Arc | Australasian Dance Collective

There is something unique about emerging artists performing next to established ones. Arc, the expressive dance performance produced for the Brisbane Festival by the new director of Australasian Dance Collective (ADC) Amy Hollingsworth was an opportunity to reflect on this. Arc brought on stage 38 dancers, partnering up the 30 emerging artists of the Youth Ensemble and the 8 artists of ADC. The result was a rich performance underscored by harmony, inspiration, and aspiration.

Seeing a large number dancers moving in unison, at times synchronously and at others asynchronously, remains one of my favourite aesthetic experiences. I enjoyed watching how the 38 bodies found harmony and coordination with each other while maintaining their own individuality.

Image + cover image: David Kelly

Established artists are a source of inspiration for emerging artists and this dynamic was palpable in Arc. It was imprinted in parts of the choreography where the Youth Ensemble followed the lead and directions imparted by ADC artist Jake Mclarnon. It was also more organic and observable in the aspiring bodies of the Youth Ensemble. They were measuring themselves against, and fared extremely well next to the articulate, controlled, and expressive bodies of ADC artists.    

Image: David Kelly

Arc was the first show of ADC since November 2019, and it was a remarkable post-pandemic lockdown comeback. It took place in South Bank, in the grassy area set against river and the cityscape as background. It is not often that you can enjoy the inviting feelings evoked by the Mercurian feet of dancers moving on soft grass. For me, this scenography made Arc memorable in the ways that the choreography and the music rendered an already stunning part of Brisbane even more suggestive (if possible!). Surprisingly, the quality of the sound was not compromised by the open-air theatre and the music by composer and sound designer Wil Hughes was dark and deep, just perfect to enjoy the impending sunset on the river.

Arc was a gift to the Brisbane community, not only because the show was free and any passer-by could stop and enjoy this spectacular performance, but also because it offered people who would not usually go to QPAC the opportunity to reap the benefits of watching high quality expressive dance and dancers. For me these benefits are a sense of harmony and vicarious physicality that I only get from watching bodies feeling themselves and others around them with the rhythms of music.

I observed a large number of men in the crowd, which was set against a comparatively small number of male artists in the Youth Ensemble. It appears that while men are finally finding their way into watching dance, they might be still holding back on doing it. In this respect, it is worth noting how age intersects with masculinity, as I can observe that adult men often feel more comfortable dancing than boys, which might explain the discrepancy between males in the audience and the performing artists of the Youth Ensemble.

Image: David Kelly