Melbourne has a very active contemporary dance scene. The major companies are Chunky Move, Lucy Guerin Inc and Phillip Adams' BalletLab. All three produce a high standard of work that is on the cutting edge of dance practice and their works are in great demand here and overseas.
The independent dance community is actively supported by Dancehouse in Carlton. Dancehouse curate their own productions and also act as a venue for artists to mount their own work. Many independent artists produce shows during the year and in addition to Dancehouse the Arts House at the Meat Market in North Melbourne is becoming a popular venue for independent work.
In October the Melbourne International Festival of the Arts includes a number of contemporary dance productions from here and overseas. This has been particularly true under the current (outgoing) artistic director, Kristy Edmunds.
There is much lively discussion of the history and theory of dance in Melbourne, actively supported by Ausdance Victoria. Jordan Vincent, one of the presenters at the Australian Dance Awards 2008 Industry Program, wrote a short piece for The Age summarising the history of dance in Melbourne.
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The Memory Progressive - Phantom Limbs |
Wednesday 24 to Saturday 27 February 2010
fortyfivedownstairs, Melbourne The Memory Progressive is a new contemporary dance and multi-media work by young and emerging dance company Phantom Limbs. Central to the work are themes of memory loss, the role of technology in mental reconstruction, and the phenomenon of telepathy. An initial development of the work entitled Ganzfeld Frequency was performed at Arts House, North Melbourne Town Hall in October 2009 as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival. Read more... |
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The 2009 nominations for the Green Room Awards have just been announced.
The Green Room Awards seek-out excellence on the Melbourne professional stage. In addition, they reward, encourage and celebrate that excellence by producing an awards ceremony that allows peers and public alike to come together and applaud.
Read more...
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Mortal Engine - Chunky Move |
Wednesday 3 to Saturday 13 March 2010
CUB Malthouse, Melbourne Following a sell-out Melbourne premiere at the 2009 Dance Massive Festival and standing ovations at the Edinburgh International Festival and BAM in New York, Melbourne’s premiere dance company Chunky Move returns to the Malthouse for Mortal Engine. Mortal Engine is a dance-video-laser performance using movement-responsive technology to portray an ever-shifting, shimmering world in which the limits of the human body are an illusion. Read more... |
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