Publication Date: Friday, March 12, 2004
Dance from Down Under
Dance from Down Under
(March 12, 2004) Sydney Dance Company brings its hip new show to Stanford Lively Arts
by Robyn Israel
T hree years ago, Graeme Murphy, artistic director and choreographer of the Sydney Dance Company, was listening to late-night radio. What he heard that night -- electronic dance music armed with a merciless beat -- totally enthralled him.
"It was a contemporary genre of music, but I couldn't quite get a handle on it -- it was such a mix of wonderful things," Murphy said in a recent phone interview from Sydney, Australia. "At times I felt like I was at a dance party. At other times I felt like I was at a symphonic concert hall. The more I listened, the more I was boggled by the range."
The creator of that cutting-edge classical piece, Murphy discovered, was Matthew Hindson, a rising star among Australian composers. Murphy wanted to commission Hindson to compose a piece for the Sydney Dance Company, but learned he would not be available until 2007.
Murphy could not wait that long. Undeterred, he asked Hindson for permission to use his existing archives for a new production. The result: "Ellipse," a suite of seven dances set to Hindson's eclectic music. Ranging from romantic cello and piano to country and western, the suite even includes an orchestral nod to the heavy-metal band Metallica -- featuring an amplified 1/8-sized violin solo.
Daring duets and striking sculptural images are juxtaposed with bodies flying across the stage, as the dancing shifts from sexy and humorous to full-on energy, from classical to hip-hop, from romantic to square dancing. The dancers go through 40 costume changes as they frolic, contort and embrace, all the while encircled by a madly contoured elliptical design. The finale, "Speed" -- featuring the music Murphy first heard on late-night radio -- is an 18-minute piece in which the exhausted dancers ultimately collapse to the ground.
"It ranges from comedy to lyricism to pump-and-grind energy," Murphy said. "It really runs the complete gamut of the contemporary dancer's raison d'etre."
Though "Ellipse" is a non-narrative work, with no unifying story, Murphy insisted that worlds of emotion lie within it.
"Even in the most abstract dance, it's impossible to divorce it from some sort of pragmatic storytelling. You have a man and woman on stage, and your mind races to make up some kind of story."
The suite premiered in May 2002 at the Sydney Opera House and will be performed tonight and Saturday at Stanford University's Memorial Auditorium. Stanford Lively Arts will be bringing back the troupe, which last performed here in 2000.
Known for its hip theatricality and diverse styles, Sydney Dance Company has become synonymous with the finest of Australian performing arts. It has attracted considerable international interest since its first American season at New York's City Center Theater in 1981. The company has since toured the U.S. eight times.
There are no principal dancers in the 18-member company. That means no pecking order -- certain dancers are featured in certain numbers, whereas others are shown off to better effect in other pieces, depending on their personalities, heights and shapes.
"Ellipse is a very democratic piece. Each dancer gets a moment to shine, and everyone gets a challenge," Murphy said. "So the audience gets to see the talents of the whole company."
The company's diverse members hail from Australia and abroad, including China (Xue-Jun Wang), Japan (Wakako Asano), Thailand (Chylie Cooper) and the United Kingdom (Simon Turner). Ranging from 4-foot, 8-inch Tracey Carrodus to 6-foot-plus Wang, the dancers also represent two generations, spanned by 21-year-old Cassandra Grove and 41-year-old Wang.
"For me, the whole point of having a company is to have a varied palette, to mix it up," Murphy said. "You don't have a limit on dance. There are people in their 50s who are still valid dancers. For me, it's about the artistry, ultimately -- not physicality."
Regarded as Australia's most celebrated choreographer, Murphy was appointed artistic director of the Sydney Dance Company in 1976 (it was known then as The Dance Company, N.S.W.). Together with Associate Artistic Director, Janet Vernon, he has since created 30 full-length productions.
Murphy has also created new works for The Australian Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater, Royal New Zealand Ballet and a solo work for Mikhail Baryshnikov. He has also choreographed for the Canadian Opera Company, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and British ice dancers Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean.
Nearly 30 years into his tenure, Murphy continues to amaze, choreographing a new production each year. Add that to the four full-length ballet pieces that are in repertory at any given time, and the dancers have, according to Murphy, "lots of meaty things to work with."
A vacancy in the Sydney Dance Company is a rarity -- something you don't often find in the world of dance.
"They're happy to be in a creative company, where dance is choreographed on them, rather than on somebody else," said ballet master and rehearsal director Brett Morgan, referring to the abundance of fresh new material.
A couple of the dancers, such as Asano and Wang, have been with the Sydney Dance Company for 10 years or more.
"They stay long term, so I get to know them well and I see them fulfill their creativity," Murphy said. "There's a point in their career where there's a break-through moment, and I can exploit that blooming. That's very exciting."
Though trained in the classical tradition at the Australian Ballet School, Murphy came to appreciate other styles by studying abroad. He spent nine months in New York City, where he trained with a variety of schools and companies: Juilliard, Joffrey, Ailey and Graham.
"I was a mad thing with a shopping trolley," Murphy recalled.
Visits to New York galleries, museums and theaters awakened his imagination and ultimately proved to be as important a training ground as the dance companies he attended.
"Dance can be a narrow world," he said. "For me, it was important to broaden my world beyond the world of dance. It was important for me, as a choreographer, to open up a wide spectrum -- not just in the arts, but life in general."
Murphy continues to espouse that philosophy, seeking inspiration from other artistic genres. Costume designer Akira Igosawa -- famous among Australia's fashion elite -- is dressing the dancers in fringed costumes, in which black and white alternate with earth tones and electric pinks and greens. "Ellipse" marks Igosawa's third collaboration with the company.
Another crossover artist is set designer Gerard Manion, whose works are represented in galleries and collections around the world. Murphy had seen his paintings, and thought his talent would translate well to the stage.
"Once you start that ball rolling , it often leads to a dual career," Murphy said. "I think it's important to cross the disciplines. And dance opens up new worlds. Just think -- Matthew's music has been heard across America, and not because of a concert tour, but because of a dance company."
"Ellipse" also marks Murphy's continued interest in working with Australian musicians. With the addition of Hindson, there are now 10 native composers in the company's repertory.
Hindson authorized Murphy to "do what he had to do" in interpreting the music for "Ellipse." Nevertheless, Murphy was "terrified" as to what Hindson would think when he saw his music set to dance.
Case in point: "Chrissietina's Magic Fantasy," the fourth piece in the production, which is set to two violins. Hindson, Murphy said, had a personal connection to the piece, as he had composed it with his lady friend in mind. But Murphy envisioned something far less romantic: An animal kingdom-like scenario, featuring insect-like imagery.
"It's a very strange piece," Murphy admitted. "And I think he (Matthew) was bamboozled. I think he was expecting clouds of chiffon and a beautiful woman with trails of smoke!
"But after a second viewing, he said to me, 'I get what you were trying to do.' But he had to let go of his own view to enjoy it. And the audience had to do that, too. It's not about trying to understand what the choreographer was trying to do. You have to understand what the choreography is saying to you. I love the fact that 100 people in a performance come out with 100 different interpretations."
What: Sydney Dance Company presents "Ellipse." A Stanford Lively Arts event. There will be no intermission in the 75-minute program.
Where: Stanford University's Memorial Auditorium
When: Tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m. A moderated post-performance discussion will take place tonight at approximately 9:15 p.m. The discussion is free and open to the public.
Cost: Tickets are $42/$38/$30. Half-price tickets are available for people ages 15 and under, and discounts are available for students. For tickets and more information, contact the Stanford Ticket Office at Tresidder Memorial Union.
Info: Call 650-725-ARTS (2787) or go online to http://livelyarts.stanford.edu.
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