Not for ... Exposure | Mad Dance House
Meg Cooper, CEO and Owner of Mad Dance House, is a passionate advocate of dance in our town and in Australia. I remember the first time I met Meg way back in the mid 2000s when Mad Dance was at the beginning of its journey. This was way before the company had its own multi-studio space, creative agency and performance space and was at the forefront of showcasing the dance excellence, particularly street dance excellence, that abounds in our fair town.
Meg was hiring halls around Meanjin to run her dance classes. She was unforgettable. Passionate, driven and super charming, her classes were always popular and they quickly grew in demand. Before we knew it Mad Dance had become the force for dance that we now know it to be. Quietly and humbly, Meg has nurtured this growth over the years, fueled by her business nous, seemingly boundless energy, charm and relentless passion for dance. The full story of the establishment and rise of Mad Dance House and Meg’s role in nurturing the dance scene in Meanjin is a story we’re keen to share soon, so keep an eye out.
One of Meg’s passions is to make sure that dancers and all performers get recognised for their work and get paid fairly for what they do. We spoke to Meg about this back in 2020, when she was involved in the protest against the AFL about dancers not being paid for performing in that year’s Grand Final. Since then, she has worked with MEAA (the Media, Entertainment and Artists Alliance) to push for change across industries for dancers to get paid fairly for their skills and contributions and to never again be offered opportunities just for exposure, because exposure doesn’t pay the bills.
Speaking of that dirty word for performers, this year’s Fringe Brisbane provided Mad Dance with the perfect opportunity to launch the first performance night ‘Not for … Exposure’, a new showcase that will get artists paid.
The first ‘Not for … Exposure’ was a triple bill showcasing new works by three rising stars of dance and spoken world scenes, Max (Flood Dance and Hot Choc Crew), Huda the Goddess and Clarence Kent (Golden Coastline Crew). Held in Mad Dance’s new performance space, The Loft, it was also a great opportunity to informally showcase great performers as well as this new space at the top of the Mad Dance studio in the CBD. Side note, Mad Dance is taking bookings for The Loft now, so if you're looking for an affordable performance space in town, get in touch with them.
First on the night’s bill was Max aka The Flood showcasing his own style of dance called ‘Flood Dance’. Max created Flood Dance in response to the 2011 Brisbane Floods and describes it as ‘the distorted dance’, to my untrained eye Flood Dance mixes flexing, animation and pop and lock with expressive storytelling and more fluid elements seemingly inspired by water and flooding that could be at home in contemporary dance. Max notes inspiration from Halo as well. Max presented a partly choreographed, partly freestyled performance to showcase Flood Dance. He took us on a journey through a world created by his physical storytelling and the soundscape he created himself that combined beats, and the sounds of water and urban environments. All together, it was mesmerising.
Next up was Award Winning Poet Huda the Goddess. Huda is the current 'Australian Poetry Slam Champion' and two-times QLD Champion, who is now representing Australia at poetry competitions around the world. Huda may seem like an odd choice for an event like ‘Not for … exposure’, but the rhythm and imagery of poems are the perfect partner for dancers. Huda has already shown the beauty of combining poetry with dance recently performing alongside Pink Matter as a part of Betwixt and she’s keen to do it again. Dancers, and other movement artists, I hope to see more collaborations with poets like Huda in the years to come.
Huda presented four works for us in her set. The works touched on love; unequal love, first love and love that couldn’t heal; and tributes to artists and all they give. Starting with ‘The Ghost of a Black Poet’, her tribute to BIPOC artists and the challenges they face , she took our collective breath away. ‘Tarzan and Gaia’, a remembrance of a love where Huda nurtured someone who didn’t reciprocate this back, particularly resonated with many in the audience. The poem seemed to offer moments of clarity, with many (including myself) responding with huh’s to her truthbombs. She weaved gorgeous images and wisdom with her words and rhythms and it was easy to see why she has been so lauded for her works.
The final act of the night was Clarence Kent of GoldenCoastline Crew. Clarence showcased his unique style of street dance across five tracks, incorporating Popping, Animation Dance and Hip Hop, with more than a few riffs on the style that Michael Jackson made famous. Clarence is one of Meanjin’s most experienced dancers, both as a solo performer and through his crew GoldenCoastline, including having performed around the world since 2016 with the Jabbawockeez and individually and in a number of music videos. Post-Covid shutdowns, he has already won five battles and judged three in Brisbane and Sydney. Clarence is a charismatic performer and storyteller, combining gorgeous control through movements both fluid and sharp, and the right amount of light and shade. I could not wipe the smile off my face throughout his performance.
I’m just beginning to understand the immense dance talent that’s on offer in Meanjin and I think there are many lovers of live performance like me who are finally starting to wake up to the calibre of the street performers based in our town. ‘Not for … Exposure’ was the perfect showcase for the three artists to showcase their skills, experiment with styles and premier new work. I hope that it becomes a regular showcase for our local stars. I know that I’ll snap up tickets for on any future performances by Max, Clarence or Huda the Goddess and if that helps to ensure that these stars are no longer offered opportunities just for exposure then showcases like ‘Not for … Exposure’ deserve a long life of success. Here’s to the next one.
