Supporters: Donkey Wheel House, City Of Melbourne, Victoria University, the Australia Council for the Arts, Critical Path, Cargo 103
Cobie Orger: Direction
Alexandra Macdonald, Martin Hansen, Ben Hancock: Dancers
Simon Charles: Sound
Andy Hutson: Design
Volker Haug: Lighting Design
About the artist/s:
Cobie Orger is a Melbourne based dance maker, performer and video artist. She is interested in making work that examines the integration of dance with other forms explored through installation, live performance and filmmaking. These enquiries have lead to the creation of her own dance and intermedia works including Mostly in between moments (curated work for Lucy Guerin Inc’s With the lot program), Carbon to Glass© (MAYDaY! Festival, Antwerp, Belgium) and human_edit (independent season at Conical Gallery, Melbourne). She has been awarded several choreographic residencies to develop new work at places such as Cargo 103 (Lausanne, Switzerland) Bundanon (Nowra, New South Wales), Danswerkhaus (Antwerp), Ballhaus (Berlin) and Meat Market (North Melbourne). Her interest in screen dance continues to flourish after being awarded a “Foot in the door” grant from the Australia council for the Arts to work with Australian dance filmmaker Tracie Mitchell. As a result she has created a number of her own short dance films including Dryad of St. Erme, Standing Unempty, type 1.), A quiet reflection and Carbon to glass (b) most of which have each screened in local festivals and/or toured with the “Dance your socks off” and “Electrofringe” film program.
After studying at the Victorian College of the Arts, Alexandra Macdonald worked with Australian choreographers including Rosalind Crisp, Sandra Parker (DanceWorks), David Pledger (Not Yet Its Difficult), Rakini Devi, Tim Davey, Simon Ellis, Ros Warby, Cobie Orger and Carlee Mellow. She has also worked with international artists including Hans Van Den Broek (Brussels), Julyen Hamilton (Girona), Khosro Adibi (Brussels), Eduardo Castro Neves (Giselle’s Cottage at the Bolshoi, Cologne), Jai Gonzales (Unterwegs Theater, Heidelberg) and Cie Philippe Saire (Lausanne). Since 2002 she is the recipient of numerous grants from The Australia Council for the Arts, Dancehouse, Ian Potter Cultural Trust, Besen Foundation and Bundanon Trust. The most recent grant enabled her to study improvisation and composition with artists including Thomas Hauert, Ted Stoffer, Julyen Hamilton and Deborah Hay. In 2006 Alexandra co-founded Underpass, a collective of dance, sound and video artists whose work encompasses dance, film and installation. Their work has been in residence or presented at Ballhaus Mitte (Berlin), Cultuurcentrum Berchem (Antwerp), Bains:Connective (Brussels), The Meat Market (Melbourne) and Bundanon (NSW).
Martin Hansen has studied at the Victorian College of the Arts and holds a Post Graduate Diploma (Artist in Practice) from the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance. Martin’s professional engagements and interest span a number of genres, contexts and continents. Martin has performed throughout most of the English speaking world with Melbourne based company ‘Chunkymove’ as well as working with David Pledger’s ‘Not Yet It’s Difficult’. ‘Underpass’, a spontaneous choreography collective co-founded by Martin and fellow Melbourne dancers, presented their work in Melbourne and Berlin. In Europe Martin maintains professional working relationships with Christoph Winkler, Martej Kejzar and LaborGras and has performed throughout Germany, Austria and Poland. Martins own work and work in collaboration with Ligia Lewis has been presented at numerous festivals and reputable venues, including ‘Sophiensale’ Berlin, Tanzhaus Dusseldorf, LaborGras Berlin, Palacy Kultury Warsaw and at SEAD Austria. Martins interest in inter-disciplinary collaborations and applicability of dance within these contexts fuels his research. In 2010 Martin will create and perform a new work with Jessica Aszodi, tour Germany with Christoph Winkler and present a short solo at the Next Wave Festival in Melbourne.
Benjamin Hancock graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) with a Bachelor of Dance in 2008.In his final year he was the recipient of the inaugural choreographic achievement award. Performance credits include Disappear Here -Supple Fox, Foreign Contaminant – Vertical Shadows, Down the Rabbit Hole – Collaboration the Project, Reverb – Martin Del Amo (Melbourne Fringe 09) and Take off your Skins (Melbourne Fringe 09). Choreographic credits include Dislocate – Coming Out Season at DanceHouse and the Australian Choreographic Competition 1st, Open Wide – With the Lot, Lucy Guerin Inc, Stain – Pieces for Small Spaces (Lucy Guerin Inc.) and Un-Bend – Five (curated by Abigail Sebaly) a night of choreography. In 2010 Benjamin will work with Martin Del Amo in Short Sweet + Dance and continue his role as an Artistic Associate & founding member of 2ndToe Dance Collective.
Simon Charles is a composer and musician, currently undertaking a Master of Music Performance research degree at the Victorian College of the Arts. He has been awarded a number of scholarships, residencies and awards for saxophone and composition in both Australia and Australasia and composed new music for local and international artists including Mardi McSullea, Bosgraff and Elias (the Netherlands) and the Chamber ensemble. Aside from composing contemporary concert music, Simon also has an interest in collaborating as a composer with artists of different disciplines. He has worked as a composer in the television series Chefs of the Great Hotels of the World (for SBS) and has collaborated with Cobie Orger and poet Jess Wilkinson on an interdisciplinary work for the “This is Not Art” festival. He has also worked as a composer in the dance production Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain, performed at the Next Wave festival. He is founding member of the Free Music Ensemble. The ensemble performs improvised and experimental music and has just finished recording material for their first release, recorded at the ABC studios in Southbank.
Andy Hutson is a Melbourne based artist who has exhibited extensively within Melbourne and interstate with shows including Super Natural Sublime, The Museum of Catastrophe, Wunderstump, Tropic Entropic, Terrorium, Rock and Oasis and Water Table. Andy’s artistic practice stems from a preoccupation with catastrophe, and takes the form of impermanent sculptural installations that range from the miniature to the monolithic. Last year Andy completed his Master of Fine Arts by Research at the VCA which has resulted in exhibition opportunities at Platform Gallery, Westspace Gallery and an upcoming show Osaka. He is also an active member of the board at Seventh Gallery, a volunteer artist-run space in Fitzroy, Melbourne.
