A multidisciplinary design and production collaboration that fuses contemporary and traditional music, costume, technology and performance.
In February, Genre-defying Victorian dance company Chunky Move will launch its latest production – U>N>I>T>E>D. This work marks the second time that Chunky Move Artistic Director and Co-CEO, Antony Hamilton, has collaborated with Creature Technology Co (CTC) – the multi-award-winning, Port Melbourne-based animatronics and technology studio.
Under Antony’s inspirational direction, the result is a truly immersive experience that transcends dance and connects the audience with the possibility of extending the human body through technology and blurring the lines between flesh and machine. Boundary-pushing, U>N>I>T>E>D is the perfect demonstration of creative minds working together to achieve a thought-provoking, live performance that draws the audience in from observer to participant.
It was Antony’s artistic curiosity that led him down the pathway of exploring the body in relation to its environment and how we perceive ourselves. He has long been fascinated with the concept of ‘machine mysticism’ – a phenomenon that imagines a certain spirituality in the machine world and a life force in inanimate things. For Antony, live performance transmits bigger ideas, using a choreographic sensibility to frame the impact we have on the world. Theatrical contexts and experiences give the audience something to consider.
The seeds of inspiration behind U>N>I>T>E>D
Antony sees the world of technology as an extension of the natural world.
‘It is just so worked and crafted into forms and geometries that we don’t see it as natural. By mimicking what we experience in nature, we draw on natural conditions and optimise them to make them last forever. My personal interest is in the research piece, being across new cultural and art forms all over the world. I have particular interest in the Asia-Pacific region and the way it’s driving conversations, giving us new ideas to believe in,’ he said.
‘While 20th century ideologies persist in the contemporary world, I think it’s important to also keep a lens on new ideas that can be relevant to contemporary lives. I’m looking at who is doing what and where, and my attention is focused on younger generations – who are the custodians of our future,’ he added.
Antony’s research took him to Bali when he experienced the strong impact of the new art scene – a collision between colonial, traditional and expat influences coming together to create the Indonesian party culture that is now being exported around the world.
‘I’m interested in the intersection of time and narratives through popular culture and that drew me to the performances of Gabber Modus Operandi, and the influence of traditional Jathilan trance and contemporary club trance. There is a natural connection between them. Costume engagement is a big part of traditional dance in Indonesia, with costume being a means to transform a performer – not just an aesthetic layer – but as a common thread,’ he remarked.
Having worked with Creature Technology before, Antony knew that it would be the ideal creative partner to help him bring his technology-infused costumes and vision for U>N>I>T>E>D to the stage.
Bringing together 2 of Victoria’s strongest creative forces
Antony initiated a relationship with CTC in late 2017, championing a project he was working on independently before it became his premiere performance as Artistic Director with Chunky Move. The creative dialogue between them was exciting and definitely enticing for CTC, despite it being unlike its usual commercial film and arena/theme-park-style creations.
Antony describes working with CTC’s Design Director & CEO Sonny Tilders and Senior Animator/Designer, Ben Forster on Token Armies in 2019 as a ‘first date.’ When he approached them to try something else, it was about taking their existing relationship to the next level and exploring what was possible.
Their first collaborative project was large scale with a huge centrepiece (lovingly referred to as ‘The Whale’), bulky, unforgiving costumes and large machines that dominated over the dancers. U>N>I>T>E>D presented an opportunity for a more intimate connection between dancer and technology.
‘I wanted to explore how industrialisation and technology produces this dialogue of forms between the living and machines,’ commented Antony.
‘Developing suits that mimicked the human form like an exoskeleton, heightens the tension between the body and the costume – and blurs the lines between where one begins and the other ends. These extended animatronic ‘costumes’ are like a ghosting of human movement. They express the way costume and ritual dance have always had an intrinsic relationship with environmental experiences,’ he added.
‘The attraction of working with Antony was immediate. Initially we watched some of the work he had choreographed before joining Chunky Move. The way Antony embraced technology in his productions was striking and really resonated with us – we almost didn’t see it as a dance piece,’ said Sonny.
‘I have always admired Chunky Move, how engaging its performances are and how it brings in set elements and other objects – so the opportunity to be part of that was a privilege,’ he added.
Ingenuity is finding novel ways to work with unexpected outcomes
Unlike the large-scale international projects that CTC is generally known for – including its Tony-award-winning King Kong on Broadway, Walking with Dinosaurs arena spectacular and theme park experiences – repurposing everyday objects and adhering to a low budget were key parameters CTC had to abide by.
CTC looked at real-world examples – exploring the use of what it called ‘junkyard stuff’ in different guises – motorcycle armour, tubing, air hoses and rubber offcuts from hardware stores, lamp fixtures from Ikea and whatever it had available in its workshop. To create a soft motion mechanism for an elbow joint, CTC utilised syringes as hydraulic stoppers.
‘There were no barriers to creativity with our material use when it came to exploring mechanisms to meet Antony’s theme of a hyper-futuristic biomechanical world,’ Sonny commented.
Employing off-the-shelf solutions also allowed the design team to duplicate the costumes easily without a lot of handmade, bespoke work. The result was a collection of exoskeletal limb extensions and extra limbs that could attach and then detach to become part of other objects.
‘Existing materials were purposefully chosen materials for their robustness, flexibility and availability while other elements were 3D printed and elasticated together to create pivot joints. Rubbery materials provided 360-degree movement for a series of articulated joints that needed to move in a predictable way once attached to the dancers,’ he added.
A collaborative design process with an open-ended brief
Working with Antony, the design process began with initial briefings and illustrations of concepts. From there CTC put together sketches which evolved to basic cardboard and rubber tubing models held together with masking and gaffer taping. The head of the fabrication team – who happened to be a similar size to Antony – would then put the models on and move around while being videoed. The videos were subsequently shared with Antony who would come into the CTC studio and try the stuff on – leading to a new set of questions and ideas.
‘Experimenting to see what worked (and what didn’t) led to modelling updates, modifications and finally to a place where we felt that we had a solid protype. Then CTC had to create 6 of everything – one for each dancer,’ said Antony.
‘Anthony is always a pragmatist working on small budgets, but we find a path through it, in large part because he is willing to bend his ideas. When Antony jumped into our prototypes and inhabited the costumes, they came to life, and it was an extraordinary thing to watch. Dancers bring their own experience to the suits and move in a way we never expected,’ Ben commented.
The most challenging elements were also the most rewarding
Creating this work was a bit of an unorthodox process, with so many integrating elements and shorter creative development phases. For Antony, it involved a lot of research, both here in Australia and across the Asia-Pacific region, working with the dancers, technical and audio-visual elements, intensive costume development, programming lighting and exploring spatial design set ups to see what the audience experience would be.
‘The challenging parts stemmed from drawing multiple creatives together from different countries and backgrounds. It’s my responsibility as the lead artist to drive the project and give participants a sense of the vision. Working with new artists all the time, finding that common narrative tends to be about 60% of the work, and it’s my job to coach and be a good leader to make them feel they belong,’ Antony said.
‘It's also the most rewarding. Being thrust into this situation, if I do it well, I feel like I have created something special. Building relationships that extend over borders and mediums is hugely gratifying. And these relationships last and facilitate future conversations. It has an element of soft diplomacy,’ he added.
For CTC, working with Chunky Move was different to any other project it had been involved with previously. While it had worked with dancers/puppeteers before, this was the first time it was focusing on small-scale exoskeletal suits. It was a different way of working, but one that they enjoyed.
There were constraints in the form of budget, mechanical systems and what they could or could not produce.
‘Articulating a series of joints needed animatronics that didn’t limit what was possible from a choreographic perspective. We were working with mechanical systems that needed to be robust enough to move in a free and open way. This work was more in touch with the body – creating suits that reveal the person beneath was a new concept for us,’ said Ben.
‘In the theme park world, the source material exists and a definitive brief frames the project. Having an open-ended brief to create these apparatus-style costumes that plug into the environment was a bit terrifying at times, especially not knowing what the outcome would be. But it allowed the designs to continually evolve….. and then there is an ‘aha’ moment when everything comes together perfectly. In many ways the most challenging elements were also the most rewarding,’ he added.
Stitching together the creative threads
Collaboration is the foundation of Chunky Move. In addition to working closely with CTC to bring Antony’s vision to life, U>N>I>T>E>D involved working across different cultures, art forms, mediums and time zones to assemble a multidisciplinary team of dynamic creators and performers from Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand.
‘Everyone Chunky Move works with becomes part of our extended family. It is the best way to expand our ethos and spread our values,’ said Antony.
‘Drawing influences from diverse perspectives serves to amplify the Asia Pacific cross-cultural process and cooperation in a work that honours ancient traditions and contemporary technologies,’ he added.
Original music by Bali duo, Gabber Modus Operandi fuses Javanese Jathilan trance and Indonesian traditions with hardcore club music. Visual and costume design is by Bali’s Macan Studio, an upcycled street wear label that focuses on sustainable material usage. Each element comes together to create the whole.
What can U>N>I>T>E>D audiences expect?
Prepare to see something you’ve never seen before. U>N>I>T>E>D is a hybrid production, not your standard sit-down ticketed event. Despite being staged at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, the fixed seating area won’t be used. The audience will sit on the stage itself, surrounding the dancers. The back-of-house, a space the public never gets to see, will be converted into a bar and club zone, allowing people to move between spaces and watch more fluidly – fully immersing themselves in the trance-like music experience.
Sonny and Ben hope that their designs for U>N>I>T>E>D allow the audience to emotionally connect with the performance.
‘For most people, it will be the first time they encounter a performance like this, a new and striking experience. The dance and the language come first. U>N>I>T>E>D is very much in the moment – you have to be there – to appreciate the sound, the sweat and the body movement, to understand its particular language which builds a narrative and a feeling,’ said Sonny.
‘In this case – all we are doing is supporting that dance language. I hope that people don’t go to look at the robotic elements. Our stuff is the art of the spectacle – blending into the narrative – not distracting from it,’ he added.
The CTC team can’t wait to see the show.
‘It was great working with Antony – so much of what we do is sent overseas and our staff never gets to see it or connect with it,’ said Ben.
‘Working locally with Antony is not a natural thing for us, but it really was a pleasure, and it gives our team the chance to experience our work and see how audiences react to it,’ he added.
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