ReelDance

Exhibition: June 15-19, 10am - 5pm

Gesture-Dance is a dance screen exhibition featuring works by 4 Australian and 1 Spanish/UK artist; Kate Murphy, Samuel James, Sue Healey, Sean O'Brien and Isabel Rocamora.

The works all explore the performance territory between dance and other modes such as the everyday and the dramatic. This is the territory that the moving body occupies in dancefilm, where dance finds itself in everyday scenarios, real locations and with historical and current practices of cinematic performance weighing in. Film viewing has conditioned us to ‘read’ certain corporeal behaviours, postures and gestures that can act as a kind of shorthand, connecting us to other bodies, other films, other places. Choreography in film can play with our knowledge of gestural performance, occupying the space between walking and dancing, action and elaboration, communication and expression.

These works take the choreographic manipulation of gesture further by spreading out the performances across screens, dislocated spaces and manufactured locations.

Working with the Creative Practice and Research Unit at EMPA, and industry partner, ReelDance, the works will be exhibited at various sites around UNSW Kensington campus, connected by a walking tour. Kate Murphy’s work will also ‘interrupt’ working screens in various locations around campus.

For more information: empa.arts.unsw.edu.au/gesture