For Melbourne Now, we have invited multi-award winning choreographer Antony Hamilton to curate a dynamic program of dance performance, events and workshops that will span the opening weekend right through to the close of the exhibition in March 2014.
During a recent site visit to scope possible locations across the NGV to host these performances I posed a few questions to Antony.
KS: How have you approached curating a program of Dance for the Melbourne Now exhibition?
AH: It’s a great challenge to do justice to the various visions that are reflected across the art form of dance in Melbourne at this time. In a way, this has been the focal point of the programming – to capture as best as possible this great diversity. In doing so, I have targeted many independent artists in the dance community, with a focus on solo practice and minimal aesthetics in the scene.
KS: Who are some of the dancers, choreographers and dance companies that we will be seeing during the course of Melbourne Now?
AH: Without giving too much away, we have gathered quite a diverse collection of artists, including well established ones as well as the all-important emerging wave. Some hot names to drop are Atlanta Eke, Ashley Dyer, Lucy Guerin, Shian Law, Lee Serle and Byron Perry.
KS: Will there be any events or workshops that cater to younger audiences in the program that you are developing?
AH: One event that we will be running invites young children to devise dance avatars with semi-professional artists from youth dance company Yellow Wheel. Youngsters construct a fun, rudimentary pastiche type costume for their very own dance avatar, then send it off into the performance environment to interact with the other constructed avatars. It’s a fun creative experiment where kids and their parents get to play, design and interact one on one with local dance artists before witnessing their creations in action in a final performance.
KS: Apart from performance and workshops what other types of dance-related events can the public look forward to during Melbourne Now
AH: Major dance companies Chunky Move and Lucy Guerin Inc have been invited to throw their studio doors open for an entire working week, during their intensive and respective creative development periods of new works. This is a rare opportunity for audiences to get an unscripted insight into the inner workings of the choreographer, with the chance to witness the highs and lows, the triumphs and failings that can come with artistic endeavour. We will also be running a series of monthly conversations around various dance related topics. This will be in a fairly informal setting, and will appeal to those with a rigorous interest in dance, as well as those with a curiosity for an art form that is often devoid of spoken language, and therefore, sometimes misunderstood.
Image 1. Antony Hamilton at NGV Australia location scouting for MN Dance program
Image 2. Jo Lloyd’s NOISE project.