VISTA

Embarking on a new show is thrilling, but it can also be overwhelming – the creative possibilities are just so vast. That’s why I like fences and structures. When thinking about VISTA, I set myself a structural boundary at the outset. There’s a common convention in contemporary dance that shows last about 60 minutes with no interval. With my feet in the ballet world more often recently, and getting to experience so many shows divided by an interval, I decided to use that formal device not only as the starting point but the central concept. Not a double bill, not a full-length piece split by an interval, but a show in which the intermission is actually the prime mover. 

Act One and Act Two are in complete correspondence with each other. The aim has been to create a show that the audience sees in Act One and then, after the palate cleanser of an interval, they return to see the same show again, but viewed as if they are wearing wildly different glasses. They have new eyes. What a fun puzzle! 

None of us sees the world in the same way. Every experience is subjective. What is fact and what is belief? In two versions of the same story, does the truth lie in between? These questions felt like rich territory in a world of algorithmic polarisation and a crisis of understanding. VISTA is my attempt to wrestle with those questions and dance our way through. 

Setting sail on this creative journey has been wonderful, surprising and enlivening. As always, I’m full of curiosity as we careen towards ‘meeting’ the show when it lands in front of an audience next week. The six dancers (Marni Green, Robert Tinning, Georgia Van Gils, Tyrel Dulvarie, Rachel Coulson and Hugo Poulet) and team of collaborators (Robin Fox, Georgie Cleary of Alpha60, Bosco Shaw and Rachel Lee) are all phenomenal – there’s no show without them. The alchemic chemistry when creating a new show is everything, and I’m indebted to each and every one of them. I also have the benefit of the most extraordinary team behind-the-scenes, led by SLC’s Executive Producer Beth Raywood Cross. 

Big thanks to Vivia Hickman, Dean Bryant and all at Malthouse Theatre, as well as Carriageworks and Brisbane Powerhouse for getting behind this work with total enthusiasm, sight unseen. To The Australian Ballet for generous studio residencies across the creation of VISTA, and to Samantha Hines and Darci O’Rourke for their creative contributions to early developments. Huge thanks to our Commissioning Circle of donors, to the Sidney Myer Foundation, Canny Quine Foundation, Humanity Foundation and our major funders Creative Australia and Creative Victoria – our work would not be possible without your support.