ANTI—GRAVITY 2017

In ANTI—GRAVITY Chunky Move Artistic Director Anouk van Dijk joined forces with internationally renowned multimedia artist Ho Tzu Nyen to explore the role of clouds as ethereal influences that disturb or heighten human existence. Using Ho Tzu Nyen’s extensive research as a provocation for a dance work, ANTI—GRAVITY confronted gravity-bound bodies with the physical challenge presented by the ephemeral, ever-changing cloud. Performers transformed from celestial creatures to terrestrial warriors; as the clouds swelled and dissipated, bodies were caught between monolithic stillness and fleeting elevation, becoming the vessels of the audience's imaginations. Uniting the refined, highly physical choreography of Anouk van Dijk and the meticulous aesthetic of Ho Tzu Nyen, ANTI—GRAVITY was an immersive performance, an evocative world inhabited by six extraordinary dancers in various depths of control and abandon.

Creative Team
Concept, Choreography & Direction Anouk van Dijk
Co-creator & Concept Ho Tzu Nyen
Visual Design Ho Tzu Nyen, Paul Jackson & Anouk van Dijk
Lighting Design Paul Jackson
Composition & Sound Design Jethro Woodward
Costume Design Harriet Oxley

Original Performers James Batchelor, Marlo Benjamin, Sarah Ronnie Bruce, Tara Jade Samaya, Niharika Senapati, Luigi Vescio

Artistic Director Anouk van Dijk
Executive Director Vanessa Pigrum
Company Producer Hillary Coyne
Production Manager Michael Carr
Stage Manager Tia Clark
AV Programming Andre Vanderwert
Choreographic Assistant Chimene Steele-Prior & Linton Aberle

World Premiere
17 March 2017 Melbourne

Presented by Malthouse Theatre and Chunky Move in association with Asia TOPA: Asia-Pacific Triennial of Performing Arts and Dance Massive.

Touring Season
2018 Utrecht

“The theatrical ingenuity of the work, and the performers’ execution of demanding choreographic sequences [..] extend beyond the capabilities of most professional dancers” **** Time Out.

“The latest work by contemporary dance company Chunky Move is about the opposition of natural and human forces to the unrelenting inward pull of gravity.” The Age. Read More

A note from Anouk Van Dijk
Caught Between Gravity and Elevation

Welcome to ANTI—GRAVITY, Chunky Move’s main stage production for 2017. To create this work, I collaborated closely with Singaporean visual artist and filmmaker Ho Tzu Nyen. Tzu and I first met in 2015, when the Company was performing Complexity of Belonging at the Schaubühne theatre in Berlin. Tzu described his work to me as a process of distillation, where deeply investigated ideas are then boiled down to their essence. ‘I work slow’ he told me, ‘very slow’. He was immediately interested in my movement method, Countertechnique, which is the result of years of extensive investigations into how to move with less effort and more efficiency. Tzu and I had long conversations about choreography, filmmaking, work methods and the impact of cultural differences on the creative process. His process involves meticulous preparation and refining of the smallest details, while mine is one of collaboration and structured freedom, letting the outcome emerge in rehearsal. Tzu said to me, ‘In my films performers always move very slow and yours move very fast’. We fell silent. We could not be more different. And so sparked the conversation, what would happen if we were to bring our practices together? Using Tzu’s research on the iconographic representation of clouds as a springboard for a new work, we started our journey into medieval paintings, historic meaning and symbolism. Paul Jackson joined our conversations to collaborate and assist in translating our research into a unique visual design. Together with Jethro Woodward and Harriet Oxley, the team have created a stunning environment, which enables the six extraordinary performers to continuously build and break down worlds like an engine in flux. Caught between gravity and elevation, the cloud resembles the moving body. In a state of constant change, it endures extreme pressure before returning to an airy form. Like particles in a cloud unable to attain a stable form, people can find and lose coherence too. ANTI—GRAVITY is a work on stability and transience, on isolation and connection, a journey of sweat, labour and conquering. I hope you enjoy our world of cloud busting, matter forming and bodies gliding.