also utterly absorbing. And in the pews, everyone imagines themselves dancing.

Sometimes, the astonishing alchemy of music and movement transcends technique, and makes critique redundant. For this reviewer – on that night, in that theatre – the collision was pure elevating, emotional magic. By daring to feel, the dancers allowed us to do the same. By having the gall to dream up such intense (and gloriously minimal) vignettes, Paul Malek and the driven young people he works with remind us that everyone is a dancer.

Well, that’s enough of my middle age gushing. Go see the show … or at the very least keep an eye out for their next one.

Published by Dance Informa dance magazine – everything dance in Australia – dance auditions, dance news, dance events, dance reviews and resources for dance teachers.

Theatreworks, St Kilda VIC
Jan 2012

By Paul Ransom.

It remains a mystery to me why Paul Malek is not a dance megastar. His energy, generosity and prolific output continue to astound; and Unanswered simply serves to confirm him as one of this country’s best dance visionaries.

Malek’s Unanswered is a simple, understated call for compassion and understanding. However, it achieves this without ever straying into pulpit thumping declaration. Instead, it employs a stark, loosely metaphoric approach, with eight dancers inhabiting a bare, minimally lit stage and a choreographic palette full of classical grace and restrained athleticism.

Inspired by the callous stoning of a black swan by a group of teenagers, Unanswered takes as its touchstones ideas about equality and acceptance and weaves them around a series of elegant, interlocked vignettes. With string driven Baroque music predominating, it draws upon the traditions of Comedia, mime and even acrobatics to create a whole that is at once high concept contemporary and loosely narrative movement theatre.

Paul Malek’s choreography here is definitely helped by his choice of ensemble. Ashleigh Perrie is magnetic – almost translucent – while around her Haydn Shadforth, Jack May and the rest of the eight are tight and suitably dramatic.

There is an undeniable virtuosity here, a bristling but sensitive energy that seems to allow Malek to simply pluck magic from thin air. Unanswered isn’t a revolution – much less a diatribe – but its stripped back styling, technical rigour and emotional engine make it resonate long after the dancers have taken their well-deserved bows.

Collaboration The Project is proud to present Immersed Melbourne Dance Industry Night 2011, this month. Immersed will be held at The National Theatre on Monday September 12 at 7:30pm.

Melbourne’s dance scene will amalgamate on one night, to immerse the entertainment industry with their peers and show what it is that makes their city hum!

Immersed will be the Melbourne dance industries premier night of entertainment with a host of established and up and coming choreographers showcasing their work. 

Immersed Performances include; choreography by Paul Malek and Collaboration The Project,  Team Rocket (Australia’s Got Talent), contemporary jazz company Vertical Shadows directed by Stephen Agisilaou (SYTYCD), International Choreographer Leroy Curwood, RickStix Productions headed by Adrian Ricks (Mr. Mistoffolees CATS), Australian hip hop champions Dance Virus Productions, hip hop crews Sole Symphony, The Collektive & all girl crew, Hollabak Dance Crew.

There will also be student performances by full time institutions Jason Coleman’s Ministry of Dance, Dance World Studios, Patrick Studios Australia, Youth dance Company Project Y and a myriad of other exciting acts.

For more information visit www.collaboration-project.com

Video: Courtesy of youTube. Dance Informa takes no
responsibility for the content of any videos viewed through youTube.

Photo by Belinda Strodder

Theatre Works, Melbourne
June 1 2010

By Rebecca Martin 

Upcoming choreographer Rain Francis took the helm of Collaboration The Project’s Project Y, a youth company developed to provide performance experience for young dancers, and created tonight’s work titled The Dream Machine. 

The piece tells the story of Ariel, “a heartbroken young girl who carries the weight of the world on her shoulders.  One night she experiences a lucid dream, where she discovers she is able to manipulate anything she desires, and has the courage to face her mysterious fears.  After her night of adventure, Ariel wakes to see the world through fresh eyes, with the knowledge that when you combine your waking, rational abilities with the infinite possibilities of your dreams, the world is your oyster.  They say that dreams are only real as long as they last; couldn’t we say the same thing about life?”

A synopsis such as this made me nervous, as it was doing the one thing that contemporary work fails to do on most occasions, and that is to tell a detailed story.  The tale of Ariel was particularly tricky given that a young girl was apparently capable of experiencing heartbreak and the burden of the world’s weight.  Lauren Thomson was cast as Ariel, and had the difficult job of bringing Rain’s character to life and telling the story without appearing trite. 

The Dream Machine opened with an amusing take on the daily bus commute with a cast of colourful characters, my favourite being the sleazy drunk guy that we’re all familiar with.  It became apparent early on that Thomson was perfectly suited to the role of the tortured lead protagonist.  She had a wonderful presence on stage and brought genuine maturity to the character, and from a technical point showed grace and some beautiful lines.   The dream sequence was mesmerizing – a pas de deux took place downstage while the corps moved in the background like the subconscious, seen but unnoticed, felt but untouched. 

The piece was quite busy, with much taking place on stage at any given moment, but it slowed significantly when the corps took to their knees in a line basked in a shaft of golden light.  As each dancer raised their hands above their heads, their hands were illuminated by the light, creating an ethereal effect.  It felt like the moment when a plane reaches cruising altitude and everything becomes quiet and calm, almost like floating.  At this point, Ariel began to interact with her subconscious for the first time, eventually commanding it.  At last, she had become the manipulator and was in control.

The Dream Machine gave the young cast the opportunity to develop characters and explore new ways of moving while performing on stage in front of a supportive audience.  Francis’ task was no easy one, but she created a piece that was complex yet very enjoyable to watch.  Her strengths as a choreographer lie in creating movement that tells the audience something while remaining beautiful and pure.  She combines bodies and movement into something greater than the sum of their parts.  Congratulations must go out to Francis, and the young dancers who executed the piece well and showed great enthusiasm and energy on stage.  Paul Malek’s Project Y deserves the industry’s support in order to continue to foster young dance talent.

By Rebecca Martin

Theatre Works, St Kilda, Melbourne
February 2011

Collaboration the Project’s latest work started with a bang.  Or almost didn’t start!  At the last rehearsal before opening night, one of the performers, Monique Dawes injured herself and was deemed unable to perform.  A frantic email was sent out from the company’s publicist to inform us that due to the complex nature of the choreography, the season would have to be postponed.  Fortunately for all involved, at the 11^th hour, a replacement was found, and Stratagem opened only one day later than scheduled. 

It was not hard to see how one could get injured performing in this piece, as it was violent, intense, relentless, fearless and chock full of complex choreography.  Full credit must go to Amy Vaughan who pulled off the seemingly impossible task of not only learning the work in one day, but performing it as though each movement was as natural and familiar to her body as walking.  Credit is also due to Kim Adam and Ashleigh Perrie who worked all day in order to get the production onto stage.

The premise of Stratagem centred on a virtual reality game show that had swept the globe.  Each week, the program saw four contestants “battle the virtual prowess of the mind in heated combat challenges for the chance to win six million dollars.”  In a theme reminiscent of The Matrix, the contestants were plugged in, yet no matter how real the simulation appeared, no harm could come to the players.  A virtual death created a re-setting of the program and the next challenge would begin.

This was a bold subject for a contemporary dance company, particularly one that is renowned for Paul Malek’s incredible lyricism and fluid choreography.  Stratagem was a stark departure from Malek’s previous works with Collaboration that addressed more traditional themes of love and sex.

The piece started promisingly with the sound of thunderous drums and the arrival of the dancers in costumes reminiscent of WWF fighters mixed in with 80’s glam punk.  The choreography was massive and the stage was not, so I would like to see this type of production in a more appropriate setting in order to give it the space to breathe that it deserves.  At times the flurry of movement and the sheer intensity of the choreography, coupled with the furious pas de deux, made the dancers seem larger than life.

The strength and stamina of the dancers was astounding.  Their energy never faltered despite the majority of them being on stage for the full duration of the 45 minute show.  Gone was the dream-like beauty that Malek has made the audience accustomed to, and in its place was a far more daring piece that succeeded in pushing the boundaries of contemporary dance, albeit with a few obtuse and clunky moments of choreography due to excessively angular shapes. 

The piece worked when the intensity was at its peak, such as the scene with strobe lighting and the entire company performing in unison. The effect was mesmerizing.  However, Stratagem began to lose a little steam towards the end as the ferocious battles that were so compelling gave way to melodramatic faux death scenes and the use of screaming from the dancers.  The beauty of contemporary dance is that movement can be the storyteller, and I feel that the use of pantomime is unnecessary.  In a piece like this when so much can be interpreted from a single movement, it can be best to show, not tell the audience what you wish to convey.

Nonetheless, Stratagem was atmospheric, exciting, daring and provocative. It proved that Collaboration the Project is absolutely vital to the Australian dance landscape.  We need more artists willing to be this daring and more choreographers as talented as Malek to pull it off.

Collaboration The Project presents world premiere of Stratagem

Australia’s fast-rising choreographic talent Paul Malek combines a powerful cast with athletic and combat inspired movement to present Collaboration the Project’s latest work, Stratagem. The show opens February 17th at Theatreworks, St Kilda, Melbourne.

Stratagem: the story of 4 regular people who delve into a virtual reality game show where they battle for national glory. As the game progresses however the computer programs framework begins to crack, allowing the rules to bend and be broken. In the chaos that surrounds them only one thing is on their minds… “How do I get out of this alive?”

Thursday 17- Saturday 26 February
Tickets now on sale
Theatreworks (03) 9534 3388 www.theatreworks.org.au

Theatre Works, St Kilda, Vic
October 2010

By Rain Francis.

Three out of four works I’ve seen by Paul Malek this year feature death as an element or central theme. If I didn’t know him personally as a charming young man, I think I’d be wondering about what kind of person was behind these hyper-emotive, frankly dark productions.

What Malek does best is jazz contemporary with a rich narrative, and Climax sees him further his exploration of this genre. It has less of the philosophical depth of June’s Collection of Forgotten Treasures (which justly cleaned up this year’s Short + Sweet in Melbourne) and is more akin to the series finale in a top notch American television drama. Let’s liken it, to say, an X-rated Desperate Housewives doing a ‘seven deadly sins’ special. This is the kind of show you would bring a culture-phobic acquaintance to in an attempt to initiate him or her. It appeals to the mainstream appetite for show-stopping entertainment without compromising itself artistically. These themes are nothing new, but they work; murder, adultery, revenge, drugs, rape, suicide and hate crimes. How else do we explain the dizzying number of crime shows on TV?

The music, lighting, and choreography in Climax are bold and confronting from the get-go, with inter-connected storylines to match. Call me nearly 30, but I would have enjoyed more respite from the thumping electro-pop break beat, though it definitely serves the purpose of creating tension, suspense and that ‘in-your-face’ vibe.

Performances are first-rate all around, delivered by a cast of some of Melbourne’s finest, and quite possibly sexiest, contemporary and commercial dancers. The question arises as to whether or not there is an end to Ashleigh Perrie’s skill. I suspect probably not. The woman is fearless. In Climax she performs lightning quick, acrobatic moves, in heels and  a pencil skirt, atop a small desk without so much as a shiver of instability. I got the feeling that we could have decorated the desk with olive oil and marbles and she’d still have pulled it off with rock solid perfection. Did I mention she was in heels?

Someone (possibly Calvin Coolidge, but even Google doesn’t know everything) once said something along the lines of ‘there’s nothing more uncommon than an unsuccessful person with talent’. What I admire most about Collaboration The Project is the fact that it exists. It is prolific, and continues to strengthen with each output. There’ll never be enough work for the amount of talented artists in Australia (and indeed, the world), so when it comes down to it you sometimes just have to go out and make your own. These guys are proof that it can be done. Bravo to them!

Melbourne based companies Project Y and Collaboration the Project teamed up to perform two shows: It Sounds Silly and Parkland Avenue in April. Dance Informa was there to enjoy both!
To read the review click here

Photo: Belinda Strodder

Photo: Belinda Strodder

Photo: Belinda Strodder

Photo: Belinda Strodder

Photo: Belinda Strodder

Photo: Belinda Strodder

Photos: Copyright ‘Photography by Belinda’ www.dancephotography.net.au

Project Y with The 2^nd Toe Dance Collective
and Collaboration The Project

Theatreworks, St Kilda
Thursday April 15

By Regina Green

Project Y is the youth-based sister company of Artistic Director Paul Malek’s Collaboration The Project. It Sounds Silly…  is their second work, devised and choreographed by The 2^nd Toe Dance Collective, in conjunction with the dancers. With 29 performers, aged between 12 and 22, it’s an ambitious undertaking, but Project Y pull it off with impressive professionalism, no less.

It Sounds Silly… is an exploration of early childhood events. It opens with a schoolyard hand-clapping game which builds into a complicated rhythm, gradually becoming thunderous with the force of 29 pairs of hands and feet. That those hands and feet kept in time for as long as they did at the speed they were going, is an accomplishment in itself.

The company has obviously gone through a lengthy research and development process to draw on memories from their not-so-distant childhoods. What was most touching was that some of the ideas that were dug up were ones that as the audience, we all knew, but perhaps had forgotten we knew, for example the spooky chant ‘In a dark, dark house there was a…..’. This gave a real sense of the universality of being a child, from our fears, hopes and joys, to our jokes and games.

Photo Belinda Strodder

What a great experience for young people, and a fantastic insight into and preparation for both the life of a professional dancer and the process of creation.

The second work, Parkland Avenue, was presented by Collaboration The Project. It is the story of three inseparable best friends, David, Annabelle and Michael. The concept was clever in its simplicity: to tell the story of the demise of a friendship over a decade, through a series of isolated scenes. The storytelling was assisted by video footage and moved chronologically.

The opening scene of Parkland Avenue was an absolute triumph. We met the three characters as young children, pajama-clad, hyperactive and in the carefree throes of an elaborate play-fight. What could easily have been the cringe-worthy acting of adults pretending to be kids was in fact so believable and so infectious I found myself laughing out loud and itching to take part in the delirious giggling heap of ‘stacks-on’.

The subsequent scenes depicted the trio at various stages of growing up blissfully together, while the video projections hinted at some unnamed impending doom. After the initial scene, at times I found it difficult to relate to these characters who were in danger of becoming caricatures of intoxicated cheerfulness. Call me cynical, but the idea of three people being constantly and equally enamoured seems unrealistic. I had to make a conscious mental switch to allow for this fantasy and let myself be swept up in the story. I am quite probably in the minority here, as I noticed a few people in the audience had an untimely attack of ‘the sniffles’ during the final scenes, and we all know what that really means.

Brendan Yeates, Ashleigh Perrie and Matt Holly performed with absolute commitment to the movement, the characters and the story. All are gorgeous dancers: athletic, accomplished and well-matched.

Hats off to Paul Malek and assistant choreographer and member of 2^nd Toe Dance Collective, Adam Wheeler, for an inventive and highly entertaining evening. I look forward to more from these two innovative young companies.

Photos: Photography by Belinda www.dancephotography.net.au

2 new works in 1 show!

In a night of two halves, the 2nd Toe Collective (Adam Wheeler, Benjamin Hancock, Madeleine Krenek, Tyler Hawkins, Frankie Snowdon, Jo Vriensendorp and James Andrews) choreograph Project Y’s latest work featuring 30 dancers aged 12 – 22 years of age. Project Y is a fresh youth dance company taking Melbourne by storm.

“The events of our childhood make us who we are today, we would like to share them with you.”

Following this is Collaboration The Project’s new Parkland Avenue. Written and Choreographed by Paul Malek, Parkland Avenue is a tale of companionship, lust, love, jealousy and sorrow as three friends watch their perfect relationship unravel violently around them. 

Dates: April 14th (preview), 15^th -16th, 18th, 20^th-24^th, 7:30pm
Venue: Theatre Works, St Kilda
For bookings visit www.theatreworks.org.au or phone 03 9534 3388