Responses to Jack Lister’s “Still Life” Choreography

A production of Australasian Dance Collective, work will be displayed at QPAC (Queensland Performing Arts Complex, Southbank, Queensland Australia)

“Three” QPAC, Brisbane 26 -29 May 2021 (Tickets still available at time of writing)

The process for making these drawings began with sketches from the ADC company in rehearsal for Jack Lister's "Still Life" choreography.  It was a wonderful experience to be around the relaxed discipline of the dancers working through the development of this piece, and I enjoyed seeing the variations on certain movements repeated, the logic of their creation, and how much energy they pour into the process.  But, since I was working from a subject in motion, I only had glimpses to work with, and had to call on all my experience in studying the human body and drawing from imagination to get my rough sketches down.  The advantage of this is that it forces a kind of sharp focus where only very specific movements can be retained in the mind's eye, and it is more the gestalt of the movement, rather than static poses that jump out.   These movements I tried to find a way to notate in the static lines of pencil on page (see some of the sketches at this blog.)

The drawings you see below are further elaborations of the sketches, where I am exploring how to extend the abstract dynamics between and across the figures with the addition of certain abstract forms and rhythmic rendering.  I am also aiming to make them more accessible for the viewer via the addition of light and shadow, providing an entry point to the core relations of invisible line and plane.  This is how I experience nature in general, whether landscape or human form, and these relations are particularly amplified in the bodies of these dancers who are capable of such lyricism of movement.

Read the article at the ADC website.