AORTA 2013
The aorta is the elastic artery that lies at the centre of our physical system. Consisting of smooth muscle, nerves and cells, it is the central corridor that branches from the heart: our internal ticking clock. Inspired by the metronomic nature of the heart as it charts the unwinding of time, AORTA was a work that turned the body inside out. Integrating choreographer Stephanie Lake’s physically complex and visceral movement style, three male dancers and an original composition by Robin Fox, AORTA was a work that brought to the surface the interior workings of the body – the surge of blood, our biomechanical impulses. Exploring growth and decay, electricity and magnetism, AORTA dissected the notion that at any given moment we are both alive and dying. AORTA was Stephanie Lake’s second commission through the Next Move program.
Creative Team
Direction & Choreography Stephanie Lake
Composition, Lighting & System Design Robin Fox
Projection Design Rhian Hinkley
Costume Design Shio Otani
Original Performers
James Batchelor, Josh Mu, James Vu Anh Pham
Additional Touring Performers
Alisdair Macindoe, Harrison Ritchie-Jones
Artistic Director Anouk van Dijk
Executive Producer Catherine Jones
Production Manager Michael Carr
Stage Manager Blair Hart
System Operator (Melbourne) Nick Roux
Technical Operator (Germany) James Lipari
World Premiere
22 November 2013 Melbourne
Touring Season
2015 Ludwigshafen, Germany
Awards
2014 Helpmann Award For Best Choreography in a Dance or Physical Theatre Work (Stephanie Lake)
2014 Australian Dance Award For Outstanding Achievement in Choreography (Stephanie Lake)
2014 Australian Dance Award For Outstanding Performance by a Male Dancer (James Vu Anh Pham)
“[Aorta] combines intricate and dynamically nuanced choreography, powerful performances and a deft and beautifully pitched sound composition.” The Age.
“AORTA is a complex and beautiful work that, like all living things, amounts to more than the sum of its interconnected parts.” RealTime Arts. Read More.
“A gripping, visceral sixty minute experience” ArtsHub. Read More.
A note from Stephanie Lake
It could easily be argued that we are our biology; that there is no separation between mind and body and that in fact, our every action is predetermined by our genetics and physiology. Despite vast breakthroughs in science we still don’t know it all. What drives us is essentially a mystery.
Much of AORTA is a choreographic investigation of our complex physical system – how does blood move? What does a neural pathway look like? But it is also the story of our mortality, our growth and decay. I wanted to explore both our tremulousness as well as the driving surge of our aliveness; the fragile, crumbling bones and the bombastic beat driven animal.
Threading throughout the work is the notion that at any given time we are both alive and dying and that the inevitability of death joins us all.
L-R: James Batchelor, James Vu Anh Pham, Josh Mu Image: Jeff Busby
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