Expressions Dance Company (EDC) started life with its First Expressions season at the Brookes Street Theatre, Fortitude Valley between 7 and 14 May 1985. Exactly 40 years later, EDC (which became Australasian Dance Collective (ADC) in 2018) is celebrating its important milestone with Blue, a trilogy of works.
ADC has had only three Artistic Directors in its 40-year history. Maggi Sietsma AM, founded the company with her partner, Abel Valls, and they ran it for 24 years. They were followed by Natalie Weir from 2009, who handed over to Amy Hollingsworth in 2019.
The evening started with tremendous applause from the audience as the curtain was raised on the three Artistic Directors standing on the stage. Introducing them, Hollingworth explained that Blue related to “something old, something new, something borrowed,” with the program curated to honour the past, embrace the present and look to the future.
Commencing with “something old”, we were treated to a soul-stirring excerpt from Weir’s iconic work, When Time Stops, first produced in 2013. Based on the idea of moments in a person’s life where time slows down or even stops, there is both drama and utter tenderness in this work, marvellously realised by ADC’s dancers and Weir’s evocative and deeply emotive choreography.
As The Woman, guest artist Riannon McLean reprises the role she originally created with a performance of exquisite beauty, fluidity and tenderness. As the Ferryman, Jack Webster is equally her match, with his rhythmic rowing and acrobatic physicality.
Iain Grandage’s mesmerising score, underpinned with the constant sounds of waves, is performed live onstage by string players from Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra. They not only accompany the dancers but also become an integral part of the staging and performance, in a blend of artforms.
“Something new” is represented by Melanie Lane’s Glass Teeth, a visionary response to a parallel reality within a world of dreams. With nods to surrealism and the notion of absurdity, Lane has created a bizarre and frightening dream world. Her extraordinary choreography includes classical dance interspersed with mechanical movements and quirky acrobatics.
Dancers, dressed in Gail Sorronda’s fabulously designed Gothic-imagined, contemporary styled black clothing, are used to create marvellous stage pictures in variously lit patterns and shapes. The imagery is supported by composer Clark, whose electronic soundscape is metallic, jarring and percussive by turns. Distinctive sounds such as the gamelan, castanets or glockenspiel add an eerie or foreboding sense to the surreal quality of the work. All praise to the ADC dancers whose astonishingly energetic and brave rendition of this fascinating new work is both flawless and impressive.
An extract from Hofesh Shechter’s iconic work, In your rooms, is “something borrowed”. He is both choreographer and composer of this work, which is based on the human experience; Shechter explores hidden emotions alongside chaos and conflict to great effect.
Read: Theatre review: Happy Days, Wharf 1 Theatre, Sydney Theatre Company
Classical in feel, Shechter’s choreography has a strong contemporary energy and physicality in its delivery. Within the world he creates, the reactions of the characters to each other are well realised dramatically. Moreover, Shechter’s atmospheric score is rhythmic and percussive, his music gritty and evocative. It works seamlessly with his powerful choreography to deliver a breathtaking narrative. For the dancers, this is a challenging work physically and in its realisation. Their attention to detail is exemplary, while their scenes of collaboration are particularly fine. The final grouping with fists raised in the air in a sign of revolt is very moving.
Blue is an exceptionally fine trilogy of three diverse but complementary dance works to celebrate the ADC’s 40th anniversary. Well curated, the program perfectly illustrates past and present with a nod towards an impressive future. Plus, the highly proficient and talented ADC dancers are to be lauded for delivering three challenging but exceptionally well performed works.
Australasian Dance Collective presents
Blue
Playhouse, QPAC
When Time Stops (excerpt)
Choreographer: Natalie Weir
Composer: Iain Grandage
Original Costume/Set Design: Bill Haycok
Original Lighting Design: David Walters
Lighting Realisation: Ben Hughes
Performers: ADC company artists
Guest Artist: Riannon McLean
Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra
Glass Teeth
Choreographer: Melanie Lane
Music: Clark
Lighting Design: Ben Hughes
Costume Design: Gail Sorronda
Performers: ADC company artists
In Your Rooms (excerpt)
Choreography and Music: Hofesh Shechter
Lighting Realisation: Ben Hughes
Performers: ADC company artists, Sam Coren, Hayley Corderoy and Te Atawhai Kaa (ADC pre-professional students)
ADC company artists: Jack Lister, Sam Hall, Lilly King, Taiga Kita-Leong, Lily Potger and Georgia Van Gils
Blue will be performed until 17 May 2025.
