Launching Pad

After delighting audiences during The Australian Ballet on tour with the premiere of Ground Control, acclaimed choreographer Lucy Guerin will bring the work to the upcoming DanceX festival in October. We chat to Lucy about the ever-changing world of dance and how being grounded can help you to reach the greatest heights. 

Born in Adelaide, Lucy Guerin trained at the Centre for Performing Arts before finding work in Sydney and Melbourne and then heading to New York City to begin a choreographic chapter in her career that continues to this day. After seven years in New York, Guerin returned to Melbourne in 2002 and founded Lucy Guerin Inc (LGI). Twenty-three years later and with an extensive catalogue of works behind her, the choreographer shows no signs of slowing down.

In the three years since DanceX, Guerin and the company have toured extensively, most recently attending the Salihara International Performing Arts Festival (SIPFest) in Jakarta, Impulstanz Festival in Vienna, and performances at the Chaillot Théâtre in Paris.

With such eclectic tour locations, audience reactions can be varied. “Indonesian audiences were really curious and interested in the work,” says Guerin. “Everyone wanted to talk to us and take selfies.” The friendly local audiences even wanted a piece of the set to take home as a souvenir, collecting the smashed fragments of the onstage glass orb as a memento.  

While Parisian audiences were notably more distant, the Chaillot Théâtre and its adjoining grand foyer provided a stunning backdrop for the company as they performed How To Be Us in dappled sunlight in front of the iconic Eiffel Tower.  “It was very beautiful and so special,” says Guerin of the experience.

Back in the North Melbourne studios of LGI, document boxes containing archival information of Guerin’s extensive repertoire are neatly stacked and organised behind her, giving little indication of the enormous body of work she has produced over the years. Moving between simple and minimalistic to epic maximalist, Guerin is a chameleon of choreography and enjoys both the intimacy of working with small groups and the challenge of producing a large ensemble piece.

“I really enjoy flexing a bit in scale of cast. I very much treasure the intimacy of working with two people; it’s often where I can feel I can take more risks and access the less predictable parts of my creative process,” says Guerin, noting that these smaller pieces can quite often grow into bigger productions with more dancers. “It's a very important part of my practice to be able to go between the two, the intimacy of a duet and the exciting possibilities a larger cast can bring.” 

Often centring around a theme of opposing forces, Guerin is interested in the push-and-pull relationships of existence, of action and reaction. Her latest work, Ground Control for The Australian Ballet, looks at the dichotomy between the graceful lightness of ballet and its powerful foundations.

“When I began working on this piece for The Australian Ballet, I started thinking about how much strength and force is needed to take off from the ground. You need to push into the ground to be able to elevate yourself into a jump. The people that can utilise gravity and the downward force in dancing are often the ones that can get the highest.” 

This translates into grounded, heavy movements and earthy, connected choreography that shifts into atmospheric and aerial floating. “It’s an idea of the physical body meeting thought,” says Guerin, who originally trained in ballet and uses the fundamentals of classical technique as a departure point for much of her work.

One of Australia’s most established choreographers, Guerin reflects on how the industry has changed over the last few decades and is thrilled to see the expansion of the independent dance scene in Melbourne. “When I started, there were only a handful of contemporary companies; now there are so many more opportunities and support systems for up-and-coming artists”. She also notes that while things have evolved, there's a circular nature to audience tastes and artist trends: “Dance is constantly evolving, but not necessarily in a straight line.” 

Guerin credits the support and open dialogue between creators for the growth in artistic opportunities. “Dance is a very social art form. We communicate and we work together, and we need each other; creating dance is very hard to do in complete isolation.” 

As for future generations of choreographers, it’s all about developing your own unique identity, taking opportunities when they come your way, and making your own opportunities if they don’t.

From dancing with as many different people as you can and doing workshops and learning what it takes to create a production from the ground up, Guerin says understanding what it is you have to offer as a creator is pivotal to artistic development. “There are a lot of different pressures and expectations out there, and it can be very confusing. It’s really important to understand your uniqueness and how you want to be working and creating.” 

It’s good advice from the choreographer who’s seen a few cycles of dance trends come and go over the years. Understanding who you are as an artist and being your authentic self is key to connecting with audiences. By grounding yourself in truth, you’re free to soar into the stratosphere.