We acknowledge and pay respect to the Traditional Owners of the lands upon which our campuses are situated, the people of the Boon Wurrung and Woi Wurrung, who have created art, made music and told their stories here for thousands of generations.
Made possible by a VCA Foundation Engagement Grant
Site Credits: Bien Studio, Allan Pooley, John Ford, Lisa Mibus.
Faculty of Fine Arts and Music
The University of Melbourne (Australian University)
PRV12150 / CRICOS 00116K
'Gesturing Weaving Unfolding'
Image: Gregory Lorenzutti
'Gesturing Weaving Unfolding'
Image: Gregory Lorenzutti
'Gesturing Weaving Unfolding'
Image: Gregory Lorenzutti
'Gesturing Weaving Unfolding'
Image: Gregory Lorenzutti
'Gesturing Weaving Unfolding'
Image: Gregory Lorenzutti
'Gesturing Weaving Unfolding'
Image: Gregory Lorenzutti
'Gesturing Weaving Unfolding'
Image: Gregory Lorenzutti
'Gesturing Weaving Unfolding'
Image: Gregory Lorenzutti
'Gesturing Weaving Unfolding'
Image: Gregory Lorenzutti
'Gesturing Weaving Unfolding'
Image: Gregory Lorenzutti
'Gesturing Weaving Unfolding'
Image: Gregory Lorenzutti
'Gesturing Weaving Unfolding' is a new work by James Batchelor in collaboration with Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance) and Bachelor of Fine Arts (Production) students, accompanied by an original sound design by Morgan Hickinbotham.
Gesturing from the past, weaving through the present and unfolding towards the future, this work explores the lineage of Ausdruckstanz (expressive dance) in Australia via the Jewish-Austrian pioneer Gertrud Bodenwieser (b. Vienna 1890 - d. Sydney 1959).
The dancers have been introduced to elements of Bodenwieser’s style characterised by a soft sense of freedom through decorative, fluid and expressive movements. It embraces circles, spirals, waves and figure-8s with an emphasis of de-centring the body from the vertical axis. The choreography examines these principles within an exploratory process of personal embodiment and collective relation, moving beyond retrospection to search for an expressive form that speaks to the contemporary moment.
This process has been running in parallel to Leaning Rippling Breathing, a work with mature-aged dance company GOLD in Canberra, offering a contemplative addendum to James’ full-length work Shortcuts to Familiar Places (2022). These new works build on the choreography of James’ solo Breathing Gesture and the duet Echoes of the Expressive Dance, expanding on the notion of the embodied archive as an intergenerational constellation.
CREATIVE & PRODUCTION TEAM
Choreography: James Batchelor
Composer: Morgan Hickinbotham
Rehearsal Director: Kialea-Nadine Williams
Set and Costume Designer: Tom Vulcan
Lighting and Vision Designer: Lara Gabor
Original Set Designer: Saskia Permezel
Assistant Set Designer: Willow Argus
Assistant Costume Designer: Tallula Davis
Assistant Vision Designer: Jimmy Dikranian
Stage Manager: Liz Bird
Workshop Head of Department (Props): Sara Bayley
Workshop Head of Department (Scenic): Ranko Hong
Workshop Head of Department (Staging): Mieke Singh Dodd
Workshop Assistants: Nigel Chua, Dee Lee, Nellie Summerfield, Lokan Woerz
Senior Costumier: Hannah Jukes Frere
Costume Manager: Maisy Butchart
Costume Assistant: Sunday Bowes
Head Electrician: Alyssa Clay
Lighting Programmer and Operator: Finnegan Comte-Harvey
Vision Programmer and Operator: Jimmy Dikranian
Vision performers: Ruth Osborn, Artistic Director of QL2
Professor Carol Brown, Head of Dance VCA
Photography: Gregory Lorenzutti
Videography: NON Studio
Special Thanks: A special thank you to Harshil Bipinchandra Vora and Rory Warne for their contributions to the creative and performance process of the work.
DANCERS: Amy Addison, Zodie Bolic, Chantelle Borg, Eiren Chamley, Stephanie Dixon, Jazmin Griffiths, Bethany Ha, Siobhan Henderson, Ruby James, Emilia Kyprianou, Anastasia Lonsdale, Abbigail Makin, Kathryn Riddoch, Emily Roberts, Mia Theeboom, Jake Ware, Emily White, Taylor White, Carmen Yih
'Gesturing Weaving Unfolding'
Image: Gregory Lorenzutti