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red shoes presentsone night only previewof a new work Under Today: 17 October 2009Gosse St Park, Eastside6pmcapacity 80 people only
Under Today straddles the space between the encircling bush and the urban grid. Through dance, media and sound the performance traces the points of tension, connection and loss in this place.This new work is a development of the piece performed in Goyder Street Lane, Eastside for Shifting Ground (Art, Land, Culture, May 2007). red shoes gratefully acknowledges the Sidney Myer Fund and Arts NT for funding the creative development of this work and the Alice Springs Town Council for assistance in presenting this preview.
Dani Powell started making performances in Central Australia in 2000. In 2001 she began a creative partnership with Emily Cox which they called red shoes: a project-based company dedicated to fostering new directions in contemporary performance and new artistic collaborations across artforms.
red shoes works outside traditional theatre spaces framing the landscape through hybrid compositions of sound, light, projection and movement-based performance, drawing audiences into a new appreciation of the physical and social environment.
‘Director Dani Powell has a consistent commitment to working out-of-doors and often in unexpected places, opening our eyes to the qualities of a place that we may take for granted, even devalue.’ (Alice Springs News, May 31, 2007)
red shoes has brought together numerous artists to collaborate on various projects over the years and has produced a place 2 (Alice Desert Festival, 2005, Adelaide Fringe 2006), a place 1 (J Bird’s space, Watch this Space, Alice Springs Festival, 2004), unspun (Larapinta hills, 2002), the red shoes (Old South Road, Ilparpa claypans, 2001).
‘Red Shoes attempts a genuine engagement with complex contemporary history, producing a work that springs perceptibly from the confines and opportunities of the town’s community and landscape.’ (RealTime, Oct/Nov 2005, review of a place)Under Today is the first work of red shoes since 2006. The project brings together a new ensemble of creative artists, including two interstate collaborators.
Dani Powell (producer, animateur, director) holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Animateuring (Theatre) from the Victorian College of the Arts. Dani is the former Community Producer of Big hART’s Ngapartji Ngapartji project and was Assistant Director of touring production. Last year she was the Artistic Director of the Opening Ceremony of Art in the Heart. Dani established red shoes in 2000 and her independent works include the red shoes (2000), unspun (2002), upon a river, then we might sleep (ACCA, Melbourne, 2003), a place (Alice Desert Festival 2004, 2005, Adelaide Fringe 2006, under today, Shifting Ground, 2007).
Alexandra Gillespie (media artist) has worked in a range of contexts including public art, gallery exhibitions, architectural collaborations, performance and festivals. Her work has been exhibited in Australia, Asia, America and Europe. Recent works include media installation Collars, combining sound, sculptural form, and recorded memories exhibited at Canberra Contemporary Art Space 2009, Bathurst Regional Art Gallery 2009 and at the International Symposium of Electronic Arts (ISEA) Singapore 2008 and screen design for Ningenneh Tunapry permanent Indigenous gallery completed 2007, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. Alexandra is currently a PhD candidate School of Art, Photography and Media Arts, ANU.
Guy Webster (sound artist) is a composer, songwriter, sound designer, performer and teacher. While his live performances have earned him a reputation as a prolific and inspiring songwriter, his work in interactive composition and sound design has featured in festivals, galleries, conferences and theatres in Australia, Japan, UK and Europe. In 2009 Guy realized a new approach to immersive sound design for theatre in a new play adapted from the Miles Franklin Award winning novel The White Earth by Andrew McGahan. This year also saw Guy premiere The Pineapple Queen by Lisa ONiell and Norman Price and complete a national regional galleries tour with interactive artwork Intimate Transactions; which received an Honorary Mention for Interactive Art in the Ars Electronica Festival 2005.
Miriam Bond (dancer/choreographer) trained as a dancer at the Victorian College of the Arts and has performed with contemporary dance companies and independent collectives in Australia and overseas. She has worked as a freelance teacher, performer and choreographer in Melbourne, Canberra and now Alice Springs.
Frances Martin (performer/maker) has a background in circus and physical theatre. Before moving to Alice Springs she worked as a Circus Trainer for Westside Circus in Melbourne and has been involved in the creation and production of several shows with Westside Circus as well as the developmentalshowing of Under Today and the Alice Springs Cabaret (2007 and 2008). She has just returned from Europe where she participated in the Interior Landscapes summer school with the Institute International de la Marionette in Charlevillemezieres.
Mariaa Randall (dancer/choreographer) is a Bundjalung woman from the Far North Coast of NSW and now lives in Alice Springs. Mariaa has completed a ‘Certificate of Attainment’ at the Redfern Dance Theatre, ’Certificate in Dance’ at the Conservatorium (Lismore, NSW) and is a graduate of the NAISDA Dance College’s ‘Diploma in Dance’.
red shoes ensemble also includes NIDA trained lighting designer Kallum Wilkinson and performers Kristy Schubert, Matty Day, Fina Po and young Arrernte performer Rita-Mae Ross. Consultants on the project include senior Arrernte women Kumalie Riley and Veronica Dobson and anthroplogist Mike Cawthorn.
red shoes presents