Pile of Bones / Nightdance

Arts House Melanie Lane Nightdance - photo by Jody HutchinsonThis August, Arts House present the premiere of two new works and the return of two of Melbourne’s most loved choreographers, Stephanie Lake – Pile of Bones and Melanie Lane – Nightdance.

Arts House Artistic Director Angharad Wynne-Jones said these works will continue to push the boundaries of contemporary dance. “We are thrilled to be presenting Stephanie and Melanie’s world premieres at Arts House in August,” said Wynne-Jones.

“The last few years have seen these choreographers gather international acclaim, having presented works in France, Spain, New York and New Zealand. This is a perfect chance for Melbourne audiences to catch Stephanie and Melanie present these beautiful new works right here on their home soil.”

Pile of Bones examines love, suppression, mutation and the uprising of inner demons and angels – bodies are encrusted with fluttering armour and caught in sticky webs. From crystal cut precision to wild abandon, Pile of Bones is a visceral and eccentric choreographic and audio-visual exploration of the intricacies of our closest relationships.

In this new work Stephanie Lake’s trademark gutsy physicality and kooky poetics are combined with four remarkable dancers (Marlo Benjamin, Samantha Hines, Harrison Ritchie-Jones and Jack Ziesing), a design team including Harriet Oxley and Matthew Adey and an original composition by renowned artist Robin Fox.

A multi-award-winning Australian choreographer, dancer and director who collaborates across theatre, film, television, visual art and music video, Stephanie Lake has created works for Sydney Dance Company, Chunky Move, Queensland Ballet, Dancenorth, Tasdance, Stompin, Frontier Danceland (Singapore), Sydney Symphony and the Victorian College of the Arts.

International performer and choreographer, Melanie Lane coaxes us off the couch and into the club in Nightdance, a pulsating new work that investigates the physical experience of the nightclub and its seductive promise of transformation, primal temptation and sublime release.

Deftly transgressing the realms of traditional dance forms, Lane and her co-performers (Lilian Steiner and Gregory Lorenzutti) slide between exotic dance, techno, burlesque and pop as they navigate sound, space and light, and the social, sensual and cerebral offerings-up for consumption after dark.

As performers oscillate between entertainer and punter, lap dance and lip-sync, Lane shines a spotlight on the economy of entertainment, the labor and currency of the body, and our complicity as audiences, voyeurs and consumers. Nightclub of the future or a dive into the sultry underworld of Berlin’s Weimer-era cabaret, Nightdance pumps up the volume, dims the lights and asks what it takes for you to dance the night away.

Melanie Lane has worked with Kobalt Works | Arco Renz, Club Guy and Roni, Tino Seghal, Antony Hamilton and Chunky Move; created works in Norway, Germany, Belgium and Indonesia; and presented works at Tanz im August, Uzes Danse Festival, Spring Dance Festival, O Espaco do Tempo, Festival Antigel and HAU Hebbel am Ufer Berlin.

Pile of Bones
Arts House – North Melbourne Town Hall, 521 Queensberry Street, North Melbourne
Season: 15 – 19 August 2017
Bookings: www.artshouse.com.au

Nightdance
Arts House – North Melbourne Town Hall, 521 Queensberry Street, North Melbourne
Season: 24 – 27 August 2017
Bookings: www.artshouse.com.au

Image: Melanie Lane’s Nightdance – photo by Jody Hutchinson