This week will see Tasdance present its first mainstage season under new artistic director Felicity Bott. Entitled “evolve: revolve”, the program is a double bill featuring new works by Liesel Zink and Gabrielle Nankivell. “Evolve: revolve” will play Earl Arts Centre in Launceston, from 26-28 May, and Theatre Royal Hobart, 2-3 June.
Zink’s work, Plain English, feels timely, given the impending Federal election, because it puts the microscope on the way Australian politicians speak; the tactics and techniques they use to communicate to the public via the 24 hour news cycle. “As a starting point for the work, we have deconstructed recent interviews and speeches from federal politicians, using the rhythm, patterns, slogans and stutters to build a choreographic work that takes on a life of its own,” says Zink. “Audience members will recognize words, sounds and gestures that they see on a daily basis from our politicians”
Nankivell’s work Thorn takes the audience in a very different direction. Drawing a wavering line between reality and fantasy, the work is a small study of humans, nature and human nature. Nankivell invites the audience to ponder a slowly shifting landscape. “Experimenting with a phenomenological approach, the performers draw on thought, imagination and sensory perception to craft their travel through the choreography,” says Nankivell. “Their bodies become landscape - a constantly morphing physical fiction. Between the performers and the audience floats perception. A shared phenomenon we hope might provoke questions around not just what, but how we experience”.
For more information, including bookings, head to http://www.tasdance.com.au/evolve-revolve/