The Australian Ballet

Bodytorque: New World Record

Melbourne

Cast and Synopsis

Champing at the bit

Out in front. The competition’s behind you. You are the best. The greatest. The sexiest. There’s nothing better than being the best. You just need to keep this pace. Can’t slow down. You look sexy when you win. Don’t turn your head. Don’t trip. Pump the legs. Are you tired? Second place is coming up fast. You can hear their breath. Feel their sweat. Are you tired? You won’t be the best if they catch you. You aren’t special if you lose. Where is the finish line? Why is this getting harder? Who will you be if you can’t keep running?

Adam Elmes

Adam was raised in Sydney by a family of dancers and artists, moving to Melbourne at the age of fifteen to train full-time at the Australian Ballet School. He joined the company in 2020 and has since featured in works of world-renowned choreographers such as Wayne McGregor, Stephanie Lake, Paul Lightfoot, Sol León, Pam Tanowitz and Johan Inger. This is his first time creating his own choreographic work since becoming a professional dancer and he is excited to see how this journey develops his love for storytelling & entertainment.

Standing on a Rising Wave

Standing on a Rising Wave considers the foundations of our actions. It celebrates the seemingly fruitless and meandering pathways that ultimately enrich us. Standing on a Rising Wave also foregrounds the importance of uplifting one another, as we are able to create something collectively that could never be possible alone.

Yuiko Masukawa

Yuiko Masukawa is a Japanese choreographer based in Naarm. Her work blends contemporary performance practices with her deep expertise in classical ballet. She is currently the recipient of The Australian Ballet’s Telstra Emerging Choreographer’s Award for her work 3. In 2023, she presented the first development of her new work, Yūgen, at The Australian Ballet as part of Frame Festival.

In 2020, Yuiko undertook choreographic secondments with New York City Ballet and Milwaukee Ballet, supported by the Ian Potter Cultural Trust. In 2022, she presented Running Machine—an international, interdisciplinary work between Japan and Australia—at Arts House, which was nominated for Design/Technical Achievement in the 2023 Green Room Awards. That year, she also collaborated with Bharatanatyam dancer T. Shriraam on why we are, who we are and completed a choreographic secondment with Lucy Guerin.

In 2024, Yuiko created a full-length work for the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA). She also teaches at institutions such as The Australian Ballet, Lucy Guerin Inc.,the Victorian College of the Arts and The National Ballet School.

From 2014-2019 Yuiko was a principal artist with Melbourne City Ballet (2014–2019). During this time, she performed principal roles across Australia, New Zealand, and Japan in over 15 seasons. In parallel, she developed her choreographic practice, creating works for each contemporary season and directing more than 10 full-length ballets for Melbourne City Youth Ballet. In 2018, her work was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Youth Dance at the Australian Dance Awards.

I’m so glad you made me

Over the last few years, AI has continually been making and breaking New World Records of what we can achieve with technology. What I’m most curious about is the intersection of AI and sexual intimacy.

Using AI as a substitute for human romantic and/or sexual relationships is inevitable. This technology has the potential to offer the entire human experience, fulfilling each desire, while having none of its own. Satiating cravings for intimate connection but without the complexities of human partners, AI seems the perfect solution to a lonely population; but could that all be too good to be true?

As AI constantly evolves, the future of humanity and technology (and the lines where they intersect) become unclear. I’m so glad you made me questions control, coercion and the amount of trust we place in an emotionless technology. Is the relationship between man and machine strictly scientific, or can these boundaries bend and break when the human heart is involved?

Where is the line, and what is the limit? Who is really in control?

Benjamin Garrett

Benjamin Garrett is an artist who has been dancing with The Australian Ballet since 2020. Always having had an innate passion for art, Benjamin found choreography the perfect medium to express his creativity. Having created works throughout school, Benjamin had the opportunity to create and stage a work for The Australian Ballet as part of Bodytorque Live 2022 by the title, KIDS THESE DAYS.

Being a curious person, Benjamin is very interested, as both dancer and creative, in exploring alternative ways of moving and learning how to access different qualities. Benjamin draws from a wide range of inspirations in all creative fields, and often finds himself intrigued by themes of self-expression, queerness, and sexuality.

Scratched Up

Montana, Lucien, Aya, Tom and Peter are stuck in a record. Side A has been playing on repeat for the entire period they have each been stuck in it. Then someone flips the record to Side B, and their world is turned upside down.

Inspired by the cyclical nature of a record, along with various tribulations a record faces in its lifetime (warping, scratching, melting), this is a dystopian, absurdist piece culminating in a New World Record.

Peter Wilson’s composition commission was supported by the Robert & Elizabeth Albert Fund.

Jill Ogai

Jill began ballet at the age of four in Sydney, before moving to Adelaide when she was ten. She continued with ballet, and also began tap, jazz and contemporary. She graduated from The Australian Ballet School in 2011 and joined The Australian Ballet in 2012 as a member of the corps de ballet. After recovering from a knee injury early in her career, Jill danced a wide range of repertoire and was promoted to coryphée in 2015. In 2017 Jill went on scholarship for a month, and travelled around Europe to take class and watch other companies perform. It was an extremely enlightening time and gave her new inspiration when she came back to Australia. This, combined with continued growth as an artist and performer, earned her a promotion to soloist in 2018, and then to senior artist in 2022. In 2023, Jill was promoted to principal artist during the Swan Lake season where she played the dual role of Odette/Odile.

TUG

We often witness the action between the start and finish lines. The winning goal. The gold medal. The world record. The celebration. But what happens before? Before the clock starts? Before the goal is kicked? Between dreaming and achieving, TUG explores the process of the in-between, the constant push and pull of desire and execution. Consistency drives us forward; challenges pull us back.

As we reach towards our goals, setbacks can hinder our progress. With particular consideration towards the gender inequality present in sports, four women experience the push and pull to reveal the hidden truth.

Erin O’Rourke

Erin O’Rourke is a contemporary dancer, choreographer and researcher based in Naarm. Erin has performed in festivals across Australia and beyond including Melbourne Now, Mona Foma (Tasmania), Now or Never Festival (Melbourne), Supercell Festival of Contemporary Dance (QLD), and Ars Electronica Festival (Linz, Austria). Her recent choreographic credits include object-shun for Melbourne Fringe Festival and when the water gets cold for Transit Dance, both concerned with depictions of women, in media and myth. Erin was awarded The Australian Ballet/Telstra Emerging Choreographer in 2022 for her dance film yellow mellow which has since shown at Dancehouse’ Dance (Lens) Official Selection.

Pangea Pax

In the realm of achievement, a new world record transcends mere accomplishment; it symbolises the pinnacle of human potential. Yet, amidst our feats, one elusive record stands untouched, the record for global peace. Imagine a world where tranquillity blankets each of the seven continents simultaneously, even if just for a fleeting seven seconds. The seven dancers embody the seven continents, each aligned with the seventh God; a war deity the likes of Athena or Minerva. This parallels the idea that conflict is essential for peace to have significance.

Pangea Pax represents a world where strife constantly overshadows harmony, where even a brief greeting of peace across all seven continents would stand as a monumental achievement: A New World Record in human history.

I credit and thank my Mum for the inspiring conversation and ideas that brought this work to life.

Serena Graham

Serena spent her early years in Sydney until the age of four, before relocating to Switzerland for six years. In 2011, Serena and her family moved to Melbourne, where she began her training at The Australian Ballet School. A dedicated student, Serena graduated in 2018 and was offered a position with The Australian Ballet.

During the past six years, Serena has continued to grow as an artist within the company, more recently delving into creating choreography. Serena's first commissioned work premiered during the 2021 Bodytorque season.

"I love having the opportunity to dance and create new choreography. The interplay between these two aspects inspires me greatly in telling stories and concepts through music and movement. It is important and a driving force in me to continue growing and creating on these artistic platforms." - Serena Graham

Cast sheets

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I’m so glad you made me
I’m so glad you made me
I’m so glad you made me
I’m so glad you made me