The 7th Festival of Contemporary Dance by the Venice Biennale will for the first time put Australian dance in the spotlight with a showcase opening week featuring four of Australia’s finest dance companies.

Sydney Dance Company, Chunky Move, solo artist Ros Warby and the international collaboration, Splintergroup, will perform in Venice from June 3–6, marking the European debuts of their current works.

The Festival this year, titled Capturing Emotions, is directed by Brazilian-choreographer Ismael Ivo and will focus on two main geographic areas – Australia and New Zealand, and  Canada, together with other new projects from Italy and elsewhere.

‘This in-depth survey of Australian dance recognises recent interesting developments and achievements in Australian contemporary dance,’ says Sandra Bender, Executive Director of Arts Development at Australia Council for the Arts. ‘The breadth of performance from the exceptional solo artist Ros Warby to the hyper-technology of Glow by Chunky Move, and the new direction of the Sydney Dance Company, will undoubtedly capture Venetian audiences.’

‘Most of these companies are on tour overseas when they touch down in Venice. Given the degree of turbulence within the international marketplace, this demonstrates again the international commitment to their work. This market is vital for these companies to keep their artists employed and, through these international networks, generate interest and resources for the development of their next work.’

One of Australia’s most successful and well-known contemporary dance companies, Sydney Dance Company under Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela, will present the European premiere of their acclaimed works We Unfold, 6 Breaths and Are We That We Are.

The Melbourne-based dance company Chunky Move will premiere its groundbreaking work Glow to Italian audiences. Under Artistic Director Gideon Obarzanek, Chunky Move has had a long fascination with technology and the motion of cause and effect. Glow utilises the latest in interactive video technologies with a digital landscape generated in real time in response to the dancer’s movement.

One of Australia’s leading solo dancer/choreographers, Ros Warby from Melbourne, will present Monumental, a challenging, thought-provoking work that has just completed a tour of the US. The work deconstructs two icons of classical ballet, the Swan and the Soldier. Warby’ multidisciplinary work has already received much international acclaim.

The award winning dance company Splintergroup led by Gavin Webber and Grayson Millwood will present roadkill – a highly physical and unnerving piece about the desolation of the Australian outback that focuses on a couple stranded in the Australian outback. Splintergroup is based in both Australia and Germany and collaborates with different artists with each of its projects.

Media contact: Victoria McClelland-Fletcher Phone 61.2.9215 9008