Aerial dancers take performance to new heights in Sydney

Art and About Sydney BandaloopOne of the world’s leading dance companies has brought its pioneering ‘vertical dance’ to Australia for the first time. Presented as part of the City of Sydney’s Art & About Sydney program, Bandaloop reimagines dance by weaving dynamic physicality, intricate choreography and the art of climbing to turn the dance floor on its side.

Hailing from Oakland, California, Bandaloop has performed its work in theatres, museums, on skyscrapers, bridges, billboards, and historical sites including the cliffs of Tianmen mountain in China and Seattle’s famous sky needle – along with a myriad of locations across Sao Paulo, Mumbai, Seoul, Soweto, Lisbon and New York.

Art & About Sydney is all about showcasing works that captivate, inspire and amaze audiences in unexpected locations, and that’s exactly what Bandaloop will do,” said Lord Mayor Clover Moore. “This is a spectacle that will thrill and mesmerise visitors and people walking by Martin Place, as dancers take their performance to the vertical limit.”

With the help of state-of-the-art climbing equipment, the dancers will be suspended from the roof of the ANZ building and glide across the vertical surfaces, multiple stories high, performing a ‘sideways dance’ that is dreamlike and hypnotic.

Artistic director and founder of Bandaloop, Amelia Rudolph said the dance aims to depict the relationship between movement and gravity. “Bandaloop gives the format of horizontal dancing a whole new dimension. As dancers move freely across the vertical surfaces, it can often appear like they’re floating – tumbling, flipping and artistic manoeuvres, often in synchronisation,” said Amelia.

“Dancing high on the side of a cliff or skyscraper allows for a sense of freedom, and gives the dancers and audience an opportunity to re-think what dance is and how it can be performed in a public space.”

Bandaloop will perform on the vertical glass façade of the ANZ bank building – 20 Martin Place, Sydney: Today (Friday 18 August) at 1.30pm and 5.00pm, with performances on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 August at 12.00pm and 2.00pm.

For more information about Art & About Sydney, visit: www.artandabout.com.au For more information about Bandaloop, visit: www.bandaloop.org for details.

Image: Performers from Bandaloop (supplied)