“There are no grades of vanity,there are only grades of ability in concealing it.” Mark Twain
From a very young age, a dancer in training looks in the mirror. Under stern guidance and with determination, the dancer analyses every angle, limb and line in the constant pursuit of perfection. As the dancer’s skills advance, a love affair with her reflected image develops and obsessive correction slowly leads to distortion, misery and peril. Can she win the struggle to look past herself and turn the mirrors into windows or will she be lost forever in her own narcissistic contemplation?
Set in an intimate room, Mirror, Mirror looks at the non-verbal transmission of detestable, side-on self-loathing and the often debilitating force of insecurity. Employing a collage of observed and gathered truths and lies, this poetic and deeply personal work explores the fragility of beauty, secret vanity and the endless quest for flawlessness in a time of deceit, trickery and digital enhancement.
Mirror, Mirror is a solo work of dance on film, choreographed and performed by Mildura-based artist Sally Hederics in collaboration with Adam Hobbs (film) and Kim Chalmers (composer).
Supporters: Australia Council for the Arts, Helen Macpherson Smith Trust, Artback Australia, Federation Square
Artist/s:
Sally Hederics, Kim Chalmers, Adam Hobbs
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About the artist/s:
Sally Hederics grew up in Mildura, combining schooling with classical and contemporary dance training before relocating to Adelaide to continue her studies. From 1998 to 2000 she attended the Centre for the Performing Arts in Adelaide, obtaining a Bachelor Degree in Dance Performance. During these years she had the opportunity to work with some of Australia’s top choreographers, gaining insight into a range of choreographic processes and fueling a desire to continue developing her own choreography. After completing Honours in Dance at the Victorian College of the Arts in 2004, Sally became a performer with Melbourne-based touring company Strange Fruit, with whom she has since performed and toured extensively all over the world.
Now living in Wentworth NSW, Sally works as a contemporary teacher for the Mildura Ballet and Dance Guild. She maintains her connection to Melbourne through Strange Fruit and Next Wave and continues to extend her unique style. Working collaboratively with Kim Chalmers and Adam Hobbs on Riverlife for the 2006 Murray River International Music Festival and Elements for the 2008 Mildura and Wentworth Arts Festival, Sally uses her regional home as a platform for incorporating dance with visual arts, fashion, film, photography and local community.
Kim Chalmers is a composer and musician from the Sunraysia area who studied Composition and Digital Arts at Adelaide University. Her catalogue of electro-acoustic compositions encompasses a wide variety of works from acoustic piano solos to large scale electronic and multimedia performance art pieces. She is currently completing a Masters in Composition at Adelaide University where her major area of research is composition for sound and light, music and colour.
Collaborations include working with visual artists in concert and exhibition environments, choreographers, video artists, concert bands, chamber ensembles, choirs, jazz and percussion groups. Kim taught music technology and electronic music at the Elder Conservatorium from 1999 to 2003 and now also works as a recording engineer, production coordinator and lighting designer (SA State Opera, Undertow, 2004 among her credits). As a saxophonist she has performed her own installation and acoustic works around northern Italy and in Australia. Kim’s percussion and electronic music composition Riverlife, with choreography by Sally Hederics, premiered in 2006 as the opening night performance of the Murray River International Music Festival.
Adam Hobbs is a Mildura local and has been shooting and editing images for over ten years. He gained his skills and experience in the television industry news sector. More recently he has been working in television commercials, having recently started his own production company, Admedia, which is now the busiest production house in regional Victoria. Adam’s eye for creative cinematography, his appreciation of the human form, and intimate knowledge of moving image collation and editing gives him a unique, evocative and dramatic style.
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