During the Brisbane Festival this September, Collusion will light up the stage with their latest masterpiece, 'Desirelines' – an electric mixture of chamber ballet, music and animation.
Acclaimed choreographer, Gareth Belling, is in the midst of the creative process and very excited to premiere this new piece of collaborative work at the Judith Wright Centre. “I think that the fusion of dance animation and music all together, is what really stand out! Visually I think it’s going to be very stunning.”
Gareth is working closely with concept designer Benjamin Greaves, who initially brought the idea to the table. “It was Benjamin’s idea – we work a lot together and he actually first got me into choreography... For this performance, he was the one who really introduced the idea of projection and came up with the concept solutions. It’s been quite collaborative.”
Once the ideas were laid out, Benjamin and Gareth met with sound composer Susan Hawkins, who was given a lot of leeway in terms of creative direction. “Benjamin and I told Susan to do what she wants, follow the desire of how she wants to write the music… By allowing her the freedom to think up the concept in her own way, it has opened doors to even more corridors for us to walk down. I’m ecstatic!”
A large part of this performance is the very cutting-edge and modern element of animation. “This is the first time I’ve ever used projection, and we’ve got fantastic animator Pete Foley onboard. He is animating all of the musical scores, which will be projected into the space, then the musicians read from those projections.”
There is also a clear vision of costume design in mind. “From what we’ve talked about, it’s going to be quite amazing. The designer is Lee Buchanan and I don’t think minimalism is apart of his vocabulary [laughs]. I think that it’s going to be whimsical and extravagant but still practical for the dancers and musicians. In terms of fabric we’re thinking black and flesh, very textural!”With the familiarity of chamber ballet combined with the abstract elements of projection, Gareth explains that the performance is expected to target a broader audience. “I guess, there’s something that will be familiar to the audience, in terms of the dance. But also there’s something new and different in the way that we move through positions… I think it’ll be a very satisfying experience to both hear and see. There’s enough familiarity in there but then enough difference that it’ll be exhilarating; it’ll have a broad appeal.”
'Desirelines' features three musicians and four dancers, who will contribute their own uniqueness to the masterwork created by the talented minds in Collusion. It will be nothing short of extraordinary. “I’m so excited about this work that I hope that it lives on for a long time after the premiere season.”
'Desirelines' performs the Judith Wright Centre, 2-5 September.
