Co3 Contemporary Dance Australia celebrate ten years in 2025, with an evolving, sensory experience: 'IN.RESIDENCE: GATHERING.1’.
The Perth-based dance company will spotlight works from creatives Mitch Harvey, Logan Ringshaw, Kimberley Parkin, and Co3 Artistic Director Raewyn Hill, bringing the Liberty Theatre to life with movement.
This iteration of 'IN.RESIDENCE', a Co3 pathways programme, is set to remove the divide between audience and performer, going beyond dance to envelope attendees. . . Featuring live soundscapes from the award-winning MOWGLI and DJ Aslan, and lighting/projection from Mark Haslam. 'GATHERING.1' will be the programme's fifth presentation.
Here, participating choreographers Kimberley Parkin And Logan Ringshaw fill us in on their contributions to 'GATHERING.1' – Tri-Hard' and 'The Rest Is Noise', respectfully.
Logan, your piece ‘The Rest Is Noise’ plays with distraction and stillness — what sparked that idea, and how does it unfold on the floor?
It all starts with observation for me, both internal and external. I see patterns in the world, tied to states of being and behaviours. What I’m exploring is this sense of certainty that comes from being un-distracted, how that affects how one feels, expresses and connects. We play with our focuses across the work to display a journey of sorts, to distil into a sense of clarity and unity, shown through a cohesion (or lack of) in our movements and arrangements. There’s these moments where we misdirect and interrupt each other, and at a point there’s a realisation and a shift, noticing the play is no longer of purpose, and that a streamline of energised quietness is the way forward.
Kimberley, your work ‘Tri-Hard’ is part of an electric line-up. What emotional space or reaction are you hoping it opens in the audience?
'Tri-Hard' embodies a spectrum of emotion through the palpable energies of Macon, Luther, and Frankie. The audience is invited into their internal world, filled with strange exchanges and playful idiosyncrasies. I’d love to see the audience mirroring the performers expressions. That kind of empathetic response deepens the sense of influence and power of the work. It’s about shared experience; absorbing the odd, the intimate, and the absurd.
How does it feel to present work in such a unique environment like Liberty Theatre?
K: It’s an incredible privilege to present work in such an iconic space. You can literally see the layers of history peeling from the walls. It’s the perfect site to honour Co3’s legacy, the dancers, the choreographers, and the collective energy of 'GATHERING.1'. The space itself becomes part of the performance, grounding everything in place, time, and purpose.
L: Personally, I love being in unusual spaces, or places not many people get to be in or see. As a structure, the Liberty is quite liminal and urban, which means it can contain anything you throw at it, a blank but textured canvas. As a space, it holds this history and energy of a theatre, of a cinema, so many stories and creativities explored and held. There’s a potency to it, it’s important somehow, to reclaim and repurpose a forgotten part of history. We add to the spirituality of the ground we stand on.
Kimberley Parkin
This show taps into themes like ritual and connection. How did those ideas influence your process or final piece?
K: Connection is the heartbeat of 'Tri-Hard', especially the evolving, often unpredictable relationships between three individuals. The work explores everyday rituals in human interaction: the awkwardness of small talk, the repetition of social niceties. It’s those mundane but deeply human behaviours that build the emotional tension and rhythm of the work.
L: I find being given some themes and keywords can help pull out parts of my process I wouldn’t choose to explore. In this case I think these themes are aligning with my personal focuses. Ritual is such a powerful word, what we repeat is what we become, for better or for worse. Crafting a story in a work to rehearse and repeat really homes in on that concept, ritualising and refining a core concept. Connection is everything for me right now, to be able to facilitate that within my work, in a way to make that manifest into the space, time and people around the work is critical. We feel individually, to feel together, to feel together.
Logan, your choreography fuses contemporary and street – how do those two worlds interact in this work?
These worlds are strangely one, layers or overlaps or echoes of each other. Perhaps reductive, but the core concepts of movement behind these forms, styles or disciplines, are the same. I suppose one of the languages is more suitable than the other for communicating certain ideas if I had to give a more firm answer. There’s definitely differences in the delivery, opposing methods of moving – release/containment, flow/disruption etc – but the worlds blend and slide with more ease than difficulty. Granted there are sections that have a stronger focus on one or the other, but both worlds influence the domains of the other throughout the entire work. I want to forget that the worlds are different.
Kimberley, your past work like ‘Cry Baby’ and ‘Killjoy’ has a strong emotional pulse. How does ‘Tri-Hard’ build on or break away from that?
'Tri-Hard' continues my exploration of character and emotional extremes. I realise I’ve once again chosen a metaphoric title which reflects my interest in the provocative and slightly tongue-in-cheek aspects of life. Like my previous works, it probes the human condition through hyper-specific emotion and embodied states. It’s not about subtlety; it’s about amplifying the everyday to reveal something weird and wonderful.
This isn’t a sit-back-and-watch show – it’s immersive, it’s sensory, it’s alive. How do you choreograph for that kind of dynamic energy?
K: I always want the work to feel alive and interactive. The Liberty Theatre’s layered history feeds that energy, it becomes part of the choreography. The personalities of the performers also drive the dynamic pulse of the work. And music plays a massive role. David Stewart’s score brings this industrial, club-like texture that gives the work depth. It keeps things visceral, energetic, and constantly in motion.
L: If I’m honest, I seek that dynamic energy in everything I put my focus to. I see many technically sound works that just don’t reach me, and I’ve found its important to reach people in their sense of energy, not their thoughts. To me the main difference is the space or arrangement of people I’m catering for, the Liberty is a huge slanted hall, and we can be anywhere, and the crowd can be anywhere, it’s almost like a cypher to me, where a dancer is offered to utilise every direction, angle, spot and space. There’s an element of sleight of hand in directing choreography in any space, can one person fill a giant room with their presence, can fifteen make you zone into one corner of a stage? I keep asking, where do I place my puzzle pieces to evoke the feelings and focuses I’m seeking.
Logan Ringshaw
Being part of a milestone like Co3’s ten-year anniversary must feel huge. What does that legacy mean to you as a creator?
K: It’s incredibly meaningful to be included in this celebration alongside so many inspiring makers, dancers, and designers. Reflecting on my journey through Co3’s Pathways programme, I’m filled with gratitude. Their support has helped propel my creative momentum. Being part of this milestone feels like both a celebration and a promise of what’s to come.
L: There is definitely a gravity to it all. We have founding members who have seen the entire life of the company, returning artists, and fresh perspectives from new additions to the ecosystem that is Co3. I see my own interpretation of the artists that have the privilege of creating a work in this milestone, each representing different aspects of the journey that is a ten-year anniversary. I feel a sense of awe, observing the cycle of images that project around the space through the event that document and represent all that time. It’s an honour to contribute to this event, especially being so new to participating in the company.
Logan, your piece explores 'alignment' in self and others. How do you translate something that internal into a physical language?
Everything we do as humans comes from an internal moment, it's about noticing those trends and starting points. Sometimes I have a really clear motif or movement land in my body, where I think – that’s a perfect physical demonstration of this word, idea, story – and sometimes it's generating a bunch of scribbles that sift into something that feels right. I often look for what it doesn’t look like and work a story of movements and feelings that connect what is and what isn’t. It’s also thinking, if I do it this way that might be thought as wrong, how can I make that feel right. Are four people as far away from each other as possible in alignment?
What do you hope someone new to contemporary dance walks away thinking or feeling after experiencing 'GATHERING.1'?
K: I hope they leave feeling liberated, energised, and deeply connected. Contemporary dance can be so accessible when it’s grounded in joy, curiosity, and shared human experience. 'GATHERING.1' is a celebration, and I want that feeling to carry with the audience long after the performance ends.
L: As a whole, we’re seeking a sense of inclusion and relatability. Sure, there’s dance works being presented, but the intermittent DJ sets, and live gallery projections allow a deeper experience and connection. Everyone is here, now. I see an authenticity in what we’re threading, the true nature of contemporary being something that evolves, grows and adapts in accordance with the world around it. Personally, I know I’m wanting everyone to ride the same wave of brightness and understanding I’ve crafted in my work, in real time, in the room with us. I hope for the people experienced with contemporary dance to walk away with a refreshed interpretation of what it could be, while respecting what it is and where it’s come from.
'IN RESIDENCE: GATHERING.1' plays Liberty Theatre (Perth) 18-22 June.
