Andy Dexterity has been announced as the choreographer for a new production of the musical Rent, which will open at the Hayes Theatre in Melbourne this October.
Dexterity is known for his unique movement style which fuses dance with sign language. He has named it “signdance”. A musical theatre performer, he discovered sign language as a result of a sea-change which saw him leave the stage in 2009. “I was performing back-to-back shows, in role after role, just because the work was there and I didn't feel like I knew how to do anything else,” he says. “I moved out of Sydney, up the coast and found myself sailing a yacht, and to my surprise, I discovered that I was still dancing, only now, a pas de trois with the wind and the sea,” he recalls. “The time and space that was created away from the bright lights of the arts, allowed new hobbies to show their faces... knitting and sign language. I took a strong liking to them both, as there were no critics or egos to deal with.... just my hands and maybe some string. They both kept my hands moving and they both kept my hands warm - perfect for a cold winter on the water.”
It was “love at first sign,” says Dexterity of his first brush with sign language. “I was hypnotised by its ability to display such raw, honest human emotion during an information exchange,” he says. “I soon followed my fingers… and enrolled in a certificate course and began absorbing the traditional signs of Auslan (Australian Sign Language). Having an upbringing in dance made it easy to see a sign once and be able to execute it.”
Listening to Dexterity talk it is easy to understand why he is attracted to sign language. “It is one thing to put ideas on paper, but in magical “Handland”, you get to move thoughts straight from your brain to your body and hands,” he exclaims. “So much wisdom came to me though embodying my communication, and to watch others do the same in front of me is such an honour. I love playing with this lens of meaningful movement… each gesture, having the potential to communicate on some level, literally and poetically.
“More than anything, I still get excited to think that the outcome is always something that is accessible for deaf and hearing impaired audiences and also simultaneously introduces sign language to an unawakened sign crowd in an non-invasive, non-preachy way. Sign language is celebrated for what it is - a physical, visual language, utilised in a creative way.”
Thanks to sign language, Dexterity has returned to the stage. “I am performing again, only now my efforts are benefitting others beyond entertainment,” he says. "Whenever I spoke about sign language, it always led to a performance of some kind, which, over time, led to the birth of a few sign-language skits, which then led to some YouTube videos, which then led to the choreographing of some music videos and live events.”
Since then, Dexterity has landed some fabulous gigs. “In the last 12 months, I have worked on some pretty incredible projects that are all so different from one another,” he says. “I created signdance choreography for Kimbra, for her ‘90's Music’ music video. My first large-scale signdance choreographic work premiered in the opening ceremony of the world netball championships and most recently, I have been conducting the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for the Wiggles's latest film.”
With a performance background in musical theatre, Dexterity is looking forward to working on Rent. “When Rent first came out, I was a geeky, shy, young boy,” he recalls. “Every Saturday would be spent doing back to back performing arts classes and at the school, the senior performance group did a jazz and tap routine to "Seasons of Love" [a song from Rent]. That's when I fell in love with it. Not with the fusion of tap and jazz, but with the lyrics ‘five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes...’ I never understood much of the show back then and most of the references went over my head, but its nice to have those early memories and be able to ground all these years of imaginings and experiences into a few hours of theatre.”
- Nina Levy