five by five » dance

Dancers in a 3 way mistletoe dress

mic — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 01:29:57 +0000

Now here is a remarkable performance, for both dance and costume.

You’ve got Zoe and Bronwen and Priscilla dancing in Rebecca Mayo‘s mistletoe dress.

Looks like Some Kind of Art to me.

I work with Zoe. She is an amazing person to have around the office. Really brightens your day.

via Precarity on Vimeo.

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The magical funkiness of Jamie Lidell in Brunswick town

mic — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 08:31:19 +0000

So Amarina and i went to see Jamie Lidell at the East Brunswick club. i’m still reeling with the pleasure of the experience. He is funny, fabulous and so funky! Did we dance? Oh Yes. Everybody danced.

A good, well-balanced set of old and new. i’m so glad he played one or two of the solo numbers – the ones where he builds up the entire song using his voice and some kind of loop pedal / electro board thingie. The one i recall is “The City”.

The rest of the set, he plays with a fantastic drummer and this astonishingly energetic keyboard guy, who went topless and sweaty at the first opportunity (it was a hot evening). In contrast Jamie kept the black and silver vinyl jacket on all night, occasionally flashing us the neon heart blinking away from the inner lining.

————

Here are some videos showing his enchanting and soulful vocal beats. Not as good as live, but hey.

The official vid of Multiply

“What’s the Use?” (also not live)

Ooh, but seriously, look at this video for “A Little bit of Feel Good (goes a long way)” ..with the Unicorn !! Funny but also kind of spooky and wrong. Actually disturbing. What is he on..!?

And with Gonzales, playing Multiply live

(unknown venue? Thanks unknown uploader. Ugh, the audio and video are horribly out of synch. Is that Feist on backup vocals??? Yes. Oh wow, i wish i was there.)

Gonzales – Multiply ft. Jamie Lidell by taodan

Ooh and take a look at a different song from that Gonzales concert with Feist and Mocky. Really interesting collaboration.

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Neon Toast for dinner and a dance

mic — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:05:44 +0000

Neon Toast opens in darkness.. but i won’t tell you why. Let’s just say the lighting arrives unexpectedly.

There are plenty of surprises in this delightful piece from Brunswick trio Eleanor Riley, Kerrily Aitchison and Rachael Dyson-McGregor.

A series of diverse dance pieces touching on life in a bakery, urban dating, the thrill of the chase. Such a beautiful sense of nostalgia in some of the scenes. Although there’s no time setting, it feels like the past, with jazz from the twenties and a bath before dinner. Gorgeous humour in the words and movement. Sifting flour through socks as all three women move so gracefully.

i really enjoyed this show.

Anytime Place has a strong record for astounding performance..
and Neon Toast builds on that tradition.

Links:

Melbourne fringe festival show page.
Don’t just take my word for it: Also reviewed over at Simple Things, and the Arts Hub.

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Theatre twice in one day

mic — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 00:15:06 +0000

Some days are just brilliant. The Melbourne theatre scene is alive and well.

i was lucky enough to have a sneak preview of Roundangle‘s latest – “in the dark” – which promises to be very enjoyable and innovative. (Part of the Art of Difference festival.)

It was an early dress rehearsal, so Jodie would say things like, “You have to imagine a long screen here. You can’t see those people.” .. and “Okay now it’s a complete blackout, so close your eyes please.”

Later that night Zeena and i headed to the recently rescued La Mama in Carlton for a fabulous evening with Moira and Yumi’s “Salon de Dance“.

Gritty, sexy, horrific in places .. as you’d expect from those hellish dancers; and romantic in an old-school kind of way.

This show opened with a priest stripping down to his red-crucifixed knickers. Hilarious! and raunchy.

Yumi wrestling with her jacket, a couple of young Town Bikes apprentices dancing out an actual wrestling match, Moira slow-dancing with a cigarette on Highway 66. All fun.

The centre-piece was Moira and Yumi playing out a Gothic feast, beginning with the tall one eerily peering through the window .. and ending with an outrageous red wine splash-o-rama.

Gorgeous.

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from deceased estate, to dance-a-thon 6000

mic — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:12:14 +0000

What a great fringe festival! i’ve only been to three or four events but i’m sure i chose the best ones:

Deceased Estate by Roundangle
Don’t Cut my Fringe Straight at 3RRR
the fully enjoyable dance-athon 6000 from the Town Bikes and known associates ..

oh the Town Bikes .. how ever did the world manage without them, way back in the 20th century?? That’s right, we had the Butt Funky troupe of mischief-makers. Along with their buddies .. the magical dj marieke, the hot slush puppies and more, they roused the crowd into a wet and wild state of krumpy frenzy. Yum.

( What’s this video .. a Town Bikes showreel? They are fun. i love them. )

Deceased Estate was insanely wonderful. Many old stories from the history of an East Brunswick house. Blindfolded sessions, of course, down the side of the house. Shadow theatre, hot milo and monsters in the backyard, a neighbourly dinner party in the front yard with the original family back in 1946.

Harry pours scotch for the gents and tells us he’s delighted that Chifley’s at the helm. The 1940′s couple freeze, as we flash forward to a teenager climbing out the window and listening to Joy Division on her walkman.

.. the live event at 3RRR was a thoroughly weird adventure. Pikelet and Qua were on the bill, so i’d thought it would be fun. Bum Creek started off the action with their bizarre journey into sound .. and the night looked promising. One guy had invented an instrument made out of old coils and springs .. he was hilarious and i wish i’d gotten a photograph.

Ah Melbourne – joy and delight and wonderful weirdness at every turn!

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Big Breakfast, Buffy and Exquisite Lamb Kofta. Joy!

mic — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 23:08:14 +0000

So in the great tradition of “cheese sandwich” blogging .. here i am in a cafe in the city. I’ve just had the biggest and best big breakfast in the whole wide world, and i’m luxuriating in the free wireless net connection of blue point cafe, opposite the watch-house in Russell Street.

Yes, i’ve got the day off work, Tim doesn’t start his sergeant role for another couple of hours, and this is my first access to internet for non-work reasons in months.

Off we go to wander through the city and search the computer shops for gadgets. End up in a liquidator shop on Swanston St called “Arthur Daley’s Lock-up”.

Gloves for three dollars Yah!

Later that day

Tim’s gone to rehearsal, so i head across to Minotaur, to get the latest copies of Buffy Season 8, in comic book form. I can’t wait. Apparently Buffy meets Fray, the vampire slayer from the 24th century.

Last i heard, Buffy and Giles aren’t talking to each other; the tricky “Twilight” crowd are dividing Buffy from Willow, and Dawn is still a giant.

Joy and beauty in food

How lucky am i! Jude and Jody invite me over for a sumptuous lamb kofta experience, followed by dripping-down-your-front apple and strawberry strudel. Yum.

So we watch the US Dance show, and we agree that Katee and Joshua are the best. This piece, choreographed by Mia Michaels, made me gasp.

Then Jude pulls out the Will Ferrel classic, “Anchorman”. Talk about cheese!

Time to go home and devour Margaret Cho, the best comedian in the world.

Life is wonderful.

Margaret Cho – Assassin! (part one)

image and photo credits: licensed under creative commons at flickr:
Thanks very much: cowtools

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Do the Motionless, Yah

admin — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 10:37:00 +0000

Do the Nut Bush. Do the Funky Gibbon. Do the Expressive Chicken. Yah!

Or .. Do the Motionless Standstill.
It’s the latest craze.
Mm-hm, the Stock-still (apparently).

Would you believe the Very Slow Robot?
The Freeze Frame? The Matrix Slow-Mo?

Sigh! Will i ever live this down? Standing still on a dancefloor !?
No way .. i wasn’t .. i didn’t .. those people, they’re being disingenuous!

Look i’m sorry you got called ‘paranoid’.
i know you’re just Normal within a Paranoid Society.
Can’t we just be mates? Maaaaate?

That’s it for me and dancefloors, we’re over!
I’m just going to sit still at a table with my beer and a my mates,
staring at the chicks on the chequered squares
.. like a Normal Aussie Bloke.

“You say, Everything’s All right. I Say, Nothing can go right Babe. Chequered Love.”
Yah. Right.

(images: thanks Carf and aardvaark)

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That Cairns Pub Story

admin — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 09:10:00 +0000

When i went dancing in that hotel in Cairns, i really didn’t think too much about the consequences. But i did think about how people might perceive me – a fortyish male caucasian on my own. So i tried to be discreet, non-threatening .. not stare at anyone.

i moved about on the dancefloor for four or five songs.

(Including Dexy’s Midnight Runners, and Billie Jean. Okay, i was desperate for nightlife. i was on my own in a strange city. i was feeling a bit lonely and uncomfortable. But trying to look cool and relaxed about it.)

Then i stood to the side of the dancefloor watching the action for maybe three songs. Again, trying to be unobtrusive.

Whoops! It didn’t work. Somehow i came across to some people as potentially threatening, and the bouncer asked me to leave, saying that several patrons had complained about the book i was carrying. When story hit the front page those patrons wanted their say too.

Now i find out it wasn’t just the book.

Different Perspectives
Some of the patrons from that night are now upset at being labelled paranoid. They say that they saw a man “behaving strangely”, and that they felt intimidated. These people saw

wires coming out of a man’s pocket (my mp3 player and headphones),
a waist pouch (with my sunglasses),
and a book with “the T word” on its cover (novel by Richard Flanagan).

They saw a man standing motionless on the dancefloor for twenty minutes ..
(that really baffles me. i’m sure i was dancing vigorously, and i meant to be friendly, but in my own space – intending fully to respect other people, not intrude on anyone else’s fun.

(Anyone who’s seen me on a dancefloor would be puzzled by that one. The reason i hit the dancefloor was because it was active. Usually i’m the one who gets up first, and starts other people going.)

Other people were also asked to leave
At the moment that the bouncer (#181) came up and moved me to the pavement, i was wondering whether to leave or to have another dance ..

.. because i’d just seen an Indigenous woman escorted out the door. She’d been dancing too. A very funky dancer, she was striking in appearance. Recalling the moment, I realise now that i did stare pointedly around me at that moment. i was stunned. This woman had also been dancing on her own, very well. She was well dressed and good looking. She looked to me like a good and interesting person.

i somehow leapt to the conclusion that she was asked to leave because she was “too black”. If that were true, then this was not the kind of hotel i wanted to dance in.

At that moment i stared around me in shock, trying to fathom why this had happened. i was outraged at the possibility that my conclusion could be right. i did stare at people then, wondering why everyone had let this black woman be kicked out for no reason.

Perhaps other people saw this “staring” behaviour as strange and confronting. Perhaps this cemented the suspicions that had been growing in their mind.

A man who looks different,
who has wires coming out his pocket,
who has a pouch around his waist and
a book with the T word on the cover,
as well as long frizzy black hair,
who stares, indignantly.

Clear signals, to someone on the lookout. Someone who feels threatened by the world of difference. Someone who perhaps doesn’t notice an Indigenous woman being kicked out of the pub.

Atmosphere of fear
i’ve got to say that i think labelling people paranoid could be a mistake. i always thought Keating’s biggest mistake was to abuse his opponents, rather than lead them to a better place. People do get afraid, and their minds can leap to unfair conclusions. Abusing or making fun of people who feel threatened, or are in the grip of fear, is perhaps not the best approach.

This culture we live in has been brought to the point of hysterical frenzy, and individuals are not immune from these emotional currents. Most people don’t have much protection against the pressure-cooker emotions of the mass media, or from politicians who seek to embed their power by preying on those fears. i too have looked at strangers in bars and found myself wondering.

We urgently need leaders who can empathise and allay people’s fears, while at the same time evolving our understanding and our behaviour, sensibly and responsibly.

Personally i feel vulnerable and disturbed. Now i know how easy it is for people to get the wrong idea.

Just what the book is all about.

(image: thanks for “is that an iPod in your pocket by thespacesuitcatalyst at flickr)

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spoonbill gets the crowd dancing

admin — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 09:49:43 +0000

Sat 24 Mar – Spoonbill, miso

i’ve never seen the Spoonbill before so i wasn’t ready for the mix of visuals (2 vj’s), funny theatricals, and broad australian samples from TV, movies and radio. But i loved it ..

Opening with two unfolding puppet spoonbill dancers, the deep throbbing tones of ‘Low and Easy’ grabbed our attention straight from the start.

The dancing was energetic and hilarious, and the Social Club has very good bass on their speakers, the low kind that send chunky vibrations through your legs.

Their last song was hard and thumping, like chemical brothers meets wolfmother, as the solo guitarist went well over the top to meet the crazy laptop beats.

Spoonbill has a song called “half a lamington”.
How much fun is this guy!!

and miso is just too gorgeous for words. The singer has a funky and balanced phrasing that is very trip hop; and the cello + double bass combo work well over the top of laptop-rhythm guy.

i’d go back for more of either of these two bands

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Cool Yuppies in a Canadian Mansion

mic — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 02:39:00 +0000

Found this post from a couple of extremely cool and friendless bloggers also in Halifax / Melbourne;

Link: Cool With No Friends: we’re yuppies now

i love the pictures of Paul and Fiona’s new house, and hey Sasha looks so happy

By the way i am grumpy now. This time, not because Paul is a slack blogger, no it’s great to have new stories about Apple Picking Adventures, from not quite freezing Halifax. Thanks Paul you are a champion blogger.

i am grumpy because i’m working too hard, and still packing my lungs with suffocating poisons.

Worked two days up in Marysville (which was incredibly beautiful), on a conference, taking photos and recording audio from the sessions. The trouble was i underquoted by about half what i should charge them. You know, thinking, “Oh, they’re community sector etc.” Came back incredibly friggin exhausted. Next time i’ll know.

But the dancing was good. Friday’s session opened with an invitation to delegates, asking if they wished to veto any of the Thursday evening photos. Of course they did. Even i wanted to veto the photos where i’m dancing with a tiara on. But no, in the public interest i left these images in the mix.

Friday night wandered down to Open Studio where Eloise was hosting a farewell for Jodey, celebrated Fringe Director (Source/Sauce received multiple awards). Just one bloody cigarette, plus major fatigue, and i woke up today feeling like hell on wheels. No, actually, hell without any wheels. Ugh, drug addiction sucks.

Grumpy and Out,
xo michael

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