A Major Moment in Australian Contemporary Dance
Australian Dance Theatre
In a significant first for Australian Dance Theatre (ADT), two of Australia’s leading First Nations choreographers have combined to present a three-part work that will open the company’s 2022 season.
Outside Within features the debut work, The Third, from ADT’s new Artistic Director Daniel Riley who joined the company in January.
Riley, a Wiradjuri man from western New South Wales, is celebrating the moment through a collaboration with ADT’s 2021 Associate Artist, and Barkindji artist, Adrianne Semmens to present a triptych of stories and legacies celebrating the importance of First People’s connection to Country.
The Third’s starting point is Riley’s 2021 RISING: Melbourne commissioned short film mulunma-Inside Within which explores the relationship between the Western and First Nations archives, each built on differing ideologies.
Riley’s The Third extends on these concepts by looking at the body as an archive and how we hold memories personally and collectively, and the impact of removal and destruction of these archives.
Semmens’s Immerse, dives into the lineage of our waterways and ancestral connection to fresh and saltwater and speaks to the duality that springs from her ancestry as a Barkindji woman who now calls the saltwater of Kaurna Country home.
“I’m deeply honoured to be able to share this, my first program as Artistic Director with another First Nations artist in Adrianne.
“Working alongside and getting to showcase brilliant First Nations and non-First Nations creatives across this program is incredibly fulfilling and exciting and sets an intention in the way we will continue to make work at ADT
“Outside Within speaks to all audiences from an honest and genuine place, one that can interrogate and share the legacy of our First People’s and our inherent connection to this land.”
In another significant milestone, ADT will take Outside Within on the road for the company’s largest South Australian tour in more than three decades.
“For much of our nearly 60 year history, Australian Dance Theatre has been a company that travelled the world. Now, in 2022 and beyond, we are refocusing on putting local audiences first,” said Mr. Nick Hays, Executive Director, ADT.
“That means we can look forward to world premieres in Adelaide, a number of seasons each year at home, yearly regional activity around South Australia and performances around the nation.
“It’s a genuine and meaningful commitment to our loyal audiences and we are very excited.”
Premiering in Adelaide on 10 May for a four-day season, Outside Within will then embark on a three-week statewide performance schedule (16 May- 4 June) beginning in Port Pirie and encompassing Renmark, Whyalla, Mt.Gambier, the Barossa and the Adelaide outer suburbs of Golden Grove and Noarlunga.
Tickets are on sale now for all venues at https://adt.org.au/works/outside-within/
Outside Within is generously supported by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet through Arts SA, Country Arts SA, Enoki and UKARIA Cultural Centre.
Australian Dance Theatre acknowledges the generosity of the company’s Regional Engagement fund supporters, led by Donna and John Karytinos, and Diané Ranck.
