WAAPA dancers rise to the challenge

“You, me, us, together…” Human connectivity, dramatically reshaped by the challenges of 2020, lies at the heart of LINK Dance Company’s mid-year show, In the Flesh.

In the Flesh showcases two brand new works from choreographers James Berlyn and Bernadette Lewis. Berlyn’s piece, Adaptitude, features an original score by award-winning composer Tristen Parr.

We are thrilled to have such highly-respected artists as James and Tristen collaborating on a new work for the LINK dancers, says Michael Whaites, Artistic Director of LINK, WAAPA’s graduate dance company.

And it’s a joy to have Bernadette working with us again – as a LINK graduate herself, she has a strong connection with the company.

Berlyn, currently Artistic Director of WA Youth Theatre Company, has enjoyed 30 years working in dance, dance-theatre, theatre and community art across the country and internationally as a creator, performer, director and curator.

Adaptitude, which he devised and directed, will be performed to original music by Parr, a classically trained acoustic/electric cellist and WAAPA alumnus renowned for his innovative sound design for theatre and dance.

Berlyn describes his new work as a response to challenging times and an exploration of what is needed to navigate them successfully.

Adaptitude is a testament to the creative and tenacious resilience of the LINK dancers, says Berlyn. LINK company members all know what it means to succeed in the face of significant challenge. That’s how they got this far.

Bernadette Lewis says that returning to LINK after graduating a decade ago has made the process “an unexpected – but surprisingly welcomed – personal retrospective”.

“My time with the dancers has reaffirmed how crucial LINK was in my trajectory and how many roots I’ve grown from the seeds planted that year,” she explains.

She describes her choreography for In the Flesh as being “a collage of influences from vintage cartoons and Greek mythology that attempts to make sense of the nonsense created when these worlds collide”.

Don’t miss this stunning double bill of freshly minted contemporary dance showcasing WAAPA’s graduate dance company at their very best.

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PERFORMANCE INFORMATION: IN THE FLESH

GEOFF GIBBS THEATRE, ECU, 2 Bradford St, Mount Lawley
Tickets $30 Full / $25 Concession / $23 Friends
Fri 4, Sat 5, Mon 7 June at 7.30pm
Matinee Sat 5 June, 2.00pm
Choreography by: James Berlyn and Bernadette Lewis
Music by: Tristen Parr
Performed by: LINK Dance Company
BOOK NOW: Tel: (08) 6304 6895 or online at: waapa.ecu.edu.au/boxoffice