U>N>I>T>E>D as Part of Asia TOPA
Chunky Move
Melbourne’s genre-defying dance company, Chunky Move, has announced the premiere of its highly anticipated and ambitious stage spectacle, U>N>I>T>E>D, debuting at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl from 27 February–2 March 2025 as part of Asia TOPA, Australia’s major triennial of Asia-Pacific performance.
This landmark work is a major international collaboration for Chunky Move, who have come together with the prodigal sons of Javanese experimental techno, Gabber Modus Operandi, Bali-based streetwear label Future Loundry and the world leaders in animatronic design, Creature Technology Co.
An exceptional line-up of six dancers will invite audiences onto the Bowl’s stage to experience Chunky Move co-CEO and Artistic Director Antony Hamilton and Gabber Modus Operandi’s conceptual interpretation of machine mysticism. Exploring the persistence of spirituality in the post-industrial digital age, the piece is set to pulsating Javanese trance-inspired techno beats.
Costume plays a powerful role in the work, with dancers donning upcycled, motocross-inspired exoskeleton outfits. Designed collaboratively by Creature Technology Co and Future Loundry, these costumes transform the dancers into post-human, tech-adorned mythological beings. U>N>I>T>E>D is the latest work in the canon of Hamilton’s series of ‘speculative future’ performances, following acclaimed innovative dance experiences Token Armies (2019) and Yung Lung (2022), which all incorporate a major sculptural collaboration.
On U>N>I>T>E>D and what brought him to this work creatively, Hamilton said, “I’m continually fascinated by humanity’s deeply interwoven relationship to the built environment. U>N>I>T>E>D reaches further into this territory, exploring the notion that tools and machines are not just utilitarian, but are also sacred art objects that represent our self-awareness, our creative intellect and our spiritual nature as a species. I am truly excited to share this work, along with the extraordinary collaborating artists and what they have brought to this spectacle of machine mysticism”.
Drawing from its artists’ individual artistic and cultural practices, U>N>I>T>E>D is an exhilarating melding of sophisticated movement, infectious music and science fiction-inspired design, that honours technologies both ancient and contemporary; inner and collective.
Returning from 20 February to 10 March 2025, Asia TOPA brings the best of Asia-Pacific arts, culture and ideas to Melbourne for a three-week-long celebration that spotlights Melbourne as a diverse and dynamic region.
U>N>I>T>E>D runs from 27 February –2 March 2025 at Sidney Myer Music Bowl.
