AUSTI. Dance and Physical Theatre's annual unveiling of fresh choreographic talent will return to the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre (IPAC) for a three-night run from October 17-19.
2024’s uNCOILEd eXposed will feature new pieces by Fiona Larkin, Elizabeth Arifien and Mara Glass. An outcomes-based residency project, uNCOILEd gives emerging choreographers the chance to work with AUSTI. dancers to bring new, experimental works to the stage, providing help with costumes, lighting, photography and videography.
Every year produces “absolutely beautiful” work, says AUSTI.'s founder and artistic director Michelle Maxwell. “I'm always in awe of how, as young artists, they step up to the challenge.”
Thanks to Mara Glass for taking the time to tell us about her work.
Please tell us a bit about yourself and why you became a dancer.
I am 27 years old and an Illawarra local for six years now. When I was about seven, my best friend at the time started taking a jazz class and I begged my parents to let me try it. My friend only attended the class for about six weeks before she quit and took up something else, but I stuck it out and have now been dancing for 20 years.
From jazz I moved into ballet because I loved the gracefulness of it. I did a lot of ballet growing up and really only got into contemporary dance during my undergrad at Queensland University of Technology.
Why move into choreography?
Around the same time that I started dance classes, I also started making up dance routines with my friend and performing them for our class at school. I never lost the joy of doing that; it just evolved over time.
During my undergrad, I did a unit that allowed us to choreograph and produce our own contemporary dance work. Originally, I had planned on creating a piece that would have been choreographically interesting, but devoid of emotion or personal connection. Instead I decided to create a work to help me process my emotions around my relationship with my sibling and their mental health battles. That helped me really find my voice and purpose.
I now make works that are largely personal to me or are focused on something I am very passionate about. I have now been choreographing and producing my own full-length contemporary dance shows in Wollongong since 2020.
What inspired your new work?
My new work with AUSTI. is another work designed to help me process my emotions; this time around the feelings of grief stemming from my grandmother being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. I wanted this work to serve as a monument to her life and memory, but also a mechanism for others to recognise and validate their grief.
Where do you hope this will take your career?
This residency with AUSTI. is a great opportunity for me to expand upon everything I've learned in my career so far, to be seen by a larger audience, to stage my work on a larger stage, and to work with a cast of incredibly talented and dedicated dancers. For me, the goal is to be able to keep doing what I love, and keep creating work that I am passionate about, and this residency has and will help me do that.
uNCOILEd eXposed is at IPAC's Bruce Gordon Theatre, 17-19 October, tickets $15-$35.
Read the Flame's October cover story and meet the choreographers in our Q&As with Mara Glass, Fiona Larkin and Elizabeth Arifien.
