DanceX

Eight Companies Come Together for New Dance Festival

24 September – 2 October

This September, eight renowned dance companies from around Australia will gather at Arts Centre Melbourne for this inaugural event.

DanceX is a two-part festival conceived and curated by The Australian Ballet’s Artistic Director David Hallberg that will showcase the depth, range and diversity of the nation’s dance community. Eight companies – The Australian Ballet, Bangarra Dance Theatre, Sydney Dance Company, Chunky Move, Lucy Guerin Inc, Australian Dance Theatre, Queensland Ballet and West Australian Ballet – will perform in two parts.

Each will perform the repertoire of their choice in four shows over two programs from September 24 to 27 and September 30 to October 2.

DanceX will present a unique opportunity to experience the nation’s top classical and contemporary dance companies performing selected works which showcase the depth and diversity of the artform in Australia. This new venture signals Hallberg’s determination to engage with Australian audiences and the dance community through innovative contemporary ideas and collaborations.

“DanceX shows just how deeply rich the dance community is in Australia,” says Hallberg. “Through the companies involved, this festival highlights the many different styles of dance across some of the nation’s most important cultural leaders.” 

The program will have the added highlight of three premieres.

The Australian Ballet will be presenting the Australian premiere of Johan Inger’s comic, romantic dance theatre piece I New Then­, set to songs by Van Morrison. Inger is a Swedish choreographer who danced with Netherlands Dance Theatre and has made works for leading companies all over Europe.

As well as initiating and presenting DanceX, The Australian Ballet has commissioned two companies, Chunky Move and Lucy Guerin Inc, to create brand new works.

DanceX is an opportunity for audiences to experience diverse works from Australia’s leading dance companies, celebrating and paying tribute to the richness of Australia’s dance community.

DANCEX hosted by The Australian Ballet

PART ONE
24 – 27 September

The Australian Ballet ⏤ I New Then
A comic, romantic dance theatre piece set to songs by Van Morrison.
Queensland Ballet ⏤ Glass Concerto
An assemblage of high energy, dynamic and emotional movement, Glass Concerto will captivate and inspire audiences.
Sydney Dance Company ⏤ ab [intra] (excerpt)
From tenderness to turmoil, ab [intra] is a journey through the intensity of human existence that will command your attention.
Lucy Guerin Inc ⏤ How To Be Us
A duet for two women on the limits of freedom.
Bangarra Dance Theatre ⏤ Ochres and Walkabout (excerpts)
Three powerful, spiritual and grounded excerts from Bangarra’s seminal works Ochres (1995) and Walkabout (2002).

PART TWO
30 September – 2 October

Australian Dance Theatre ⏤ The Beginning of Nature (excerpt)
The Beginning of Nature explores the complex symphony of overlapping rhythms that constitute the very fabric of nature.
Chunky Move ⏤ AB_TA_ Response
AB_TA_Response explores the rhythm of forms between dance and design and considers the dialogue between biological and technological systems.
West Australian Ballet ⏤ 4Seasons
The stages of life and love – the youth of spring, storms of summer, tenderness of autumn and the aging of winter.
The Australian Ballet ⏤  I New Then
​A comic, romantic dance theatre piece set to songs by Van Morrison.

Bookings: australianballet.com.au/the-ballets/dancex