Preview: Flesh and Bone on Stonnington Review
FLESH AND BONE
Where: fortyfive downstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, city
When: March 7–24
Tickets: From $20
Details: call 9662 9966 or visit fortyfivedownstairs.com
See article in original context here. Written by Leeyong Soo.
The question of what attracts one person to another has been around forever, and the answers are many and complex. The subject provides a rich source of inspiration for dance theatre company KAGE’s latest work, Flesh and Bone. The dance, a wordless study of relationships and couples, explores traditional gender roles in modern society.
It brings KAGE’s founders, Gerard Van Dyck and Kate Denborough (pictured), together on stage for the first time in eight years. The pair met while studying dance at the Victorian College of the Arts in 1992 and they formed KAGE in 1997.
They appeared together in earlier works but until recently Denborough has focused on directing. She says their desire to return to the stage together inspired Flesh and Bone.
‘‘We felt that the timing was right to re-unite as performers and remind ourselves why we started KAGE all those years ago,’’ says Denborough.
‘‘We wanted to make a work which would relate to a journey between two people. We have always been interested in gender equality and in all of our work have sought to find a balance of physical strength between the sexes.’’
Although much of Flesh and Bone is based on their own experiences and thoughts, Denborough and Van Dyck sought input from a group of young people, led by feminist writer Clementine Ford, in what they describe as a ‘‘reverse mentorship’’.
‘‘It has been a fantastic experience for us to get feedback from a group of highly intelligent and articulate young people,’’ says Denborough.
‘‘It has been reassuring for Gerard and I to invite this group into our rehearsal process and for them to generously critique and advise us about scenes and images in the work which they relate to – or not!’’
Flesh and Bone is presented as part of L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival. Denborough and Van Dyck collaborated with Melbourne fashion designer Lisa Gorman, who is also an ambassador for the dance company.
‘‘We specifically wanted the costumes for the work to have a fashion/urban style,’’ Denborough says.
Audience members who want to know more about Ford’s reverse mentorship can join a Q&A session after the performance on March 14.
Flesh and Bone is also part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival and is collaborating with restaurant Cumulus Inc for a gala dinner on March 9.