Lighting the Dark | DanceNorth
As the performers are presented, they are each warmly hugged and welcomed by Chris Dyke—communicating a sense of the artists as people who need to work closely with and trust their fellow dancers. It’s wonderful to then watch those individuals transform from initial ‘chatter,’ and playfulness, to performing impressive dance—here a literal lighting of the dark stage, when the artists ‘switch on’ their performance skills.
WILDFLOWER | ADC Mature Ensemble
Defiance defines this performance. Defiance against those they have closed off the stage, the dancing, the community of kindred spirits. We will take what is ours to have.
Tracker | Australian Dance Theatre
Wiradjuri choreographer and Australian Dance Theatre Artistic Director, Daniel Riley, has brought together a talented team of creatives and artists to create a show that focuses on Daniel Riley’s exploration of the life of his Great-Great Uncle, Alec "Tracker" Riley.
Crazy Fucking Bitches | A Little Life Theatre
We start by going back to the story of Eve and I liked seeing her in the garden, five Eve’s consuming perfect red apples in the lustful manner they deserve.
Siva Mai Club | District41 & Oceanik Village
Siva Mai Club does not just speak to Pasifika and Indigenous people, no matter your cultural backgrounds, it is special to be a part of that communion in that 75 mins with a dash of island style humour.
Stunt Double | The Farm
The scene exploded into a perfect, frantic homage to b-movies that had me grinning ear to ear. That feeling of anticipation, of knowing you were about to see something that was purely and intensely fun, was my favorite part of this production.
Yuldea | Bangarra Dance Theatre
Ultimately I felt it was a kind of accounting. There is no want, no ask from the audience of many peoples, each with their own reason for coming to witness. There is just the accounting. The storytelling. The truth telling.
Salamander | Maxine Doyle & Es Devlin
Utilising highly skilled dancers, co-visionaries Maxine Doyle and Es Devlin have delivered a unique and enthralling large-scale production for this year’s Brisbane Festival.
Red | Dancenorth
The final image of the show was perhaps the most confronting. It lingered and encouraged me to sit with the feeling of it. It's a final statement of the show that was clearly meant to be seen in person, not read online. Being presented with a challenge like that was invigorating and I hope I get to see more work that engages the audience in that way.
Wayfinder | DanceNorth
Under the choreographic guidance of Amber Haines and Kyle Page, the versatility and improvisation of the dancers never failed to impress. Moreover the captivating solo performance by Marlo Benjamin had me mesmerised with her non-stop energetic movements that were infused with complicated floor and foot work.
Angel-Monster | Phluxus2 Dance Collective
As a trained dancer I went into this show expecting a high level of maturity through the choreography and storytelling techniques and I was blown away by the finished product. It is a clever way to have this conversation about such serious subject matter. I was moved to tears (Rare! I’m not usually one to cry); and I would go and see it again, next time sitting in a different part of the theatre to get an experience from another vantage point.
Aftermath | ADC
The score is complex, pushing us to travel realms and the most human of sounds, the rhythm of our heart beating and directing the audience towards the revelation of hope that is only short lived when nothing is what it should be in this world.
THREE 2.0 | Australasian Dance Collective
The dance pieces intrigued me and left me thinking about the meaning and message behind them. Each piece was abstract and unique, and brought out their own essence, mood and atmosphere. The choreography, utilising various techniques, with both soft and sharp movements, efficiently expressed human being’s emotional boundaries, the surrounding political physical space, our individuality, as well as our relationship with other people.
Between Olas | NUDO
It was evident how dedicated the performers are at their craft. Each performer excelled in what they do, both bringing their own cultures to the stage, and performing in sync with each other, culminating in the dance routines coming off as flawless.
This Time It’s Personal | Sam Evans
Evans came out strong and committed to character, bringing robots, dolls, and puppets to life amidst hectic high energy tricks in a very small space. It was a lot of fun. He is a strong comedic performer and commanded the audience early on with dance techniques you really need to see to believe.
In a show of his versatility, Evans also took us to his darkness and his quiet peace too, all the while holding space, manipulating it with his body… sometimes seemingly defying the laws of physics.
Rhythmology | Ty Goddard
I had the fortune of interviewing Ty beforehand and as often the case when creatives get together, rainbows appear. That time around I was left flabbergasted at the impact, pace and quality of this emerging production. Second time around I left feeling stunned at the slickness of choreography, the blending of multidisciplinary performance, timing, and POC excellence once again sheening in the spotlight
Betwixt | Pink Matter Culture
Every aspect of this work is deeply purposeful. The sequence of the stories speaks to the relationship between the elements. We see the water dance with the air, who in turn fuels the fire, who in turn cleanses the earth, before spirit comes and weaves them all together. Each story is so raw and specific to the performer it belongs to but is told in universal ways.
Distinct | Annikki Chand
I don’t open with ‘this show was created in four days’ as a way of lowering your expectations. In fact, quite the contrary; the fact that Annikki was able to create a work covering hefty themes of identity, culture and gender in such an entertaining way was nothing short of amazing.
Distinct | Annikki Chand
Utilising the energetic, powerful and sometimes aggressive dance moves of krump in conjunction with the fun, entertaining, dynamic bollywood dance style, Annikki took this dance lover on a journey as she fearlessly tapped into discovering her Indian and Finnish heritage, her roots.
In The Arms of Morpheous | ARC Circus
There was something very satisfying about watching Robbie Curtis, the sole performer in In The Arms of Morpheus, float and bounce around in a magical dreamscape. His movement was very fluid and light and the first trick with a big, bouncy cloud of fabric was such a good introduction into his world. Curtis combined some really impressive swinging pole, tumbling and juggling with a lot of well done clowning.