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FORWARD

Welcome to the second of our post-graduate seasons at The Studio, featuring three of our Master of Fine Arts students. This program focuses on the performance work of Ko-Pei Lin who is completing her Masters with this final season, one of several which have provided a platform for Ko-Pei to explore diverse dance styles by a range of choreographers, primarily as a solo performer. Ko-Pei is an international student from Taiwan who was awarded the Vice-Chancellor's Dance Scholarship to return to QUT, where she also undertook her undergraduate degree in the late 90's.

In keeping with creative industries dance policy to engage with and provide additional opportunities for independent artists, as well as build our partnerships with professional organizations, Ko-Pei is performing works by four choreographers, both established and emerging. I would like to thank Leanne Ringelstein, Leah Shelton and Susan Wang for their generosity and contribution to Ko-Pei's development as a dancer. In particular, I would like to express my appreciation to Artistic Director Maggi Sietsma and dancer Lisa Wilson of Expressions Dance Company for taking the time out of an intense schedule to teach and rehearse Ko-Pei in Lisa's solo from Virtually Richard', on the eve of their European tour of the complete work.

Whilst Ko-Pei's concentration has been on performance, both Vanessa Mate and Russell Milledge have been exploring, in very different ways, the extension of dance into site specific, installation and digital environments. Although their background and areas of exploration are quite distinctive, both these artists have a strong connection with contemporary visual arts theories and practices. Vanessa's work in progress shows the beginnings of documenting creative processes and responses to rehearsal tasks of different performers in order to make a video dance work that allows the viewer to perceive dance and the body through multiple lenses. Russell Milledge, who began his career as a visual artist, is exploring the notion of transdisciplinary dance, in which live and digital elements interact in real time and space together with prerecorded elements. Both of these works are at an early stage oftheir development.

The post-graduate program in creative industries dance is committed to encouraging an investigative environment in which post-graduate students can work with each other and with other emerging artists and students to create, exchange feedback and critically reflect on their practices.

We are most appreciative to our production team for In the Event of Fire, comprising creative industries technical theatre students and the staff of the Cultural Precinct's Garden's Theatre. Special thanks go to Sarah Neville who generously offered her services as Production Coordinator, despite preparations for her own new media dance work Ada to be produced by the National Choreographic Centre in Canberra as the creative practice component of her Research Masters.

We invite you to join us for a drink following the performance, and we welcome feedback on the works you saw tonight. The performers and creators look forward to discussing their work with you.

Associate Professor Cheryl Stock

Head of Dance and Post-graduate Coordinator

PROGRAM

LEVITATING Levitating, combining elements of Eastern and Western dance vocabulary, focuses on the process of tension between body and memory in order to bridge the beauties of two cultures.

Choreography: Susan Wang Music: Xing Liu Performer: Ko-Pei Lin

BRIDGE SONG #1 Direction and realisation: Russell Milledge Choreography in collaboration with Rebecca You dell Sound: Jim Denley, Stevie Wishart Performer: Rebecca You dell

This work-in-progress showing represents the initial exploratory phase in the transposition of dance and environment into scenographic elements within dance theatre. The work has been constructed interpreting topographical and environmental experiences of the Story Bridge. Of interest is the aesthetic tension between the industrial structure of the bridge and the post­industrial concern for ecological quality within the same environment. This contrast is further layered with a metaphorical mapping drawing upon visual and literary metaphors associated with the bridge and the water that flows underneath it. The use of live projection provides a feedback loop that rhythmically carries us between past and present, destabilising and disrupting any benign feelings abouttime and space.

WHAT/F .....

Choreography: Leanne Ringelstein Music: Dead Can Dance Performer: Ko-Pei Lin

Photographs remind us of our past. Reflecting on life's experiences stimulate memories; some treasured forever and others best forgotten . The past remains vivid and feelings, physical and emotional, linger when yearning for lost love. How does one let go ... 'What if .... '

INTERVAL(15 minutes)

VIRTUALL YRICHARD3- excerpt

Choreography: Maggi Sietsma (remounted for Ko-Pei Lin by Maggi Sietsma and Lisa Wilson) Music:AbeiVals Performer: Ko-Pei Lin

This solo is taken from a scene in Virtually Richard' where Queen Elizabeth is waiting outside the Tower of London in the vain hope that she might be permitted to see her 2 sons who have been incarcerated by the Duke of York.

FIELD NOTES: ON THE INTELLIGENT BODY

Concept and video: Vanessa Mafe-Keane Choreographed in Collaboration with Bridget Fiske, Rosetta Cook and Steven Gration. Video Editorial Assistance: Kenneth Lyons.

This project is an investigation of the intelligent body. The short video segmen5 attempt to reflect on the way dance lets us see with different eyes, eyes that are connected to the experience of the moving body. Each segment focuses on a particular artist and aims to recognise and articulate an aspect of their unique experience and sensibility. Through creative interaction and interview, I hope to reveal what each particular body communicates and cannot hide. The compilation of all the investigations will provide insight into how I may comment on complex themes of perception and body awareness.

MURDERESS

Choreography: Leah Shelton Soundscape: OJ Alias Music: Depth Charge, Neotropic Performer: Ko-Pei Lin

Ko-Pei Lin

Ko-Pei Lin began studying dance in preschool and was in the dance division through primary and Tsoying High School in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. In 1999 she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Dance from Queensland University of Technology. Ko-Pei's performance experiences have involved working with both Australian and international choreographers including Natalie Weir, Cheryl Stock, Harold Collins, Leigh Warren, John Utans, Jaime Redfern, TiinaAii-Haapala, Leanne Ringelstein, Susan Street, Dianna Laska-Moore and Leon Koning. Ko-Pei has performed in dance festivals in Korea, Indonesia, and South Africa. In 2001 , Ko Pei was awarded the Taiwan Dance Scholarship by the Vice-Chancellor of QUT to return to Australia and undertake a Master of Fine Arts in performance. In 1999 and 2001, she also undertook performance secondments with Expressions Dance Company, dancing in their annual choreographic season Sketches. Ko-Pei teaches and performs for the World Dance School directed by Susan Wang. Ko-Pei has recently collaborated and performed in the then and now sections of the site specific works here/there/then/now at the Brisbane Powerhouse.

Vanessa Mafe

Vanessa was a member of The Queensland Ballet directed by Harold Collins before joining Le Ballet du Grand Theatre in Geneva in 1987. In 1991 , Vanessa became a freelance artist and was involved primarily with Vertical Danse Compagnie Noemi Lapzeson until 1996. During this time, Vanessa formed part of the collaborative performance group Co M-S-K. The group created four major projects, Blick/ (Entre)voir /Land(e)scape with Co L'AM from Switzerland. It was created as part of L'attitude 27.5 with the support of Arts Queensland and Brisbane Powerhouse. Vanessa continues her investigations of site-specific movement and collaborative performance, most recently participating in Cheryl Stock's pA Travesty of Justice and Corpus Callosum in Switzerland and the video Lines of Site. In 2001 , Co M-S-K participated in an exchange project Durchroject here/there/then/now at Brisbane Powerhouse.

Russell Milledge

Russell Milledge's practice is focused around interdisciplinary collaborations, dance and intercultural exchange. Russell has received numerous awards across the fields of performing arts, new media and visual arts; including the first Asialink interdisciplinary residency, a Silicon Studios Training Centre scholarship in 3D animation, Australian Network for Art & Technology scholarship in multimedia. He has also received funding from The Australia Council, the Lee Foundation, Art> Queensland, Cairns City Council , Townsville City Council and Mareeba Shire Council. Russell is principal design artist and co­artistic director with the contemporary art group 'Bonemap' that has toured visual, media and performing arts projects throughout Australia and parts of Asia since its inception in 1999. As a principal and collaborating artist Russell has contributed to many projects including presentations at: the Adelaide Fringe and Adelaide Festival, The Performance Space Sydney as well as site-specific and media based projects and partnerships. His visual art practice is represented in the collections of The Queensland Art Gallery and Cairns Regional Gallery amongst others. He is well known for his involvement with cultural industry infrastructure and policy development in Far North Queensland.

Leanne Ringelstein

Born in Queensland, Leanne completed her dance training at the Queensland University of Technology, gaining an Associate Diploma of Arts, Dance. Her professional career has included extensive work throughout South Australia with the Australian Dance Theatre, and Queensland for Expressions Dance Company and Dance North. Outside Australia, Leanne has toured widely to Wales, Singapore, Israel and the United Kingdom with Expressions Dance Company, and has undertaken a number of national and overseas tours with the Mazeppa Ukrainian Cossacks. In 2001 , Leanne received a Winston Churchill Fellowship Award to perform, teach and choreograph in the United States of America, working with ODC/SAN FRANCISCO and Janice Garrett & Dancers. While in the USA, Leanne was nominated for an Isadora Duncan Dance Award 2002 and qualified as a Pilates instructor. Leanne currently performs, teaches and choreographs for a number of schools and organisations in Brisbane. Her most recent work was the creation and performance of there for the site-specific work here/there/then/now directed by Cheryl Stock atthe Brisbane Powerhouse.

Leah Shelton

Leah Shelton has been working in the areas of performance, choreography and youth arts since graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (Dance) from Queensland University of Technology in 1998. As a member of Brisbane's Frank Theatre , she has trained long-term in the Suzuki Actor Training Method, performing with the company in Jacqui Carroll s productions of fxpo 2001, Macbeth, Rashomon, and Heavy Metal Hamlet, which toured to the Shizuoka International Spring Arts Festival, Japan in 2000. Leah has also worked in a freelance capacity as a performer, choreographer and youth artsworker with various independent artists and organisations, including Brink Visual Theatre, Backbone Youth Arts Inc, Ausdance Queensland, and Brisbane Youth Service, as well as high schools, dance and acting studios. In 2001 Leah presented her first solo work, Model Wears Death, at QPAC s Stage X, with the support of Arts Queensland and the YouthArts Mentoring Program, in which she was mentored by Lisa 0 Neill.

Maggi Sietsma AM

Maggi Sietsma, founder and Artistic Director of Expressions Dance Company, graduated from the Australian Ballet School , and toured extensively with the Australian Ballet before becoming a soloist with the London Festival Ballet. She subsequently founded the multi­media performing ensemble 'Muance' which toured the major cities of Europe. Returning to Australia in 1982, Maggi became resident choreographer of the North Queensland Ballet Company. From 1983 to 1985, Maggi was a lecturer in dance at the Brisbane College of Advanced Education (now QUT), where she was involved in developing the first Bachelor of Arts Dance course in Queensland. In 1992 she collaborated with the Queensland Education Department in the development of the Making Ideas Dance video, and in 1995 was awarded an MA in Dance fromQUT. Under Maggi's direction, Expressions has won several awards, including the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award. The company has toured extensively throughout Australia as well as the USA, Germany, Papua New Guinea, India, The U.K., Israel, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and China. Since 1985, she has created over thirty works for the C~;>mpany including Dark Heart, Dream Hunters, Difficult Pleasures, Adam in Wonderland, Attitude, Virtually Richard', Alone Together, and Vanities Crossing (nominated for best ensemble in Victoria's Green Room Awards). In 2000 Maggi undertook anAsialink residency to choreograph and teach for the Beijing Modern Dance Company and the Beijing Dance Academy in China. In 2002, she was appointed a member of the Order of Australia for services to dance and dance education.

Susan Wang

Susan trained at the Beijing Academy of Dance and the Central Institute of China, and then performed and choreographed for several leading dance companies in China. Before coming to Australia in 1988 Susan was Assistant Director of the Pearl River Film Company. Susan's studies continued in Australia, where after graduating from Murdoch University with a Bachelor of Arts (Drama) in 1993, she completed a Master of Fine Arts in Dance at QUT in 1998. In 1992 Susan was awarded a Professional Development Grant from the Western Australian Department for the Arts towards an exchange in Japan and in 1993 a Creative Development Grant from the Australia Council for a project entitled Modem Eastern Dance and Choreography. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade supported her production of Wind of Three Seasons, which was presented at the 1994 International Dance Festival in Beijing. In 1995 Susan established the Queensland World Dance Academy and has since presented Cloud Shadow (1998) at the Suncorp Theatre and Sky Waves (2000) in the Optus Playhouse.

Rebecca Youdell

Youdell is a contemporary choreographer and performer working via site-specific interdisciplinary collaborations involving multimedia, installation and performance. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and studying and performing worldwide, Youdell has danced in the USA, UK, Scandinavia, Asia and Europe attending the Royal Ballet School in London, and working for the Royal Swedish Ballet Company in Stockholm. Currently Youdell is co­artistic director of Bonemap, which works in cultural exchange and creative intermedia with various global organisations. Youdell has received numerous awards both in Australia and overseas. Rebecca holds a BFA (Dance)- cum laude high honours, Butler University (USA) 1992, and an MA (Visual/Performing Arts) Charles Sturt University (Aus) 1998.

PRODUCTION TEAM

Coordinator: Cheryl Stock Production Coordinator: Sarah Neville Senior Technician Garden's Theatre: Graham Menzies Lighting Designer: Rosemary Howell Stage Manager: Olivia Shearman Assistant Stage Manager: Julie Amos Sound and Production Assistant: Hsin-Yi Lin

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Dr Sue-Anne Wallace, Director of the Cultural Precinct Graham Menzies and Chris Dickey, Garden's Theatre George Meijer, Technical Theatre Studies, creative industries Keith Armstrong and Communication Design, creative industries lan Hutson, Visual Arls, creative industries Elizabeth Hewitt, creative industries advancement Ricky Olfacious, Expressions Dance Company Andrew Haden for lighting assistance Kate Ferris Rosa Hirakata

photo: lan Hutson performer: Ko-Pei Lin