Archive for August 20, 2010
RAW: ADT’s Ignition Til 21st August
Aug 20th
Reviewed by Kosta Jaric
At a time when the public is saturated with dance via music videos, TV and film, Garry Stewart and the Australian Dance Theatre (ADT) are asking us to take a step back and ask “what is dance?”
Encouraging his band of young choreographers and dancers to take this question and look at it from every angle Stewart has produced some outstanding pieces for the 2010 edition of Ignition, “But Is It Really Dance?” Put simply, this is fantastic. You couldn’t ask for more from a theme which encourages the choreographers to go beyond rhythmic movement and consider every act – whether as simple as walking and talking – a form of dance.
With six performances all glaringly different, it’s great to see such wide interpretation of the theme. Stewart himself highlights the absurdity of conceptualising a performance in ‘The Universe of No-Body’. ‘Scrap’ and ‘Be That As It May’ are also two highlights; the former uses violent and abrupt movement and sound to convey itself with bodies being literally flung across stage, whilst the latter (choreographed by and starring the talented Tara Soh and Kyle Page) sees frenetic chaos intertwined with fluid and constant movement and emotion. There is partial nudity involved with one performance, but in a tasteful and restrictive manner.
For those that fear this is too conceptual, don’t. This is highly entertaining and a terrific way to bridge the dance you see everyday with the amazing ideas on movement that are being pushed in the industry. Proving we don’t need TV to showcase the amazing young talent we have in this country, if you don’t catch Ignition this year, book it in the diary for every year after now.
Kryztoff Rating 4K
RAW: SALA – Exhibition of Happiness – Kirsty Shadiac – Tin Cat Cafe – 4.5K
Aug 20th
Clearly one of the most successful exhibitions at this year’s SALA is that of returned local girl, Kirsty Shadiac and her most engaging images of children sharing moments of pleasure. Located at the quaint Tin Cat Cafe, the use of broad brushed white backdrops to the animated actions of the children simply but effectively captures them alone, in their own world, possessed only by their own thoughts and oblivious to what else is around them. And Kirsty has captured all manner of these moments, fiddling with fruit, hiding in boxes, playing hop scotch, in the boughs of a tree, fishing in a stream. All not only portray the innocence of that age but at the very least contentment and often rapturous joy of those moments.
Laughter, six children revelling in the world around them on a summer’s day encapsulates all the key features of the exhibition and is a standout work.
Her style is also unique in other respects – the black outlines to the motifs, the drips let loose to develop visual balance – and her smaller water colours also amply capture the mood of shady summer afternoons, such as her three part Little Red Boat series, displaying skills in an alternate form but without loss of impact.
Rather than being potentially criticised for attempting to cash in on images of children for starry eyed parents, Kirsty comes from a background of having worked with children professionally both in Sydney and locally, including those with disabilities, cancer and general sickness in all manner of institutions. That none of her paintings carry any shred of darkness inherent in those conditions is a tribute to her work and the children she has worked with.
Kryztoff Rating 4.5K
RAW: Caitlin Stasey and Deniz Akdeniz Interview Pt 2
Aug 20th
Tomorrow When The War Began – Part 2
In the second part of their interview with Kryztoff TV, Caitlin Stasey and Deniz Akdeniz talk about the impact of Tomorrow, When The War Began on them personally and the potential for their careers.