A VIBRANT modern performance that tramples the corn around gender will kick off a three day celebration of dance at the State Theatre Centre later this month.
In the Closet was created by local choreographer and WAAPA alumna Natalie Allen, who wanted to explore what constitutes being masculine and feminine in the 21st century through the medium of dance.
“I understand them as energies and these constant ideas that change and are curated depending on our age, environment, social context and understanding of ourselves within our own unique life story,” Allen says.
“I am passionate about how rich the body is as a story teller so thought that it would be great research with the students to play, explore and further understand what these two ideas are as an individual and collective.
“I am curious about how we embody, see, hear and understand what is masculine and feminine.”
WAAPA dancers will be accompanied by live music from jazz, modern and classical students, as well as the Defying Gravity Percussion Ensemble, who use a mind-boggling array of instruments from around the globe.
“The resonance of any live instrument on stage with moving bodies is dynamic and I have tried to really harness this opportunity of having live musicians and dancers on stage experiencing the work together to share with the audience,” Allen says.
A seasoned dancer and choreographer, Allen graduated from WAAPA in 2008 and went on to work with a wide range of Australian dance companies including Sydney Dance Company and SDC Guest Artists.
In 2013 she received a Green Room Award for ‘Best Female Dancer’ in Sydney Dance Company’s 2 One Another, and in 2017 created the show Sublime… for the Perth Fringe World.
She says she is inspired by the German dancer and choreographer Pina Bausch, who made a big contribution to the neo-expressionist dance tradition now known as Tanztheater.
“The way she beautifully curated and choreographed dance(tanz) theatre work together in extravagant set designs, was unique in its sophistication to present the complexity and simplicity of the human condition,” she says. “The experience of her works deeply connect to you as an audience member through the purity and totality of the performers’ delivering the content of the work, their performance is extraordinary and inspiring.”
In the Closet is the opening performance of Verge, a celebratory gala of modern and classical dance with live music, performed by more than 90 WAAPA students.
The show includes a selection of iconic dance scenes from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, restaged by Kim McCarthy and accompanied by the WAAPA Symphony Orchestra under the baton of conductor Jessica Gethin.
Four performances of Verge will be held at the Heath Ledger Theatre in Northbridge from October 31 to November 2. For more info and tix see artsculturetrust.wa.gov.au or phone 6212 9292.
by STEPHEN POLLOCK
Perth Voice Interactive 
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