A number of Australia’s established dance companies offer programs to support the work of upcoming choreographers. In December Melbourne audiences will have a chance to see two programs by such choreographers.
Chunky Move will present Atlanta Eke’s Miss Universal from 3-12 December at Chunky Move Studios, as part of the Next Move program, which commissions work by the next generation of leading dance-makers. Miss Universal is an immersive, experiential performance in which Eke and dancers Annabelle Balharry, Chloe Chignall and Angela Goh will move through a landscape of images, sculpture and transformative material created with visual artist Claire Lambe.
Miss Universal draws on diverse influences, from Carolyn Merchant’s The Death of Nature, which posits that advances in science in the 16th century have set back the cause of women; Donna Haraway’s Cyborg Manifesto, which uses the metaphot of the cyborg to urge feminists to move beyond the limitations of traditional gender, feminism and politics; and Monique Wittig’s Les Guerilleres, about a war of the sexes. where women ‘engage in bloody, victorious battles’. The work questions the possibility for universality within contemporary social structures.
More info/bookings: here
From 16-18 December, Lucy Guerin Inc will present its annual “Pieces for Small Spaces” season, at the Lucy Guerin Inc Studio. “Pieces for Small Spaces” gives choreographers a chance to challenge their practice, take risks and present new work as part of a professional performance season. The program aims to nurture new processes and ideas of local independent artists, helping them to develop distinct voices and approaches.
The 2016 “Pieces for Small Spaces program features work by five local choreographers – James Batchelor, Tessa Broadby, Amber McCartney, Emily Robinson and Carly Sheppard.
More info/bookings: here