Your Guide to DanceX: The Final Five

X What is Seeing Through Darkness?

Seeing Through Darkness is an evocative dance work directed by Michelle Ryan, inspired by the raw intensity of Georges Rouault’s expressionist paintings. Rouault’s portrayal of the imperfect body and the troubled soul echoes how people with disability are often perceived — and how they experience the world.
First presented in 2020, Seeing Through Darkness features six dancers in a carefully crafted piece that combines dance, music, lighting and moving image to powerful effect. The 17-minute performance achieves a depth of knowledge and emotional resonance within its short timeframe, drawing audiences into a deeply intimate and transformative experience. 

X Who are Restless Dance Theatre? 

Established in 1991 by dance artist Sally Chance and neurodivergent psychotherapist Tania Rose, Restless Dance Theatre is a pioneering force in inclusivity in contemporary dance. The company primarily engages artists with intellectual disabilities who work alongside non-disabled artists to collaborate and create captivating performances of the highest quality. In 2013, Michelle Ryan, a dancer and choreographer with multiple sclerosis (MS) took on the role of Artistic Director to lead the company into a bold new direction. Bringing together diverse bodies and minds, the company aims to push boundaries, challenge perceptions, and redefine what is possible in the world of dance.

X What is Auto Cannibal?

Originally commissioned by the Australasian Dance Collective and Beijing Dance/LDTX for Matrix, a double bill with Chinese choreographer MA Bo, Auto Cannibal premiered in Beijing in 2019. Based on the life cycle of ideas, the production questions originality and being conscious of creating within a bubble to avoid repetition or ‘self-cannibalisation’. Robin Fox has created the rhythmic score for the 20 dancers that builds on Lake’s previous works in a self-aware piece of art. Respecting that we are all products of our experiences; Auto Cannibal embraces the past to create a new future.

X Who is the Stephanie Lake Company?

Founded in 2014, the Melbourne-based company is one of Australia’s most celebrated contemporary dance companies. Led by The Australian Ballet’s Resident Choreographer, Stephanie Lake, The Stephanie Lake Company is globally renowned for their visually striking and highly inventive pieces that merge never-before-used elements into their productions. Lake’s previous work includes massive large-scale productions that intertwine moving image and music with live theatre and dance. Lake’s smash hit productions The Chronicles, Manifesto and Colossus have received worldwide acclaim, touring to over sixteen countries and thrilling audiences with their explosive physicality and razor-sharp precision.

X What is Wet Hard Long?

Jenni Large’s award-winning production Wet Hard Long is an extension of the 2022 Wet Hard. Playing on the themes of femininity under the male gaze, sexuality, fetish and power, Wet Hard Long works against contrasting elements of grit, power and delicate fragility.

The striking costumes by Michelle Boyde include 8-inch-high Pleaser shoes often worn by pole dancers. The unstable and challenging shoes reflect the contradiction of feminine strength forced to exist within the parameters of a tool created by the patriarchy to confine them. The choreography becomes increasingly more difficult throughout the 53-minute performance, moving from floor work to elevated and dry to wet, adding layers of risk and intensity.

X Who is Jenni Large?

Jenni Large was born in Naarm/Melbourne and is now based in Kanamaluka/Launceston, Lutruwita/Tasmania. Jenni graduated from WAAPA in 2010 and has since worked globally as a dancer, teacher and award-winning choreographer and director. Jenni’s work is driven by personal, political and transformational forces of the body that intersect with highly stylised design elements. A formative member of DanceNorth alongside Kyle Page and Amber Haines from 2015 to 2020, Jenni’s work as an independent artist unpacks socio-political themes that impact women and works within and against pop culture cliches to expose, disturb and delight.

X What is Flesh Vessel?

The first full-length work from choreographic duo Jayden Wall and Melissa Pham, Flesh Vessel is a kinetic calculation and conversation between three performers that tests precision and intuition. The work is infused with intricate gestures that flow into sweeping passages of choreography, revealing the rich terrain of embodiment and relational presence. Alisdair Macindoe provides the carefully considered sound design to fit both the excitement of the movement and the subtle changes as the performance progresses.

X Who are Jayden Lewis Wall and Melissa Yvonne Pham?

Jayden Lewis Wall is an independent dancer and choreographer based in Naarm/Melbourne. Devoted to exploring movement and improvisation within contemporary methodologies, Jayden works closely with traditional techniques to develop richer dance experiences and expression.

Melissa Yvonne Pham is a Naarm/Melbourne-based artist with a strong interest in the commercial and film space. Melissa trained at Brent Street in Sydney and has been a featured dancer in several music videos for Australian artists, including Angus and Julia Stone, George Alice, Jennifer Loveless, Kite String Tangle, Tash Sultana and Gretta Ray. Melissa’s other credits as a performer include Manifesto for Stephanie Lake Company and 4/4 and U>N>I>T>E>D for Chunky Move.

X What is Dream Swamp?

The winner of the 2024 Melbourne Fringe Award for Best Kids, Dream Swamp is an immersive dance experience aimed at younger audiences aged 4-10. Choregraphed by Melanie Lane, Dream Swamp lets imagination run wild as the characters shapeshift and travel across space and time in a whimsical journey. Take the kids and rediscover your own inner child in the enchanting production.

X Who is Melanie Lane?

A leading choreographic voice, Melanie Lane is an Australian choreographer and performer of Australian/Javanese heritage. The recipient of both the Sidney Myer Creative Fellowship and Creative Australia Fellowship for Dance, Melanie is currently Chair of Melbourne’s Dancehouse. Melanie’s previous roles include Choreographer in Residence at Chunky Move, Resident Artist at The Substation, Associate Artist at QL2 Dance in Canberra and Resident Director at Lucy Guerin Inc. and in 2022, she was named the inaugural Established Artist in Residence at University of Canberra x Belco Arts. Melanie has created works for Sydney Dance Company, Australasian Dance Collective, Chunky Move and West Australian Ballet, and collaborated on large-scale works for the English National Opera and Burgtheater Vienna. Melanie’s award-winning independent creations have been presented globally at major festivals and theatres in Europe, Australia and Asia, and she has engaged in numerous projects across Indonesia as a choreographer, performer, mentor and collaborator.