PENDULUM

PENDULUM-photo-by-Gregory-LorenzuttiThis Melbourne Fringe, step inside the expansive world of PENDULUM created by percussive artist sensation Matthias Schack-Arnott and globally renowned choreographer Lucy Guerin.

Tucked away inside the vaulted industrial cathedral of Docklands’ unique and beguiling Shed 21 – a suite of dancers moves in sync with a field of suspended bells that hum, glow and toll in this movement-driven performance installation inspired by the ebb and flow of time.

At once a timekeeper, a metronome and an instrument of divinity, a pendulum’s hypnotic swoop keeps steady beat – and as this formidable intergenerational ensemble of women dance with time, every rise and fall reveals the strength and vulnerability of the human form.

Performers roam amongst a field of moving pendulums that each consist of a suspended bell that tolls, pulses and hums. As they rush through the air in visceral sweeps of sound and light, the music is driven by the speed and force of their motion.

Performers activate the bells; hurling, catching, stopping, spinning, dodging and resisting the swing in their dance with gravity. The power and vulnerability of the human body is revealed through these attempts to control the relentless rise and fall of the pendulum’s weight in this eternally moving frame.

An instrument of physics and mathematics the pendulum is both abstract and physical. It’s an agent of gravity and a metronome, manifesting through timing, momentum and movement. The repetitive nature of the pendulum’s arc defines so many aspects of human experience.

Day turns to night in a seemingly endless cycle as ideas, events and movements emerge and recede from history only to return again. The rise and fall of the pendulum evokes time as a continuum that stretches behind us and before us, situating our bodies in a fleeting moment on earth.

Originally commissioned by RISING and created for one of the cavernous exhibition spaces at the National Gallery of Victoria, PENDULUM returns to Melbourne in a brand-new outdoor format in Docklands, situated under the Bolte Bridge with the city as it’s backdrop. This is a mesmerising dance with gravity that you won’t want to miss!

Co-creators: Lucy Guerin & Matthias Schack-Arnott | Choreography: Lucy Guerin with the dancers | Dancers: Deanne Butterworth, Tra Mi Dinh, Alice Dixon, Stephanie Halyburton, Helen Herbertson, Amber McCartney, Caitlin Mewett | Composition & Sound Design: Matthias Schack-Arnott | Lighting Design: Bosco Shaw | System Design & Programming: Nick Roux | Pendulum Design: Rob Larsen | Costume Design: Harriet Oxley | Production Manager: Keith Tucker (MEGAFUN) | Executive Producer: Brendan O’Connell


PENDULUM
Shed 21, 206 Lorimer Street, Docklands (Melbourne)
Season: 7 – 23 October 2022 (previews: 5 – 6 October)
Information and Bookings: www.melbournefringe.com.au

Image: PENDULUM – photo by Gregory Lorenzutti

Note: On Friday 14 & 21, and Saturday 15 & 22 October performances, a shuttle bus operates between the Festival Hub at Trades Hall and the performance venue at Shed 21, Docklands.