Delving into Dance – Details, episodes & analysis

Dalisa Pigram is the Co Artistic director Marrugeku. She is a Yawuru/Bardi woman with Malay and Filipino heritage born and raised in Broome, Dalisa studied in Perth after high school to complete an Advanced Certificate in Aboriginal Musical Theatre, a course developed and facilitated by Michael Leslie and accredited by WAAPA (1995). At the end of study Dalisa was invited to join Marrugeku by Michael Leslie for its first project to create Mimi (1996) working closely with Kunwinjku storytellers and dancers of Kunbarlanja community in Arnhem Land with the larger group of Marrugeku artists over 8 years. Dalisa became co artistic director of Marrugeku with Rachael Swain in 2008 after the company began working in her homelands of the Yawuru in Broome (2003). A co-devising performer on all Marrugeku’s productions, touring extensively overseas and throughout Australia, Dalisa’s first solo work Gudirr Gudirr (2013) directed and co choreographed by Koen Augustijnen, earned an Australian Dance Award (Outstanding Achievement in Independent Dance 2014) and a Green Room Award (Best Female Performer 2014).

Daniel is a choreographer, dancer, teacher and creative from the Wiradjuri nation of Western NSW, and is currently Artistic Director of Australian Dance Theatre. He began his dance training at Quantum Leap, ACT and since graduating from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in 2006 has danced for Leigh Warren & Dancers (2005-2006), New Movement Collective UK (2014), Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre UK (2014), Chunky Move (2019) and was a senior artist with Bangarra Dance Theatre (2007-2018). In 2019 Daniel joined ILBIJERRI Theatre Company as an Associate Producer (2019-2020), and became the company's Creative Associate (2020-2021). His time with ILBIJERRI allowed him to partake in an Executive Leadership Program where he gained executive level skills to lead and run an arts organisation in the future. In 2020 he was appointed as a Lecturer in Contemporary Dance at the Victorian College of the Arts, where he launched and led Kummarge, a self-determined mentoring program for First Nations dance students. In 2021 he worked for Moogahlin Performing Arts as Birrabang Miil (outside eye) for the Yellamundie@HOMENaarm Festival and joined the cast of Stephanie Lake Company’s Manifesto for the first major creative development. He has worked as an independent dancer, director, teacher, advocate, choreographer and sat on the Board of Chunky Move (2019-2022). Daniel’s choreographic credits include Victorian College of the Arts: WAX (2021), RISE (2020), Louisville Ballet, USA: Tonal (2020), Sacred Shifts (2015), Melbourne International Arts Festival: Tanderrum (2019), Dancenorth: Communal Table (2019), Bangarra Dance Theatre: Dark Emu (2018), Miyagan (2016), BLAK (2013), Riley (2010), Sydney Dance Company: Reign (2015), QL2 Dance: Hit the Floor Together (2013, 2018), QUT: Twelve Ascensions (2013), Thirteen Ascensions (Twelve Ascension Rework) (2018), Third Row Dance Company UK (2014). His film credits as Director and Choreographer include: mulunma – Inside Within (2021) for RISING Melbourne & Yirramboi, and ACT V (2021), for The Australian Ballet’s Bodytorque Digital 2021. As performer: Dan Sultan: Under Your Skin, Stephen Page (Bangarra Dance Theatre): Spear in which he worked as Director’s Attachment. He has been nominated at the Australian Dance Awards (2010, 2013) and for National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Deadly Awards (2010, 2012 & 2013). Daniel is highly experienced in conducting masterclasses, facilitating workshops and teaching professional company class for a range of organisations, educational institutions and dance companies across Australia and around the world.

Lloyd Newson is best known as the founder and artistic director of DV8 Physical Theatre, in London. Born in Albury, Australia, Lloyd studied psychology and social work at Melbourne University, becoming interested in dance. This interest continued to deepen when he attended the London Contemporary Dance School on a full scholarship. He started DV8 Physical Theatre in 1986. DV8 as a company has had a profound impact on shaping perceptions of dance and physical theatre, with performers of a range of backgrounds, and different types of bodies all having a place in different performance works. Lloyd has tackled a range of issues in his works including male violence and homophobia. In 2007, Lloyd placed an increased focus on the role of text alongside movement in his pieces, seeing him make works such as Can We Talk About This? and JOHN. DV8’s work is highly acclaimed and has won countless international awards. In 2013 Newson was awarded an OBE from the Queen for services to contemporary dance. He has been cited by the Critics Circle as being one of the hundred most influential artists working in Britain during the last one hundred years. In 2016, after 30 years of running DV8, Lloyd made the decision to step back from the company and to reflect on both the achievements and what he still wanted to say with the company. Running a company for 30 years is no easy task, with a small core team supporting an extensive output. 2020 sees the return of DV8 with the seminal work Enter Achilles, produced by Rambert. The work is touring internationally, starting at Adelaide Festival. This is the first ever remount of a DV8 production, first made in 1995. Enter Achilles set in a British pub, explores themes related to masculinity, stereotypes around men, male violence and men’s insecurities. Lloyd doubts that he will ever make another full length work, and has found a sense of freedom outside the daily operation of arts company.

Juliet Burnett grew up in Sydney, while spending considerable time in Indonesia. Dancing was in Juilet’s blood; her grandmother, was the Sultan’s star dancer at his court in Jogjakarta. At the age of five her parents enrolled her in ballet school to see if she took after her grandmother. Later, Juliet studied at The Australian Ballet School, before joining the company in 2003. Juliet has worked in creations by Wayne McGregor, Stanton Welch, Alexei Ratmansky, Krysztof Pastor, Nicolo Fonte, Maina Gielgud, Rudolf Nureyev, Peggy van Praagh, Matjash Mrozewski, Stephen Baynes, Gideon Obarzanek, Graeme Murphy and Stephen Page. In mid-2015, Juliet left The Australian Ballet after her final show as Giselle. She left to become a freelance dancer performing in Australia and Indonesia, working with a range of people including Melanie Lane, a childhood friend. In 2016, Juliet made the move to Europe to join Ballet Vlaanderen, Belgium's premier dance company, under the directorship of renowned choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. Since 2016, Juliet has been a First Soloist with Ballet Vlaanderen, where she has had new creations made for her by Édouard Lock in The Heart of August and The Heart of August ... continued and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui in his Requiem. Other roles include the title role in Akram Khan’s Giselle, in William Forsythe's Approximate Sonata and Workwithinwork, Pina Bausch's Café Müller, in Benjamin Millepied’s Bach Studies, as Marguerite in Jean-Christophe Maillot's Faust, as Queen Fabiola in Jeroen Verbruggen's Ma Mére L'Oye, Trisha Brown’s Twelve Ton Rose, in Alexander Ekman’s Joy, in Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's Firebird, Memento Mori, Exhibition and Fall, and the Snow Queen in Demis Volpi's Nutcracker. In 2017 she danced as Guest Artist with Dutch National Ballet, in Remi Wortmeyer's new creation, Passing Shadows. Juliet is also a writer, having been a regular contributor for Dance Tabs, MDM Dancewear's website and The Australian Ballet's blog Behind Ballet. She has written for other publications including Vogue Australia, Dance International and Gourmet Traveller magazines.

Juliet Burnett grew up in Sydney, while spending considerable time in Indonesia. Dancing was in Juilet’s blood; her grandmother, was the Sultan’s star dancer at his court in Jogjakarta. At the age of 5 her parents enrolled her in ballet school to see if she took after her grandmother. Later Juliet studied at The Australian Ballet School, before joining the company in 2003. Juliet has worked in creations by Wayne McGregor, Stanton Welch, Alexei Ratmansky, Krysztof Pastor, Nicolo Fonte, Maina Gielgud, Rudolf Nureyev, Peggy van Praagh, Matjash Mrozewski, Stephen Baynes, Gideon Obarzanek, Graeme Murphy and Stephen Page. In mid-2015 Juliet left The Australian Ballet after her final show as Giselle. She left to become a freelance dancer performing in Australia and Indonesia, working with a range of people including Melanie Lane, a childhood friend. In 2016 Juliet made the move to Europe to join Ballet Vlaanderen, Belgium's premier dance company, under the directorship of renowned choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. Since 2016 Juliet has been a First Soloist with Ballet Vlaanderen, where she has had new creations made for her by Édouard Lock in The Heart of August and The Heart of August ... continued and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui in his Requiem. Other roles include the title role in Akram Khan’s Giselle, in William Forsythe's Approximate Sonata and Workwithinwork, Pina Bausch's Café Müller, in Benjamin Millepied’s Bach Studies, as Marguerite in Jean-Christophe Maillot's Faust, as Queen Fabiola in Jeroen Verbruggen's Ma Mére L'Oye, Trisha Brown’s Twelve Ton Rose, in Alexander Ekman’s Joy, in Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's Firebird, Memento Mori, Exhibition and Fall, and the Snow Queen in Demis Volpi's Nutcracker. In 2017 she danced as Guest Artist with Dutch National Ballet, in Remi Wortmeyer's new creation, Passing Shadows. Juliet is also a writer, having been a regular contributor for Dance Tabs, MDM Dancewear's website and The Australian Ballet's blog Behind Ballet. She has written for other publications including Vogue Australia, Dance International and Gourmet Traveller magazines. With such an extensive career and so many interesting things to talk about this interview is presented in two parts.

James Vu Anh Pham is from Perth, Western Australia, and was the first generation of his Vietnamese family to be raised in a Western society. James loved music as a child, playing piano, clarinet and saxophone, he planned on becoming a musician. Struggling with stage-fright a friend suggested he tried dance classes as a way to connect to his body. Starting hip-hop, he loved what he could express through his body. Subsequently, he switched his planned career in music to a career in dance, going on to study at New Zealand School of Dance. His first professional contact was with Chunky Move, shortly after Anouk van Dijk started, performing in An Act of Now, in 2012. James continued to dance extensively for Chunky Move in a range of works including  Rule of Thirds (2016), Depth of Field (2015), Complexity of Belonging (2014), 247 Days (2013) and AORTA (2013) – a Next Move production choreographed by Stephanie Lake. He learnt Countertechnique for Anouk van Dijk and has since become an instructor. James received the ‘Best Male Dancer in a Dance or Physical Theatre Work’ (2014) Helpmann Award for his performance in 247 Days and the ‘Outstanding Performance by a Male Dancer’ (2014) Australian Dance Award for AORTA. In 2016, James relocated to Belgium to work at Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's Eastman, where he performed in works including Babel 7.16 in the Palais Des Papes for the Festival d'Avignon, guesting in Ravel with Ballet Flanders and ICON with the Göteborg Opera Dance Company. He also performed with Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui in Les Indes galantes, a production by the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich.  In 2019, James moved to London, where he now works as a company dancer with Akram Khan Company. He was involved in the creation of Outwitting the Devil, which had its world première in 2019. James has so much to offer the world of dance and continues to bring his own style and personality wherever he goes. This is the second episode in a season looking at Australian dance artists working and living overseas. The next interview is with Juliet Burnett who dances with Belgium's premier dance company, Ballet Vlaanderen.

Dan Daw is an Australian dance artist based in Birmingham. Dan grew up in Whyalla, in country South Australia.  Starting dance at a young age, his grandmother was a callisthenics teacher, so was surrounded by dance and movement from a young age. "It gave me an outlet and a way to express myself, and to be in a space where I could see myself represented." Dan started dancing with Restless Dance Theatre in 2002, before dancing with a range of different companies including; Australian Dance Theatre, and Force Majeure (Australia), FRONTLINEdance, Scottish Dance Theatre, balletLORENT, Candoco Dance Company (UK), and with Skånes Dansteater (Sweden).Throughout his performance career Dan has worked with Kat Worth, Garry Stewart, Kate Champion, Janet Smith, Adam Benjamin, Wendy Houstoun, Sarah Michelson, Rachid Ouramdane, Nigel Charnock, Matthias Sperling, Marc Brew, Claire Cunningham, Martin Forsberg, Carl Olof Berg and Javier de Frutos.Dan left Australia to work with Candoco Dance Company, finding a lack of opportunities in Australia, depressed at the prospect of needing to go on the dole after significant performance opportunities. There are bigger conversations that need to be had about who can be considered a dancer within an Australian context and who is missing out on professional opportunities. Dan's work often blurs the lines between dance and theatre and can have a common theme related to time. Dan has created solo works – ‘Beast’ by Martin Forsberg and ‘On One Condition’ by Graham Adey, the latter receiving the Adelaide Fringe Best Theatre Award 2017. In 2020 Dan will premiere his new work The Dan Daw Show, which explores inspiration, porn and audiences expectations of disabled artists.  Dan was interviewed during a successful run of Thank You Very Much by Claire Cunningham during Manchester International Festival.  This is the first episode in a season looking at Australian dance artists working and living overseas.

Adam Rutherford an independent creative practitioner, performer, choreographer, Rehearsal Director and Artistic Director of both Rutherford Dance Company (RDC) and multi-award-winning Rutherford Dance Company Youth (RDC Youth). He explores Global Equality through choreographic projects spanning Europe. In 2018, he was awarded a Dance Hub Birmingham Artistic Commission and was appointed dance lead for the 2022 Commonwealth Games Handover from Australia to Birmingham. Adam was awarded a Lisa Ullman Travel Scholarship Fund (LUTSF) award in 2019 to visit Palucca ‘Hochschule für Tanz’ in Dresden, Germany. Adam’s career in the performing arts spans over 15 years and has a successful track record in choreography, education, outreach, youth dance, and professional dance. Adam is a very intelligent and focused Director. He works very closely with his youth company dancers to create an experience for them that is hard to find in any other parts of England. This interview with Adam focuses on his vision for his Youth Company. Adam provides the opportunity to his young dancers to help with his decisions in their process of creating works, which captures an exclusive experience in contemporary dance at a young age.

Aparna was born in Chennai, India, into a very musical family. Formal training started “quite late at 15” but the joy of moving started long before then, and she remembers dancing around to ABBA music. She would run home from school, to catch the two hours of Western music on a radio station, kick her sister out of the room and just enjoying moving. Aparna explored classical Indian styles of dance as well as Western, joining a school that offered a wide variety of classes. She acknowledges this as a strength of her early years of dance, explaining that dance is “vast for me”, describing her style as a “global fusion”. After 12 years of dancing in the company in India, she travelled to New York at the age of 27 supported by a scholarship. Aparna remembers a period in New York, three weeks into the company of wanting “to pack it in” and return home. It was one of the many times of self reflection and growth, her relationship to dance being tested. Acknowledging that while they are highly uncomfortable, she recognises the value and strength in reflecting and checking in. “I treat dance is like a relationship” and sees it as a time to “to be by myself and with myself”. High Kicks is a youth ensemble founded, in 2011, with a focus on empowerment, challenging boundaries and the diversity of dance. The company has recently shifted from being an all girls collective, to being inclusive of anyone who identifies as female, as well people who gender-diverse or gender fluid. Aparna acknowledged the need for this shift to ensure that everyone feel included and able to dance in a safe space. She imparts the importance of everyone’s individual journey, and states the important truth of “just because they know something you don’t , doesn’t mean that you don’t know anything.” Aparna is a generous, enthusiastic and reflective person who was an absolute pleasure to interview. Her honesty and genuineness was infectious and the way she talked about dancing was highly inspiring. Aparna’s commitment to dance and the significance of moving and being with other people is affirming. Being able to talk with someone liked minded and excited about dance, just reinforces why we do what we do.