With collaboration and artistic excellence at its heart, Australian Dance Collective Chair, Marian Gibney, said the name change was part of the evolution of the company, aligning its history and vision.

“The board is incredibly proud of what the company has achieved under the guiding vision of original artistic director, Maggi Sietsma, and, in the recent decade, Natalie Weir. We have been leaders in investing in dance education and development, and renowned for our commitment to collaboration with a wide range of artists in the production of high quality dance works,” she said.

“These hallmarks of the company will continue to be at the centre of its work under the leadership of new artistic director, Amy Hollingsworth. Amy is a passionate curator, with a clear vision around harnessing shared energies and imaginations to produce thrilling dance works and to nurturing a love of dance in our community.

“With Amy’s appointment, and as we enter a new decade, the board believes that the time is right to refresh the company’s name, to ensure that it speaks clearly of what has been achieved and what the company seeks to do in the future.”

Unveiling the new name at the company’s season launch at QPAC tonight, Amy Hollingsworth said Australian Dance Collective was committed to being “collectively extraordinary”.

“Working collectively gives us like-minded individuals and visionaries to debate with, ensuring our ideas are robust and that our collaborations crackle with artistic energy. I dream of creating an environment that generates exhilarating dance to capture the imaginations of many,” she said.

“2020 sees us embody this vision of collective excellence – through showcasing a diverse range of Australian artists, exposure to international industry leaders and innovative collaborations.

“We want to help our audiences feel differently about dance, shifting perceptions of what contemporary dance is and does.”

Founding artistic director, Maggi Sietsma said the company had always been a collaborative endeavour and welcomed the evolution to Australian Dance Collective.

“Thirty five years ago, Abel (Valls) and I dreamt of establishing a company of like-minded creative artists, dancers, musicians, choreographers, lighting designers, poets, set designers, collaborators of all kinds. That dream grew from a germ of an idea into Expressions Dance Company,” she said.

“Today, what was Expressions Dance Company, then EDC, will continue the dream under the new name Australian Dance Collective. Together they will foster new links, test new creative boundaries and bring joy to countless thousands who get to experience this new chapter of the company’s evolution.”

Former artistic director, Natalie Weir, also embraced the new era for the company.

“Contemporary dance has to evolve, it has to change and that’s a really, really healthy thing,” she said. “It feels like the perfect time for a name change.”

“I think the new name Australian Dance Collective is beautiful and the idea of being ‘collectively extraordinary’ is a fantastic vision for the future of the company.

Hollingsworth also announced her ambitious debut program, which includes bringing the work of Hofesh Shechter to Brisbane for the very first time.

Presented in association with Hofesh Shechter Company, Australian Dance Collective will take to the stage for the Australian premiere of Cult – the short work for six dancers that propelled Shechter into his globally-renowned career. Instinctive and raw, it is a powerful illustration of his unique and acclaimed choreography.

Cult will be performed in April as part of a triple bill, THREE, alongside world premieres from Jack Lister and Melanie Lane.

Lane is one of the strongest female choreographic voices in Australia and her works seamlessly fuse elegance with edgy physicality. Sexy and cool, she will be joined by long-term musical collaborator Clark in this must-see production.

Brisbane-born and a rising star of the choreographic world, Lister is also joining the collective as a company dancer, from Queensland Ballet.

Hollingsworth also welcomed Marlo Benjamin and Lonii Garnons-Williams to the collective alongside company dancers Josephine Weise, Jake McLarnon and Bernhard Knauer.

Following the success of the critically-acclaimed season of Matrix, Australian Dance Collective will collaborate with Shenzhen’s Round House Dance Company as part of the Chinese Australian Dance Exchange Project in August.

Succession sees our Youth Ensemble perform two works – one created especially for them and the other – a once in a lifetime experience – of performing alongside the main ensemble as 36 dancers take to the stage together.

Australian Dance Collective 2020 Season
THREE – 1-4 April, Playhouse Theatre, QPAC
SUCCESSION – 21-23 May, Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts
CADEP – 5-8 August, Playhouse Theatre, QPAC
www.australiandancecollective.com

Expressions Dance Company and BeijingDance/LDTX present Matrix.

Defined as a “cultural, social or political environment or context in which something develops”, Matrix is the result of an immersive creative development in Beijing in August and September, producing two new works by multi award-winning Australian choreographer, Stephanie Lake, and the highly-acclaimed Chinese choreographer, MA Bo.

EDC’s six ensemble members are joined on stage by the 14-strong company of LDTX creating a wildly ambitious and dazzling display of dance virtuosity.

In 2015, through a long-term friendship with artistic director Willy Tsao, EDC entered into a ground-breaking partnership with leading Chinese contemporary dance companies, Guangdong Modern Dance Company (GMDC), Hong Kong’s City Contemporary Dance Company (CCDC) and BeijingDance/LDTX (LDTX).

The Chinese Australian Dance Exchange Project is now in its fifth year, but this is the first time both companies have performed together for the full evening of work.

EDC artistic director, Amy Hollingsworth, said Matrix was a true collaboration “immersing in each other’s cultures, sharing imaginations and energies – despite any difficulties presented by language barriers”.

“So much of human expression is layers of symbolism that allows us to understand what someone is saying – the words and the inflection but also the physical cues, the flicker of expression across a face. These are universal and it is joyous being in the studio and watching the dancers share moments of appreciation of each other’s craft and skill through shared laughter, applause and respect,” she said.

Hollingsworth said the Matrix double bill offered audiences hugely contrasting works – highlighting the varying styles and personalities of the choreographers, and would showcase the range and versatility of the dancers.

“MA Bo’s piece is an emotional, intricate, undulating work with powerful imagery and evolving textures,” Hollingsworth said.

“Stephanie’s piece is a delicious dichotomy of hyper-physical yet incredibly detailed movement. It is sophisticated in both rhythm and structure.”

Collaborating with composer Robin Fox, Helpmann Award-winning Lake describes her work, Auto Cannibal, as an “ode to reinvention”.

“When creating new dance works, I’m conscious of the regurgitation of past choreographic ideas,” she admitted. “I’m sometimes afraid that I’m repeating myself or cannibalising my own work. But the fact is that no idea – in art, technology or ideology – is born in a vacuum. We are all a product of our influences and experiences. Ideas are also part of a life cycle – they are born, they thrive, they degrade and deteriorate and become the fertiliser for the next batch of ideas.

“Our modern world is obsessed with newness and consumption but this work is an ode to re-using, re-purposing, re-invigorating.”

Lake said the opportunity to create work on not only the EDC dancers, but also Chinese dancers with different cultural, training and technique backgrounds was a source of inspiration.

“Collaboration is the engine that makes work happen. I love it. I love discovering new choreographic ideas through the bodies of new dancers. It’s fascinating to see concepts mushroom and evolve in unexpected ways because of the spark between the artists. I enjoy the differences in dancers. It feeds my curiosity,” she said.

Intrigued by a documentary on bird migration, her own physical transition from dancer to choreographer, and seeing her parents growing older, MA Bo’s work, Encircling Voyage, is a poignant and powerful examination of ageing.

“Watching the documentary, what impressed me most was the promise of return: after a bird was born, it would fly away, and then it would go back to where it was born, and it would have gone back to that place all its life,” she said.

“As for us humans, we are actually the same. You’re born, you don’t know anything, you wear nappies. Then you start learning different skills, start walking down all kinds of different roads.

“At the end of the day, all your skills, your things, begin to slowly backspace and flinch. Then you get back to this, even wearing diapers, not able to move or walk, back to a baby state.”

Matrix
November 13 – 16, 2019
QPAC, Brisbane
www.qpac.com.au

The renowned Sydney-based dancer and choreographer has been a member of Sydney Dance Company, Dancenorth, K.Kvarnström & Co (Stockholm), Lucy Guerin Inc. and Chunky Move and has created work for SDC, The Australian Ballet, LINK Dance Company and WAAPA.

He is a certified Countertechnique teacher, and loves to share his passion and curiosity as a performer, maker and teacher in Australia and around the world.

EDC Artistic Director Amy Hollingsworth said Cilli’s talent, vibrancy and range would be adored by audiences, and would leave a lasting legacy on the EDC ensemble as well as the 14-strong Beijing Dance/LDTX ensemble.

“Richard is an incredible performer, both critically-acclaimed and widely-respected in the industry by his peers,” she said.

“Not only is he a consummate performer, but he is the type of artist whose sensitivity and intelligence radiates through his work, and he is incredibly generous with his energy and creativity.”

“I am so excited to have him guest with us for Matrix as I know he will have a positive impact on both of the works, but also on the other company members as well as delighting audiences across Australia and China.”

Cilli is currently in Beijing as part of the five-week creative development for Matrix, which will be performed at QPAC from November 13-16 and features new works from award-winning Australian choreographer, Stephanie Lake, and renowned Chinese choreographer, MA Bo.
www.expressionsdancecompany.org.au

Natalie Weir, EDC’s artistic director and Helpmann award-winning choreographer, describes her latest work as a journey back in time, as seen through the memories of an ordinary old man, played by acclaimed dance and theatre artist and former EDC dancer, Brian Lucas.

“It’s really a joyful and uplifting celebration of all our lives at all their wonderful stages, from childhood to old age … It’s an exploration of the small, personal things that make life precious and beautiful,” explains Weir.

The production will have a distinctive Australian flavour, referencing more than 60 years commencing from the 1950s to modern-day Australia. “We’ll see snapshots of memorable moments throughout recent history. So I think will make his story that much more relatable and real for the audience.” The production will also contain era-inspired costumes by Brisbane-based designer Bill Haycock.
Special guests include senior dancers from Brisbane dance group WaW Dance – a weekly dance program run by arts practitioners Wendy McPhee and Wendy Wallace tailored for women 50 plus – who, as Weir states, show that “dance really is for everybody and every kind of body, for life.”

Describing the Expressions’ dancers as “amongst the very best in the dance industry”, Weir expresses how fortunate she feels to have high calibre professionals at her creative disposal. “I am so blessed. Having the opportunity to choreograph with these incredibly talented individuals enables us to offer audiences thrilling and inspiring moments of pure expression and artistry.”

The EDC ensemble includes 2018 and 2015 Helpmann Award nominated dancer Elise May as well as 2018 and 2017 Australian Dance Award nominee and 2011 Helpmann Award nominee Richard Causer.

Joining the EDC dancers on stage will be renowned vocal ensemble The Australian Voices, as they sing an acapella score composed by their Artistic Director, Gordon Hamilton. Weir says Gordon’s compositions are simply breathtaking. “It’s hard to believe the incredibly full, complex sound they (The Australian Voices) create just using vocals, without any instrumental accompaniment.”

The score was exclusively composed and created for Everyday Requiem by Gordon Hamilton after workshopping with the dancers during two separate development series – the first in 2016 and the second in 2017. Hamilton’s inspiration for the work was a mix of the choreographed movement and the concept and story of Everyday Requiem – moments from everyday life.

Gordon describes the musical score as a “mixture of everyday sayings that indicate time passing – like lists and dates – and the profound.”

Running from 12 – 20 October at the Cremorne Theatre, QPAC, Everyday Requiem follows critically acclaimed productions such as When Time Stops, The Red Shoes, Behind Closed Doors and the recent highly acclaimed, 4Seasons.

Expressions Dance Company Everyday Requiem
12-20 October, 2018
Cremorne Theatre, QPAC
www.qpac.com.au

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Natalie Weir, EDC has become one of Australia’s most innovative contemporary dance companies creating memorable narrative works that resonate with local and international audiences. Weir’s much loved signature works including When Time Stops, where the heart is and R&J have been recognised through major dance awards and nominations.

2018 marks Weir’s 10th year with EDC. Her time with the company has seen EDC focus on bold international collaborations, particularly with Chinese dance makers. Weir said she is thrilled to build on the collaborative exchange of culture and dance with CCDC to present 4Seasons.

“I’m very excited to be presenting a season of truly international new dance works with CCDC. Our practice has been refined by the new ideas and ways of working that come from cross-cultural collaboration. Each work will sensitively meld and reflect our different cultures and backgrounds. It’s a fitting celebration marking 10 incredible years with EDC. Partnership across art forms and cultures has always been important to me and this production really captures what EDC is all about – forging alliances that take contemporary dance to a new place artistically.”

Kristina Chan, a multi award winning Sydney based dancer and choreographer will also create a new work for 4Seasons.

“Kristina’s work is always very thought provoking. Her choreography explores important themes – the impermanence of the environment and the brittleness of human nature. I think audiences will be inspired and challenged to reflect, in positive ways, on Kristina’s visceral explorations of our fragile world.”

4Seasons is presented as part of EDC’s five-year Chinese Australian Dance Exchange Project, a major collaboration involving 3 high profile Chinese dance companies working with EDC to develop culturally significant and ambitious new contemporary dance works in Australia and China and provide vital opportunities for dancers and choreographers to deepen their practice.

Featuring moments from celebrated minimalist composer Max Richter (Woolf Works, The Royal Ballet) melded with Vivaldi’s the Four Seasons, this uplifting triple bill brings sublime choreography, dance, music and lighting to the stage. 4Seasons will premiere in Hong Kong on the 1st of June before coming to QPAC’s Playhouse Theatre from 14 – 22 June. Following the Brisbane season the production tours to the Darwin Entertainment Centre (29 – 30 June).

Expressions Dance Company – 4Seasons
14 to 22 June 2018
QPAC, Brisbane
www.expressionsdancecompany.org.au