DanceX

The Australian premiere of Johan Inger’s comic, romantic dance theatre piece I New Then, set to songs by Van Morrison. Inger, a Swedish choreographer, danced with Nederlands Dans Theater and has made works for leading companies all over Europe.

Through a nostalgic lens, this feel-good dance experience reflects on a time that was both pure and simple, but also a time defined by the distinct challenges of becoming an adult.

Solstice is a new duet created by Alice Topp especially for DanceX. Inspired by the word solstice, meaning the exact date in the year where we experience the longest hours of day or night, the piece draws the comparison to a turning point; the point at which the sun is furthest away or closest, when the light shines brightest for longest or when the darkness blankets us for the best part of the day. Solstice is a turning point – in time, in our lives, in this moment between two.

We cannot help but compare ourselves with other high achievers, including those from the past. A common myth about Mozart is that he wrote his music in single sessions, without effort, due to his genius.

With smaller pieces, this would have been true. The rest of us who are creating art, who are not Mozart, who don’t necessarily have such abilities: are we therefore imposters? The answer must be no - because there is no way that Mozart, for example, could imagine how we live our lives more than 250 years after he wrote the third movement of his Violin Concerto No. 5. We must appreciate where we have come from but must forge our own path.

Imposter maps an epic, fast and anarchic journey. There is a palpable tension between the old and the new which ignites distortion before the language fully ignites and takes flight. The dancers and musicians are both puppets and puppeteers as they fracture formal configurations and ultimately play, with meticulous precision.