By Peter Douglas
Multi-award winning dance company KAGE is heading to the Yarra Ranges to deliver an exciting new work for local audiences.
In December 2016, the Victorian Dance Sector was invited to develop an accessible new performance work and a series of workshops, which were thematically and artistically connected with the region’s unique narratives.
KAGE – comprising of duo Kate Denborough and Gerard Van Dyck – impressed immediately with the development of a unique dance performance, TONIC.
Inspired by the preservation of ecosystems within the Yarra Ranges, the performance explores the implicit relationship the community has to the health of the environment.
Van Dyck said he had developed a genuine affinity for the Yarra Ranges region.
“Having grown up in Sunbury, and on rural properties, I felt an immediate connection to the region. There is a real sense of tranquillity and peace here,” he said.
“It’s such a place of beauty, peace and silence … an escape from the cosmopolitan nature of Melbourne.
“The performance is about how we need a sense of belonging and a feel of place, particularly in this day and age.”
Van Dyck said he and dance partner, Kate, met while they were training at the Victorian College of the Arts, where they realised they shared many similar traits.
“We shared bonds over our similar aesthetic, in the way we portray human expression. We both have an acting background and make for a great team,” he said.
KAGE has been re-thinking dance for 20 years.
Now it is the Yarra Ranges’ chance to be a part of their unique performances.
Denborough and Van Dyck specialise in collaborating with extraordinary artists and communities to find original ways to present dance in new contexts, creating exquisite performances that harness the dramatic potential of dance and extreme physicality with irreverence and humour.
TONIC will be performed across three venues in the Yarra Ranges: Burrinja Cultural Centre, Arts Centre Warburton and The Memo Healesville as part of the region’s annual Culture Tracks program.
Creative development sessions, including a free masterclass, open rehearsal and conversations with KAGE will also be offered.
An integral element to the Creative Community’s region-wide, three-year dance-tracks strategy, this commission will contribute to the integral goal in creating a sustainable culture of dance performance and presentation, engaging the local and metropolitan community, industry groups and support audience development around dance.
Local audiences are invited to experience, explore and enjoy this new contemporary dance performance.
Tickets: $28 (full), $24 (concession)
Performances:
* Burrinja, Upwey: 12 October at 7.30pm;
* The Memo, Healesville: 14 October, 7.30pm;
* Arts Centre, Warburton: 28 October, 7.30pm; and
* ‘In Conversation with KAGE’ (4.30pm) and ‘Creative Development Open Rehearsal with KAGE’ (3pm) are available on Sunday 8 October (free; bookings essential).
For more information, visit www.culturetracks.info.
