By Rebecca Martin.

Chapel Off Chapel, Melbourne
24 & 25 November 2012

Since 2007, Short + Sweet Dance has been providing a platform for dancers, choreographers and directors to present their work in front of an audience while building industry relationships.

Under the guidance of Adam Wheeler, new Short + Sweet Dance Director, artists were mentored during the creative process by former Australian Ballet dancer Tim Harbour, as well as hip hop extraordinaire Etienne Khoo.

The beauty of Short + Sweet is that it isn’t just a festival – in addition to the artist mentorship and network development, there is audience involvement, prizes, and of course, the opportunity to have new work performed in front of an audience and panel of industry professionals.

This year’s Short + Sweet Melbourne was a mixed bag, with performances from classically trained dancers and those with little training alike. There were edgy pieces, bizarre pieces, beautiful pieces and hilarious pieces.

The closing night Gala was comprised of the pieces with the most audience votes, which showed that the festival is more about audience enjoyment than technical proficiency. Personally, I thought some pieces should have made it into the final and some that did shouldn’t have been there, but a popularity contest will always be fraught with differing points of view.

Program opener Project Elvis, choreographed by Michael Ralph, was an absolute delight. With 1950s dance performed to a medley of Elvis tunes, it left everyone in the audience wanting to join in. Ralph is certainly one of Melbourne’s biggest talents.

Festival stalwart Benjamin Hancock presented By Night, a piece that elucidated his exquisite line, technique and stage presence, while Man Up and Do a Solo by Bicky Lee showed that she is another huge talent to watch. Her piece explored what gender and the idea of being a girl means and she had the audience in fits of laughter with her cleverly deconstructed solo performance.

Rain Francis, who is one of Melbourne’s biggest rising choreographic stars, gave us Whatever You Do, Don’t Panic! The piece delved into the world of anxiety and panic through fluid, contemporary dance and it was a joy to watch. Lead dancer Erynne Mulholland shone with strength and beauty and took the audience on a journey through the depths of anxiety that was entirely convincing.

Hayley Arundel, the director and founder of The Space Youth Dance Company, debuted In the Eye of the Beholder with the company. Arundel’s strong classical background was evident in the piece and there were some real moments of beauty presented in her choreography. Young dancer Samantha Booker was a stand out and is definitely one to watch.

Rubix was a brilliant fusion of Irish dance and electronic music choreographed by Charmayne Dulley. It was a perfect conclusion to a night of dance and showed that Irish dance can maintain its traditional roots while implanting itself in the modern day.

The 2012 Short + Sweet Dance Melbourne awards were presented as listed below:
– Outstanding Work in Choreography – Michael Ralph – Project Elvis
– Audacious Work by A Choreographer – Lina Limosani – Borderline
– Outstanding Work by A Female – Bicky Lee – Man Up And Do A Solo
– Outstanding Work by A Male – Jake Kuzma – Sc-Fi-Vir
– People’s Choice Award – Rain Francis – Whatever You Do, Don’t Panic!

Photo: Short+Sweet Melbourne 2012 – Dance Group B. Photography by Ange Leggas 3 Fates Media. Whatever You Do, Don’t Panic! by Rain Francis

By Rain Francis.

In September, Darcey Bussell CBE accepted the honorary role of Ambassador for the New Zealand School of Dance supporters programme. Darcey is one of the world’s leading ballet stars. She danced as a Principal with The Royal Ballet for 20 years, and is President of the Royal Academy of Dance. Darcey joins current NZSD Ambassadors Dame Kiri Te Kanawa ONZ, DBE, AC, Sir Jon Trimmer KNZM, MBE, and Danyon Loader ONZM.

Auckland’s Tempo Dance Festival takes place from October 9 to 21. It is the country’s biggest celebration of all styles of dance, showcasing the best in ballet, contemporary, hip hop, Pacific dance, Bollywood, burlesque, salsa and more. For more info, check out www.tempo.co.nz

Darcey Bussell coaching Laura Jones at the New Zealand School of Dance. Photograph by Stephen A’Court.

Dance Masters International has announced the appointment of Aurelie Dupont, Etoile of the Paris Opera Ballet as official Patron. Registrations are now open for summer seminars in Auckland (January 7 – 13), Nelson (January 14 – 20) and Christchurch (January 21 – 26). Guest Tutors include Frederic Jahn, Patricia Ruanne, Rain Francis, Clare Freeman-Sergeant, Olivia Russell and Josiah Russell. Classes will include ballet, contemporary, Pilates, stretch, floor barre, repertoire, pointe, stage make up and RAD and BBO syllabus. For more information, contact dancemasters.international@gmail.com.

In a crowd-funding miracle, the hugely deserving Douglas Wright has raised a whopping $22,607 – surpassing a target of $22,500. This money will help tour rapt to The Hague, after an invitation from one of the world’s largest dance festivals, Holland Dance. Douglas Wright Dance will perform at the Lucent Danstheater, home to the world famous Nederlands Dans Theatre. It is unique for a New Zealand company to achieve the chance to perform on this prominent dance stage.

The Royal New Zealand Ballet has begun work on a major new production of Giselle, which will premiere in Wellington on November 7. Artistic Director Ethan Stiefel will co-produce, alongside Johan Kobborg, internationally acclaimed Principal Dancer of London’s Royal Ballet. Prima ballerina Gillian Murphy, RNZB Principal Guest Artist and star of American Ballet Theatre, will dance the title role. The score, performed live by the Vector Wellington Orchestra in Wellington and the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in Auckland, will be conducted by leading British conductor Michael Lloyd. Russian ballet dancer turned costume designer Natalia Stewart has designed the costumes. American scenic designer Howard C Jones has created a picturesque village and eerie graveyard settings, while New York lighting designer Kendall Jones will light the production.

Okareka Dance Company storm NZ this month, with their acclaimed work Nga Hau E Wha. Steeped in Maori legend, Nga Hau E Wha’s debut brought dance royalty once again to New Zealand stages: Taane Mete and Taiaroa Royal. Having formed Okareka Dance Company in 2007, the pair continues to successfully fuse contemporary dance with other creative art mediums. Fundamentally guided by Maori beliefs, the new show yet again follows Okareka’s credo – Mana (Honour and Integrity), Whanau (Family) and Matataki (Challenge). For more information and to book tickets, head to www.otagofestival.co.nz (Otago), http://thebody.co.nz (Christchurch),  www.tempo.co.nz (Tempo Festival, Auckland), www.mfa.org.nz (South Side Arts Festival, Auckland).

Top photo: Ballerina Gillian Murphy as Giselle for Royal New Zealand Ballet. Photo by Ross Brown.

National Theatre, St Kilda
September 8 2012

By Rebecca Martin.

Immersed is one of those wonderful nights when Melbourne’s dance community comes together to share their work and float in the glory of what is a very deep pool of talent.  While Immersed is a celebration of dance, tonight it was all about spaghetti.

Created by the brilliant Paul Malek and his company Collaboration The Project, Immersed has been running yearly since 2009, giving upcoming as well as established performers the chance to shine and also to see what else is going on in the local dance scene.  This year we saw 23 pieces from some of our best full time dance schools, solo artists, youth companies, and seasoned groups.

A rich partnership between Malek, Adrian Ricks, Yvette Lee, and Nadia Tornese opened proceedings and set the bar incredibly high for the rest of the performances.  The Space Dance and Arts Centre presented a strong piece created by Los Angeles’ Meredith Kerr which was closely followed by the award winning piece One choreographed by Rain Francis and danced by Rain and Lucky Dance Theatre.  Rain is certainly a choreographer to watch and her company is full of technically sound and fearless dancers.  Dance World Studios brought a taste of Asia to the National Theatre stage in an epic piece that saw the dancers clad in kimonos and wielding parasols.  Fortunately, this wasn’t an eisteddfod piece, but rather a high energy and engaging dance that used the Asian theme cleverly and was a definite stand out.

Jason Coleman’s Ministry of Dance and Patrick Studios Australia presented loud and exciting pieces that saw the stage full of dancers. They were incredibly effective in getting the audience to cheer and the dancers to perform at their best.

I was very happy to see tap and Irish dance get a guernsey, and to also to see the talented Benjamin Hancock on stage.  He performed a solo piece on a circular piece of carpet which he didn’t stray from.  Hancock was mesmerising.

The undoubted highlight of the night was the unexpected finale to the first half of the evening.  Spaghetti Slobs performed by Miss Friby and choreographed by Elizabeth Dawson-Smith, saw the two dancers in a genius display of comic timing and flying spaghetti.  It was unexpected and brilliant.

Malek and all of Melbourne should be bursting with pride at the amount of talent Melbourne is producing.  We have dancers, choreographers, companies, schools, and producers of the highest calibre and I certainly left the theatre inspired.

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.