(un)bound
Programme Notes
March 26 – 27
Brand X / ESCAC
Darlinghurst
Made up of 6 provocative pieces, (un)bound explores the idea of being unrestricted, while also being bound by factors like our internal voice and society. It dissects how our imagination could set us free in a world dictated by data. It delves into identity, societal expectations and chance, and examines limitations, stereotypes and lived experiences as a female living with disability–among other powerful ideas.
React
React explores the constant flow of emotions we experience in every moment of our lives. When we feel, our mind ignites physiological changes within us. Once we feel, we react. One emotion has many variations we experience, at different times. At the same time.
Bridget’s work explores how emotions react within us to stir new emotions and feelings. Delving into our unconscious, React is a journey of fear, joy, sadness and anger.
Choreographed by Bridget McAllister.
Performed by Kate Garrett, Olivia Hadley, Kara Peake, Reina Takeuchi and Steph Wyburn.
Façade
Façade is a journey of self-discovery, uncovering the outward, superficial façade on a person and revealing a shadow self hidden deep within.
Inspired by Henry Purcell’s “The Cold Song” from the semi-opera King Arthur (1691), the conflicting identity awakens from its long slumber and challenges its fascia to vanish, removing the false appearance and breaking its illusion.
A lone woman tormented by her 2 conflicting identities. Her internalised social conformity and the other, a suppressed individual.
In a battle of “survival of the fittest”, the personas fight to unmask the real character, physically, emotionally and intellectually.
Choreographed and Performed by Sabrina Muszynski.
Daydream delusion
In a world now dictated by control, percentages of deaths, bacteria and contact tracing, perhaps luxuriating in the nonsensical may be the only sensible choice moving forward.
What are we without our daydreams? Our illusory hopes? Our momentary escapes?
Daydream delusion is a dark, comedic physical exploration of alternate fates, desires, percentages and possibilities.
By using text, comical characterisation and cyclical narratives, the performers find themselves transforming into alternate beings who utilise their delusions and magical thinking to transcend their 21st Century existence.
Choreographed by Reina Takeuchi.
Performed by Olivia Hadley, Bridget McAllister, Rhiannon McQueen, Kara Peake and Steph Wyburn.
Mechanics (via) Mechanics
Our existence would not exist without the reliance on energy to fuel our way of being and the all-encompassing elements that make up the body.
The energy sourced from the chemicals we consume, the heat we dissipate and the movement we expel.
What if this never-ending process of energy conversion was reimagined? Could we explore an altered reality of energy utilisation and deliverance? What if we were ‘hardwired’ by movement? Can we consume something that we can’t physically consume? Would this non-human process make us less human? Ultimately, can our mechanics be fuelled by mechanics?
Mechanics (via) Mechanics is a fantastical reimagination of the process of energy conversion and how it’s received by the body.
Choreographed by Olivia Hadley.
Performed by Kate Garrett, Bernadett Lorincz, Bridget McAllister, Rhiannon McQueen, Sabrina Muszynski, Kara Peake, Reina Takeuchi and Steph Wyburn.
Monster
A story of a grotesque creature, trapped inside a cocoon made of flesh and bone, desperate to escape.
This work is an excerpt from Bonnie’s solo work Limits, set to premiere later this year.
This project has been created with the support of Regional Arts NSW, Create NSW, DirtyFeet, Arts on Tour, March Dance, and the City of Sydney.
Choreographed and Performed by Bonnie Curtis.
Mentor: Kay Armstrong.
Dramaturg: Nell Ranney.
Sound Design: Fiona Lloyd Harding.
Trigger
‘Music that triggers some kind of response’ – Chemical Brothers
But what else can trigger a response?
Trigger explores how dancers respond to tasks and restrictions.
Choosing to disrupt the creative process, Trigger focuses on the process of creation, and how that determines the final result. The dancers’ respond to challenges, restrictions, and disruptions, creating quirky and seemingly random movement. Their choices are determined by dice, written directions chosen at random and the individual’s interpretation trigger this response.
Inspired by Merce Cunningham’s use of Chance Dance and Trisha Brown’s use of repetition, Trigger overwhelms the senses and ignores the obsession we have we perfection.
Choreographed by Kate Garrett.
Performed by Olivia Hadley, Bernadett Lorincz, Bridget McAllister, Rhiannon McQueen, Kara Peake, Reina Takeuchi and Steph Wyburn.
Creative Team
Artistic Director: Bonnie Curtis.
Choreographers: Bonnie Curtis, Kate Garrett, Olivia Hadley, Bridget McAllister, Sabrina Muszynski and Reina Takeuchi.
Dance Artists: Bonnie Curtis, Kate Garrett, Olivia Hadley, Bernadett Lorincz, Bridget McAllister, Rhiannon McQueen, Sabrina Muszynski, Kara Peake, Reina Takeuchi and Steph Wyburn.
Lighting Design: Bonnie Curtis in collaboration with the choreographers.
Stage Manager: Fiona Lloyd Harding.
AMPA Secondment Students: Courtney Allerton, Jessye-lee Bishop, and Ella Power.
(un)bound was made possible with the support of March Dance, the City of Sydney, Arts on Tour, Create NSW, Regional Arts NSW, Dirtyfeet, Annandale Creative Arts Centre, Brand X, Critical Path, Sydney Vintage Dance Studio, Academy of Music and Performing Arts, and our Patreon supporters.