Designing For Dance The Australian Performing Arts Collection’s immersive journey into the creative world of Akira Isogawa
The Australian Performing Arts Collection is offering an immersive journey into the creative world of Akira Isogawa with Designing For Dance at the Collections Store – a collaboration with the PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival on 29 February 2024.
A limited number of tickets are available for this unique guided tour exploring costumes created by Isogawa from 1998 – 2005 in collaboration with choreographer Graeme Murphy for the Sydney Dance Company.
Isogawa first worked with Graeme Murphy in 1998, designing costumes for Sydney Dance Company’s Salome.
Akira Isogawa:
When I received a phone call from Graeme. It was a complete surprise. I always loved seeing his work and my first experience watching his work was Shining at the Opera House in 1986, the year I arrived in Australia. He asked me to design a costume for Salome which opened in 1998.
Their creative partnership developed with Air and Other Invisible Forces (1999), Ellipse(2002) and Grand (2005) and continued with Romeo and Juliet (2011) for The Australian Ballet.
I love every single garment I designed for SDC. It is hard to choose a favourite. It has always been such a challenge to create costumes that require endurance under such physical pressures.
Akira Isogawa:
I learned the way to collaborate creatively. The set, lighting designs and music. It worked hand in hand.
The Australian Performing Arts Collection acquired an extensive selection of costumes designed by Isogawa as part of the Sydney Dance Company Collection and visitors will view extraordinary costumes, learn more about the challenges of designing for dance and discover how Isogawa adapted his creative process for the stage.
Curator Margot Anderson:
There is a real synergy between dance and fashion as they are both creative artforms in their own right. The collaboration between Akira Isogawa and Graeme Murphy produced a series of ground-breaking works for Sydney Dance Company.
Isogawa’s aesthetic brought a new energy to Murphy’s choreography and these costumes reflect his innovative way of responding to abstract themes and the physical demands of contemporary dance.
The minimalist nature of Isogawa’s designs were a perfect fit for Murphy’s work. Decades later, Sydney Dance Company continues to work with fashion designers such as Bianca Spender and Romance Was Born.
The tours will be led by Curator, Margot Anderson and Conservator, Bronwyn Cosgrove with visitors offered access into the inner realm of the Australian Performing Arts Collections Store located within Hamer Hall.
Season Details
Venue: Hamer Hall
Date: 29 Feb 2024
For more information click Here
