28/10/09 ‘Spin’ delivers a brilliant final turn for WAAPA dancers

Spin, the finale of the 2009 dance season at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, boasts contemporary pieces by two of ’s most in-demand choreographers, Lucy Guerin and Natalie Weir, and a new work choreographed on the dance students by WAAPA graduate Melanie Lane, who returns to Perth for the season from her current base in Germany. Completing the program will be a Christmas treat for lovers of classical dance: scenes from one of the world’s best-loved ballets, Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker.

Showcasing the talents of WAAPA’s 2nd and 3rd Year dance students, Spin will be performed in The Geoff Gibbs Theatre from Saturday 14 until Friday 20 November.

The eclectic program for Spin gets underway with Melbourne-based choreographer Lucy Guerin remounting her work Zero, in collaboration with dancer and composer, Luke Smiles.

Guerin has garnered a swag of awards for her contribution to dance, including a Helpmann Award for Best Dance Work and the 2000 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award for Achievement by an Individual.

A seven-year stint in New York in the 1990s – where she worked with Tere O’Connor Dance, Sara Rudner, and the Bebe Miller Company – saw Guerin awarded a Bessie (New York Dance and Performance Award) for her choreography of Two Lies, which was later taken into the repertoire of Mikhail Bayshnikov’s White Oak Dance Project. Since then, Guerin has been commissioned by companies in Australia, Denmark, UK, Germany, Japan, and USA among others. In 2002 she formed her company Lucy Guerin Inc, and her works have toured throughout the world.

Luke Smiles has performed as a dancer throughout Australia and overseas. He has also developed a devoted following in the dance world for his collaborative work with choreographers as a composer of music for dance. Smiles has composed and produced soundtracks for the Nederlands Dans Theatre, Rambert Dance Company and Australian dance companies including Australian Dance Theatre, Chunky Move, , Tasdance, Dancenorth, and others.

Together, Guerin and Smiles will take Zero, commissioned in 1999 by Chunky Move, and rework it on WAAPA’s dance students.

The Spin season will also feature Natalie Weir’s Proofsheet, remounted by WAAPA Lecturer in Contemporary Dance, Justin Rutzou.

Weir, Artistic Director of ’s Expressions Dance Company, is an internationally renowned choreographer who has been choreographing professionally for more than 20 years. In that time, she has created over 150 works.

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Weir has worked extensively throughout Australia, creating works for major Australian dance companies including , the Dancers Company, Australian Dance Theatre, Dance North, , Tasdance and West Australian Ballet. Weir has also created works for international companies such as , , , , Tanzcompagnie Giessen in Germany and at the Royal Ballet School in London.

The final contemporary piece on the Spin program will be a new work by WAAPA graduate Melanie Lane, who has been working in Germany for a number of years and returns to Perth especially for the Spin season.

These three contemporary pieces will be juxtaposed with Act II of Tchaikovsky’s beloved The Nutcracker, re-choreographed by WAAPA’s Coordinator of Classical Dance, Kim McCarthy. One of the most popular ballets, The Nutcracker is a favourite Christmas-time performance.

With its mix of both contemporary and classical pieces, Spin promises something for all lovers of dance and will deliver a brilliant final turn for 2009 for WAAPA’s talented young dancers.

Performance Information: Spin Saturday 14 - Friday 20 November at 7.30pm. The Geoff Gibbs Theatre, WAAPA, Edith Cowan University, 2 Bradford St, Mt Lawley. Tickets are $22 full/$17 concession. Bookings through WAAPA Box Office on 9370 6636.

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For complimentary tickets to this production or for further information, interviews or photo opportunities, please contact: Anton Maz Marketing Manager, Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts Phone: (08) 9370 6817 Mob: 0404 699 772 Email: [email protected]