Wet 1998
Wet was the first hour-long dance performance film ever commissioned by the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC). Unlike other dance films, which have generally been adaptations of theatre-based productions, Wet was created specifically for television. A co-production between Chunky Move and ABC TV, Wet screened on December 2, 1998.
The dance film brought together sensuous, evocative dance imagery with the energy and brashness of Australian popular culture: surfing, cars, home videos. A surreal tale set mostly in industrial docklands and the beach, Wet centred on an emotionally troubled swimmer and her complex fascination with a merman.
Creative Team
Writer & Choreographer Gideon Obarzanek
Producer & Director Stephen Burstow
Music Supersonic
Cinematographer David Maguire
Production Designer Walter Salmon
Costume Designers Theo Benton, Walter Salmon
Art Director Kerrie Long
Set Dressers Richard Kennett, Mark Dixon
Props Susan Glavich, John Tattam, Gene Ravet, James Newman
Construction Manager Gerry Seymour
Construction ABC Scenic Workshop Sydney
Performers Katheryn Dunn, Danny Adcock, Byron Perry, Melissa Ippolito, Christopher Ryan, Luke Smiles, Brett Daffy, Moira Finucane
Artistic Director Gideon Obarzanek
Executive Producer Angharad Wynne-Jones
Premiere Date
2 December, 1998
“…might not appeal to devotees of the classical form but should offer plenty to those who prefer modern dance with faster rhythms, sexy bodies and contemporary subtext… what follows might well disturb not only hard-core dance conservatives, but the Minister, Senator Richard Alston, who has already expressed concern that the ABC has become a cesspit of depravity” Sydney Morning Herald.
“Wet’s comic charms are its unpredictability, sense of the ridiculous and its satiric stereotypes” Courier Mail.
