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29 April, 2023
To celebrate International Dance Day we spoke to some of our company dancers who have trained around the world to give us insight into what they loved about their experience.
Emily Flannery
The Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, Israel, 2018.
"My favourite thing about dancing overseas was doing something I loved, which is known in my body, somewhere totally new and foreign.
I loved being immersed in another way of life and learning another movement language."
Rikki Mason
L’Ecole-Atelier Rudra-Bejart, Switzerland, 2009.
"The day-to-day was very intense as they have a very different style of training in Switzerland. The structure and discipline were something I could really connect to.
Coming from a martial art background it felt very familiar and I came to thrive in that environment."
Lucy May
The University for Music and Performing Arts in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 2018 – 2021.
"I learnt a lot. I was overseas for almost five years, and I came back to Australia a completely different dancer - both physically and mentally.
I think there were two main things that impacted me the most: the teachers coming from different countries and different [dance] career backgrounds, and the exposure to the German modern dance/improvisation scene.
Somehow this combination of influences completely shifted how I view and understand dance.
Now I don’t just see dance as constant physical movement. I learned to appreciate stillnesses and silences, as well as being open to whatever weird and random stuff happens in between. It doesn’t have to be beautiful all the time - or even at all."
See Emily, Rikki and Lucy on stage in Yuldea.
Photography by Daniel Boud.