Dance and Sport Collide in DRILL
From 14 to 17 October, FORM Dance Projects and Riverside Theatres will present the Sydney premiere of DRILL by performance maker and former semi-professional footballer, Ahilan Ratnamohan.
In DRILL, three athletes meet in a late night, never-ending training session. A form of non-competitive competition unfolds before the audience. The sweaty exercises receive a poetic makeover as sprinting, jumping, turning, pivoting, falling and accelerating merge in an indefinable training sequence which revels in an exhausted euphoria.
Inspired by sport, film and language, choreographer and performer Ahilan Ratnamohan has toured work and performed both locally and internationally in South Africa, Germany, Switzerland, the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Photo Philippe Smet
“I’m attempting to choreograph athletic movement and in doing so, invite a completely different audience into the theatre. The movement we are using is inherent to all sports people and athletes, and it provides an invaluable connection to abstract contemporary performance,” explained Ahilan.
Fellow performers in DRILL include Belgian artist Arno Wauters who brings to the production his strong passion for both basketball and acrobatics, and Imanuel Dado who is a b-boy and independent dancer. Originally trained in ballroom dance, Imanuel is also a former rugby player, sprinter and Muay Thai fighter.
With their diverse backgrounds in dance and sport, each performer brings incredible movement, physicality and athleticism to the stage.
Following the matinee performance on Friday 16 October, a Q&A will be held with the performers.
Choreography and performance Ahilan Ratnamohan
Performance Imanuel Dado and Arno Wauters
Dramaturg Kristof Persyn
Dramaturg for first development Josephine Wilson
Lighting design Wouter Dupon
Production Ahilan Ratnamohan and Anaïs Gabaut