Three Nights of Common Anomalies

Rebecca Varidel
10th Oct 2017

FORM Dance Projects and Riverside Theatres have presented some really fascinating performances and this will continue next month when they present an exciting triple bill of contemporary dance. The show will include three solo performances by young artists in a program called Common Anomalies from November 2 to 4.

Vastly different in style, the three works will explore each of the performer’s unique personal histories. The performances adapt breakdance, visual art, contemporary techniques, vogue and folklore styles in dynamic vignettes.

Each performer’s work will have a unique approach however the common thread between the pieces is the anomalies of each artist – the fusing of things rarely seen together, to create something unique and personal for each. The three diverse acts of Common Anomalies are:

Pink Ranger with a Martha Graham effect
Creator and Performer: Bhenji Ra
Bhenji Ra explores the feminine body in popular culture, modern dance and the ballroom scene.

What We Don’t See
Creator and Performer: Imanuel Dado
Imanuel Dado attempts to journalise some of his questions about life decisions and second-guessing including artistic choices, career pathways and personal relationships.

Ġbejniet
Creator and Performer: Carl Sciberras
An ode to a soup recipe by Carl Sciberras’ nan. Like Sciberras, the soup has origins in Italy, Malta and Australia, and will be used as a metaphor to explore mixed race heritage. Sciberras will cook the soup and dance (his)tory in-between.

Performer Carl Sciberras said, “Myself, Imanuel and Bhenji all hail from families with diverse Asian and European backgrounds. Our ancestry, our experiences and our communities directly impact our decisions, our views and our approaches to making. Although we are very different artists working in different ways, these solos are all personal expressions. This program is an important and exciting venture for us and we're excited to share it with audiences.”

www.riversideparramatta.com.au

FORM DANCE PROJECTS is a dynamic hub for Australian contemporary dance, based in Parramatta, Western Sydney. Since 2011, FORM has grown into one of Australia’s leading dance presenters. FORM’s program spans five key areas - presentation, producing, education, community engagement and audience development. Its aim is to support Australian choreographers in all stages of their career; develop artists' national profiles; provide valuable professional development opportunities; engage with the local community, including young people and cultural performers from Western Sydney, in meaningful ways; and connect with audiences.

Imanuel Dado
Imanuel is a Perth based artist, growing up in Darwin N.T. Imanuel has trained in various martial arts and achieved various sports and athletics achievements. Starting his dance training with B-boying performing with TRACKS Dance Company he then furthered his studies graduating from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in 2011 and has been working with companies of various art forms and independent choreographers around Australia and Europe. His choreographic interests lies with physical theatre and cross art form fusion, he has been honing his own movement style incorporating his diverse training into his contemporary practice.

Bhenji Ra
Bhenji Ra is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice combines performance and video. Bhenji recently won the Keir Choreographic Award 2018. Her work is often concerned with the dissection of cultural theory and identity, centralising her own personal histories as a tool to reframe performance. With an emphasis on occupation and at times collective action, her work plays with the multiplicities of spectacle while offering moments of becoming and alternative modules of community to be considered. She belongs to the collective Club Ate, alongside artist Justin Shoulder. Together they have shown their work at the 8th Asia Pacific Triennale, ICA London and most recently ACMI, Melbourne.

Carl Sciberras
Carl Sciberras is a dance artist and producer from Western Sydney. In 2016, Carl was awarded the City of Parramatta’s Creative Fellowship, and in 2017 is the recipient of a Strut SEED Residency, a participant in the Australia Council’s Future Leaders Program and presented his work internationally for the first time at the Malta International Arts Festival. Carl is the Founder/Director of two arts collectives: flatline, a visual art and dance collaboration that creates performance, installation and art works that have been presented across Australia and Asia, and Dance Makers Collective, a group of nine choreographers and dancers from Sydney who collaborate to create shows with “imagination, thoughtfulness, individuality, performing ability and commitment.” Jill Sykes – Sydney Morning Herald