Carrington Clarke

Fire: A Retrospective

When Isadora Duncan was once asked what one of her performances meant, she famously answered, "if I could tell you that, I wouldn't have to dance it."  Contemporay dance is complicated, it's expressive, it's passionate and it's powerful.  I once heard contemperary dance compared to capers, with its bold and intense flavors, you either love it or hate it. When used inappropriately it can leave a bad taste in the mouth. However when used correctly, it can take a night from the bland to the spectacular.

My job has given me the opportunity to taste some of the best contemporary dance that Australia has to offer. Already this year we've seen a brilliant performance from the Sydney Dance Company, and Canberra audiences will soon have the opportunity to go on a journey through the ages with Bangarra's FIRE: A RETROSPECTIVE. Young former Canberran, Daniel Riley Mckinley, joined the group at the end of 2006 and Fire will be his third time performing as a member in Canberra. Daniel has already achieved a great deal in his young life, having danced for Quantum Leap (the youth dance group that trains some of Canberra's most promising dancers) before joining Bangarra's Fire.

I had the chance to interview Daniel this week, to ask him a few questions about his latest project.

I asked Daniel about how familiar he was with Bangarra before joining the group. "I only found out about Bangarra in 2001 when I saw the company perform The Dreaming at the Canberra Theatre. I was enthralled and amazed at the performance and felt so inspired and connected to the culture that was being performed up on stage." This first taste of the magic of Bangarra set Daniel on the path to joining its ranks. "I wanted to join the company as a dancer from that very first performance. I wanted to learn about my culture, work with Stephen and learn traditional dance from all corners of Australia. Luckily Stephen asked me to join at the end of 2006."

The Stephen that Daniel refers to is Stephen Page, the artistic force behind Bangarra. Stephen has taken Bangarra from its relatively humble origins to a contemporary dance group of international standing. I asked Daniel what it was like to work with someone of that stature. "Stephen was the main reason I wanted to join Bangarra. He is great fun to work for and with. He's 60% business, 40% fun and such an inspiring boss to have. Although I don't really feel like he's our boss. He gets along with all of us so well, sometimes he just feels like another dancer. What he has achieved in his career to date is remarkable, considering he has been artistic director for 18 years. That in itself is such an accomplishment. I think the biggest things I have learnt from him are to have patience in the rehearsal room when creating; if you give it time, space and energy, it will turn out how you imagined, sometimes even better than you imagined. The second thing would be the level of respect and understanding he has for our culture and history. I have the utmost respect for him, as an artistic director, a choreographer and a person."

I asked Daniel to single out a highlight from his time spent with Bangarra so far. "Too many to choose from! My first opening night at the Sydney Opera House was pretty special. Also performing at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York and sharing the stage with The Australian Ballet in Paris last year. My most recent highlight would have to be our ten day visit to North East Arnhem Land earlier this year. Stephen has taken so much inspiration for many of his shows from the land, the culture, the people and the stories up there, and it was amazing to spend that time within the community and become part of their extended family. It is such a special part of Australia and the community was so beautiful and welcoming to all of us. Even us lighter skinned ones!"

With their heavy touring around the world, I wondered if there was a difference in how audiences reacted to the performances. "It is different yes. Local audiences will always love Bangarra because they are so proud of what the company does, has done and what it stands for. They also feel a connectedness to it, being Australian and telling Indigenous Australian stories. To share our culture that we are immersed in here with 'strangers' from different cultures, land and countries is special. It feels amazing to share our culture that we are so proud of with outsiders. The international audiences I have performed for were in awe after the shows, I think they find it amazing that we can put our culture up on stage and represent it the way we do with such enthusiasm, respect and beautiful, professional results. "

This new production is a work which aims to celebrate all that Bangarra has achieved in the last 20 years. "Fire is a retrospective, so audiences can expect to experience the past 20 years on stage. The way Stephen has put it together is fast and exciting, and it keeps moving. No time to dwell too long on the past, before you know it we are moving on. The audience might even catch their favourite section from a past Bangarra show. Another first for Bangarra is the use of projection, it's used as another story telling tool and helps bring audiences flashes and images of the past 20 years, so they can reconnect with the past company and then connect with the current company on stage."

I tried to get Daniel to give me some pointers on how to sell this show, and contemporary dance more generally, to a new audience. "I think contemporary dance is sometimes an easier way into the dance scene for audiences. A lot of people get bored quickly at the ballet (myself included), contemporary dance can be shorter, more confronting, more to the point, more exciting and make more of an impact. There's not one style either which is the beauty of it, anything goes."

Fire: A Retrospective is on for two nights only, from Friday November 20 to 21. Call 6275 2700 for bookings.

White Lies - To Losy My Life

This album formed part of my homework for this year's Splendour in the Grass. The White Lies remind me a great deal of Editors and I mean that as a compliment. The album is not groundbreaking but very enjoyable. Epic songs which are perfectly suited for music festivals. Mature lyrics that manage to (mostly) stay away from the hamminess that can often plague rock songs. Death is the perfect introductory track and sets the tone for the album - guitar led indy rock. One complaint would be that the second half of the album fails to live up to the first but overall still worth a listen. Nicely done fellas.

The St Kilda Film Festival

It seems that every week there is another film festival hitting Canberra, and while in the short film festival category Tropfest currently reigns supreme, there is a rival hunkering down in Canberra this fortnight - the St Kilda Film Festival. This year, the festival takes residence at the amazing Arc Cinema at the National Film and Sound Archive.

The festival whittled around 500 entries down to 100 finalists, including Tropfest Best Comedy winner Being Carl Williams, animated short Chicken of God from comedian Frank Woodley, and The List, written and directed by Joel Edgerton. The festival has now taken a selection of the films on the road around Australia, and one of the films to be shown in Canberra is Shockwaves from local boy Serge Ou.

Shockwaves centres on radio host Terry Adair, the host of talkback program Talk Town, who receives a phone call that will change the town forever. The film stars Aussie film stalwart Tony Barry (Australia, Doing Time for Patsy Cline) and local actor Dallas Bland.

I spoke with Serge about the film festival and why Canberrans should get out to support it. Serge is a fan of the format of the St Kilda Film Festival and believes that it is "right up there with the best film festivals of its type in the country." Serge pointed out that "Canberra is a sophisticated audience that understands film."

He's also a fan of short films in general because "in the same period of time that a feature film will run, audiences are able to enjoy a plethora of different opinions and view points from short film directors."

The most striking aspect of the films being shown is the high production values on display. The films look expensive. There are many famous Australian actors featured. The films offer a variety of view points and aim to make the audience think, laugh and maybe even pull a tear or two. The touring festival will also show winners from the SoundKILDA Music Video Competition - Australia's only dedicated competition for music videos.

The film festival also allows the audience to catch a glimpse of the makings of a star on the rise. As Serge explains, "short films allow film makers to present themselves to the public. To show who they are and what they want to say. It's normally short films and music video clips that are a starting point for feature film directors of the future."

So get out of the freezing Canberra cold and support some fine young Australian film makers.

The St Kilda Film Festival screens at ARC Cinema at the NFSA, McCoy Circuit Acton, on Thursday July 30  at 7pm and Saturday August 1 at 2pm. Tix $10/$8 at the door.

Warehouse Winter Music Festival Review 2

There are dance parties that cater to the mainstream, with most of the hits people come to hear truncated to a verse and a hook, before the DJ hurries into the next unsatisfying snippet. And there are dance parties that refuse to be anything other than straight-up hardcore indulgence, where most of the people are so  suspiciously wide-eyed and close-lipped that the DJ could play Hanson’s Mmm Bop and no one would notice. Both are usually characterised by scantily-clad, booty-waggin’ dancers, with fluoro dripping off their questionably of-age bodies. In Canberra, the total number of dance music festivals equates to two, both run by Lexington Music: November’s Foreshore and this month’s Winter Warehouse. Sceptics of Canberra’s only rave-esque music festival are understandably deterred by the aforementioned stereotypes and, in fairness, there was an excess of the fluoro I so hoped we had left back in 2008. However, these exceptions aside, 2009’s Warehouse carved itself a nice little niche somewhere between these two clichés. From the outset this festival would be something unique – and for the door price ($85), it would want to be.

The AIS Arena was unrecognisable, with hundreds of orb like balloons hanging from the ceiling, lasers shooting in every direction and a stage to rival Daft Punk (well, okay, that may be an exaggeration, but it was at the very least inspired by that stage and pulled it off damn well). Notable acts included Art vs Science who, despite playing early on in the day, predictably pulled off an electric set, which climaxed with their triple j favourite Flippers; Armand Van Helden, the mastermind behind Bonkers (which I counted hearing at least three times – not that I’m complaining…) and N.A.S.A, who (from a slightly hazy memory – though I suppose that’s kinda the point really isn’t it?) were the only act to get really into this year’s theme (the Future…) with alfoil space suits, Martian back-up dancers and a touching satellite message from Kanye West. The smaller outside stage also offered a great selection of local talent which made it worth braving the cold. I think it’s safe to say that Canberra’s second Winter Warehouse definitely lived up to last year’s standard, easily kicked Foreshore’s muddy ass and will hopefully, true to its theme, remain a Canberra staple well into the future.