On The Table is a weekly event for artistic exchange and collaboration run by Caitlin Dear and Rebecca Jensen. Dancers of any training background, as well as people curious about movement though new to dance, are welcome.

Each week’s session is hosted by a different artist or collective who are invited to put something ‘on the table’ for everyone to examine together. The program features artists working with different styles of dance, approaches to choreography, methods of bodily practice and relationships to movement. On The Table particularly aims to highlight artists who work with dance in combination with other fields (for example gaming, science, therapy and visual art). Anyone from these intersecting fields are encouraged to come along!

Monday 2 May, 6.30pm — Gemma Sattler & Molly McKenzie

Molly and Gemma will present an in-process showing of a performance, SQUIRT. A durational installation, formed by a confused and nostalgic collage of bodies and objects. Join us to witness and participate in this experimental work that invites people to surrender themselves to playful collaboration.

Expect to move, play, witness, reflect and discuss. Warning: tomato sauce is involved!

Monday 9 May, 6.30pm — Environmental Performance Authority (EPA)

A session exploring how we humans are interconnected with our environment. EPA will guide us on a sensory, ecological and ‘weathery’ exploration of Carlton. Moving outside, we’ll experience a taste of EPA’s methods and processes – how they engage with place and gather data to make performances.

On our return to Dancehouse there will be the opportunity to express our experiences in any art form – dance, movement, drawing, writing, spoken text, sound… and to share this with each other through discussion. Your participation, thoughts and insights will help EPA reflect upon their methods as the group re-engage with their collective practice after the last couple of years of less activity.

Monday 16 May, 6.30pm — TBC

Details to come soon.

Monday 23 May, 6.30pm — Gabriella Jozefina Imrichova

Join Gabriella to help them test out material for an upcoming work entitled “methods for collapse” (M4C). A project entailing embodied investigations into the act of a “stumble”. Exploring failing devices for live performance which attempt to parallel a queer desire of becoming unlocatable and illegible, through the collapse of all reference and reconcilability.

Over the session, we will experiment, converse and offer feedback regarding the processes under development for M4C. Everyone will be given a personalised, non-dance-y score to interpret. We will then push these scores through cycles of destructive processing techniques. Decaying the work until utterly disrupted.

About On The Table:

Sessions range from workshops and in-progress performance showings to open artistic explorations. Artists might share choreographic material, a practice, an idea, a framework, a question, a score, a reading or any manner of provocation. Everyone is invited to take part in the tasks at hand. Participation can be as little or as much as desired and you are free to come and just watch.

On The Table is free to attend and everyone is welcome whether you’re a professional dancer or you’ve never danced before. Please wear comfortable clothing that you can move in and bring a water bottle.

For any questions or to submit an idea, please contact [email protected]

Instagram: @on.the.table.melb

Read more >>