A decade ago, a group of 10 budding dance makers came together to create nine short works presented at Riverside Theatres. Ultimately, this would be the beginning of Dance Makers Collective.
This October, the group will be celebrating the milestone by going back to their roots, showcasing a new set of works with the same random feel.
Carl Sciberras, Producer of Big Dance 2.0, has been there since the first show in 2013, and is eager to see the company present this new revived version.
“We started out as a group of 10 freelance makers, and at the time, there was no straightforward pathway for people working independently to develop and present their own shows, so we got together knowing each other and knowing that we wanted to make work and build this kind of network together, and put on this show,” he said.
“Over that 10-year period, we’ve made a whole range of shows that have been in Sydney Festival, and have done national tours, but the company itself grew out of that original need. This project that we’re putting on in a few weeks’ time is a reset, and an opportunity for us to look back on all of that, and to commission a new generation.”
Big Dance 2.0 involves a group of nine new dancers who weren’t a part of the original 10, and represent the promise of this new generation.
“I feel like what’s quite special about this is the diversity of the artists, and, even though it’s smaller, the intergenerational-ness of it,” he said.
“There are lots of people in this group who are really fresh, so this will be their first commission or the first work they’ve ever made, and then there’s some award-winning dancers who have been working for 10 to 15 years, so it’s a good cross-section of practice, and it feels like the future of dance, which is very exciting.”
Among this nine are Australian Dance Award winner Jana Castillo, this year’s Sydney Dance Company New Breed choreographer Eliza Cooper and emerging First Nations dance artists Jye Uren and Amy Flannery.
Though Sciberras said there are a few upgrades this time as far as tech goes, similarities to the 2013 version will be evident.
“I think in the spirit of the first iteration that we did 10 years ago, there’s a lot of random things,” he said.
“I remember the first show, people walked out and they thought that some of them were really funny, some of them were really confusing, some of them were really deep – and this is the same. It’s a completely different mix, but reflecting on the things that people are interested in at the moment, and moving people.
“I think that you’ll walk away from the show loving some things, and being confused by some things, but that’s what I think is a really great model in terms of seeing dance.”
Big Dance 2.0 will be on at Riverside Theatres from Thursday, October 12 to Saturday, October 14. Tickets start at $25. For more information or to book, visit riversideparramatta.com.au.
Troy Dodds is Parra News' Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia’s leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.