I first learnt to improvise as a dancer with Barbara and Margaret Cuckson at the Rozelle School of Visual Arts in Sydney. When I moved to Melbourne, I learnt drama improvisation at the William Bates Academy and then spent 5 years with Al Wunder’s Theatre of the Ordinary. Workshops with Ruth Zapporah added depth to the journey. http://www.actiontheater.com/
Explorations with dancer, Robyn Richardson, showed me how improvisation can help focus dance technique and be used as an essential part of dance choreography. Natalie Will showed me how it can be integrated within dance therapy. I also spent many years improvising with groups of autistic boys in an ongoing Drama group and with many other children through play as a way of encouraging social interaction.
I am currently part of the Playback Theatre troupe with Rebus Theatre in Canberra - an amazing Theatre company which creates theatre for social change. They have lots of great programs that they take around the country.
I continue to support Leap into Dance and Creativity Dance Studios in Melbourne who both use improvisation as an important part of their dance teaching.
Contact me if you would like to improvise on zoom or you would like to contribute your improvisations to our EnjoyAble Arts WhatsApp group.
Like many people I spent a lot of time on zoom calls between 2021 and 2022 and so I was curious about how I could turn this into a performing arts experience. The looking at the camera is partly that self-conscious feeling we get as we communicate to others but also see ourselves. I recorded myself improvising on the piano and then danced to music...there is a feeling of curiosity and intrigue - I hope that is communicated....
This is a lockdown special - created in 2021 when creating videos was a sociable thing to do because face-to-face socialising couldn't happen....there is nothing deep and meaningful - just a bit of fun!!
