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Articles on Contemporary dance

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EPA/VALENTIN FLAURAUD

How to watch dance

Have you ever wanted to go see some dance, but been unsure of where to start? These basics can open the door to enjoying the beauty and complexity of this physical art.
Ngathu, in Bangarra’s Ones Country, is a brilliant combination of the contemporary and traditional, telling the story of the ngathu, or cycad, in Arnhem Land. Photo by Daniel Boud

In Bangarra’s Ones Country, new voices show the many faces of Indigenous Australia

Bangarra’s current season of three new works, Ones Country, is uneven in parts but worth seeing for the diversity of Indigenous stories from some new choreographic voices.
7 Pleasures: to explore body politics with a troupe of muscular, lean, able bodied dancers, limits the kinds of questions one might ask. Marc Coudrais

7 Pleasures explores naked desire but fails to confront cliches

Mette Ingvartsen’s 7 Pleasures aims to upend clichés about nudity. But the ‘confrontational’ use of nudity in dance and performance art is itself now something of a cliche.
The Tribhangi Dance Company performs Circles and Squares at the South African Dance Umbrella in Johannesburg. EPA/John Hogg

African dance festival that’s been one step ahead through the decades

South Africa’s foremost contemporary dance festival is celebrating its 28th birthday in 2016. It has remained relevant, vital and – despite the format’s esoteric nature – hugely popular.
Lucy Guerin has grown to be a prominent mentor and consistently inspirational dance artist. Arts House/Lucy Guerin.

In Motion Picture, dancers drive a cinematic story onstage

Lucy Guerin is a consistent creative and experimental point of contact for many young dancers and choreographers – and her new work, Motion Picture explores the grey area between nostalgia and modernity.
Dancers find their ‘their sultry siren selves’ in Spanish Dance, choreographed by Trisha Brown in 1973. Melbourne Festival

A radical legacy: Trisha Brown’s postmodern dance

A retrospective of the work of American choreographer Trisha Brown (1936-) will be presented at the Melbourne Festival this month. In the performance Early Works, we will have a chance to revisit this…
It’s probably easier to say what contemporary dance is not. John Hogg/EPA

Explainer: what is contemporary dance?

Contemporary dance is a catch-all phrase used fairly indiscriminately, meaning many things to different dance communities across a wide range of cultures. In fact, it’s probably easier to say what contemporary…

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