BODY BODY COMMODITY

BY JENNI LARGE

Co-presented by

TASDANCE + MONA FOMA

17TH + 18TH FEBRUARY 2023

THE EARL ARTS CENTRE

BODY BODY COMMODITY is a subversive commentary on the impacts that capitalist society and consumerist behaviours have on the female body.

Six female performers animate the space, ‘exploiting and embracing their habitat’ the lines between object, body, power and product blurs.

"I hope that audiences experience something new, entertaining,

and challenging. BODY BODY COMMODITY walks a sharp

serrated line between humorous and harrowing, inviting you to

connect with the confronting realities that women experience

regarding body image, voyeurism, and objectivity. Issues that still require

our attention and bravery to overhaul." - Jenni Large

CREATIVE TEAM

JENNI LARGE

JENNI LARGE is an independent dancer, performer, choreographer, teacher and rehearsal director based on unceded palawa country in lutruwita/Tasmania. A 2010 graduate of WAAPA and TNUA/Taipei exchange program, she has collaborated extensively throughout Australia and performed across the world with artists and companies including; Tasdance (2012-13 and 2019-present performing works by Jo Lloyd, Larissa McGowan, Anna Smith, Byron Perry & Tanja Liedtke), Dancenorth (2015-2020 performing works by Kyle Page, Amber Haines, Lee Serle, Alisdair Macindoe, Lucy Guerin, Gideon Obarzanek, Stephanie Lake, Ross McCormack and Jo Lloyd) as well as Legs On The Wall (‘Thaw’), Leigh Warren & Dancers, GUTS Dance, Ashleigh Musk, Aimee Smith, Sue Peacock and Isabella Stone. Jenni has performed in Canada, Mexico, Japan, throughout America and Europe as well as every major Australian Festival and many regional festivals. Recent engagements include choreographer and performer in ‘Faux Mo House Party’ - Mona Foma and ‘Wet Hard’ - winner of the 2022 Keir Choreographic ‘People’s Choice Award’. In 2022, Jenni was commissioned to choreograph ‘Flesh Net’ for WAAPA, ’S U C K E R’ for Sydney Dance Company’s New Breed Season and was a recipient of the Chloe Munro Fellowship.
Image by Pedro Greig

ASHLEIGH MUSK

**Ashleigh Musk** (she/her) is a dancer, choreographer, dramaturg and community arts facilitator based on unceded Arrernte Country in the Northern Territory. She uses the body as the central tool for creation, alongside text, object and space, creating works that balance darkness and fear with light, hope and reflection. Ashleigh has recently worked with artists and companies including Marrugeku, Jenni Large, Liesel Zink, Daniele Constance and GUTS Dance / Central Australia. Her work ‘Fertile Ground’, co-created with Michael Smith, was presented at Metro Arts (Meanjin), spring.loaded.dance (Mparntwe) and Mona Foma 2022 (lutruwita). She is currently developing two new works – SUB (in partnership with GUTS Dance, Darwin Festival and Tasdance) and From Infancy (supported by Red Hot Arts Central Australia and the Desert Festival).
https://ashleighmusk.art/About

GEORGIA RUDD

**Georgia Rudd** is an independent contemporary dancer, performer and teacher originating from New Zealand. She is now living and working in Naarm/Melbourne. Prior to this she worked with various artists during six years with Dancenorth Australia under the directorship of Kyle Page and Amber Haines including; Melanie Lane, Lucy Guerin, Stephanie Lake, Alisdair Macindoe, Gideon Obarzanek, Lee Searle, Jo Lloyd and Ross McCormack, performing and touring works at festivals nationally and internationally. She has choreographed three short works, ‘sifting through all the forgets', 'Construction and Contemplation' and 'Together Indecision' for Dancenorth’s annual Tomorrow Maker’s seasons. Currently Georgia continues to refine her practice where the body is the basis for questioning, processing and transformation. Her embodiment practices honour the complexity and intelligence of the body and its ability to reflect the world in which it is in.

AMBER McCARTNEY

**Amber McCartney** is a Narrm/Melbourne-based dancer and choreographer. Since graduating from the Victorian College of the Arts in 2012, Amber has worked extensively for companies Chunky Move and Lucy Guerin Inc and is a member of the Assembly 197 Tasdance ensemble. She has also performed for Dancenorth and Antony Hamilton Projects as well as independent choreographers and multidisciplinary artists; Jenni Large, Prue Lang, Jo Lloyd, James Batchelor, Su Huiyu, Kyall Shanks, Jonathan Homsey and Niharika Senapati. In 2020 Amber was a recipient of Solitude1, Chunky Move’s home-based residency program and created her film Softtrap for the 2021 Activators program. She has presented solo work for Tasdance, Lucy Guerin Inc’s ‘Pieces’ and ‘Now Pieces’, Dancehouse and has created for YellowWheel and Transit Dance. This year Amber won a Green Room Award for Best Performer.
https://ambermccartney.squarespace.com

ERIN O’ROURKE

**Erin O’Rourke** is a Naarm/Melbourne-based contemporary dance practitioner and researcher. She spent 2021 undertaking Honours Research at the Victorian College of the Arts (University of Melbourne) finishing with First Class Honours. Erin’s recent research focused on the multiplicity of the dancer as they dismantle and challenge their moving identity in working with numerous artists. She is invested in giving the dancer a voice, privileging the dancer’s value in and of itself. Beyond research, Erin has connected and worked with artists in Melbourne, including Jenni Large, Harrison Hall, and Fort Heart Co, as well as extending into choreographic realms through residencies at Lucy Guerin Inc and Dancehouse as part of the Emerging Choreographers Program. Previous to 2021, Erin engaged widely with the independent scene in Brisbane & surrounds, working on numerous projects with artists including Claire Marshall, Liesel Zink, Ashleigh Musk, Prying Eye Productions and Supercell: Festival of Contemporary Dance, after graduating from QUT with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance in 2019.
https://www.erinorourke.com.au

ANNA WHITAKER

Anna Whitaker is a multi award-winning Queensland based sound designer and composer with a palate for experimental, acousmatic works and surround sound composition. She graduated from Queensland Conservatorium of Music with a Bachelor of Music Technology, and since has designed and composed for productions including MONA FOMA, Bleach* Festival, The Farm, tasdance, Stompin', La Boite Theatre Company, Brisbane Festival, HOTA Gold Coast, Festival 2018, Vulcana Circus and Playlab. Her vast background in classical music and technology-based sound art result in musical concoctions from the traditional and contemporary worlds. Anna received the 2020/2021 and 2019 Matilda Award for Best Sound Design for her work on Michael Smith’s ‘Cowboy’ and The Farm’s ‘Throttle’ respectively. Anna's unique voice is also evident in her installation works which have exhibited at Bleach* Festival, HOTA, MetroArts and QPAC Museum.

https://www.annawhitakermusic.com

MICHELLE BOYDE - COSTUME & SET DESIGNER

Michelle Boyde is a freelance designer and creative director living and working in Tasmania, newly appointed the Artistic Director of Design Tasmania. Having spent her early career as a professional contemporary dancer, in 2012 Michelle retrained in design, gaining a Bachelor of Fashion (Design) (Honours) from RMIT under the School of Architecture and Design in Melbourne. Specialising in contour wear (stretchwear, knit fabrics, intimate apparel and swimwear), Michelle found a natural home back in the arts industry as a costume designer/maker, working with Melbourne’s premiere contemporary dance company Chunky Move Dance Melbourne, alongside a host of independent dancers and choreographers. Living in Tasmania since 2014, Michelle regularly designs for the State’s cultural institutions such as Mona, Dark Mofo, Mona Foma, Unconformity and Terrapin Puppet Theatre, and is lead designer for co-founded art group Unconscious Collective, responsible for several large-scale installations across Tasmania and Melbourne. As a design mentor she has worked with Stompin’ Dance Co. on All Expenses Paid Mona Foma 2021, Second Echo Ensemble (Beauty Project 2021-22), and with Tasmanian aboriginal designer and artist Michelle Maynard. With Michelle, she is currently delivering a 12-month pilot fashion design teaching program for Tasmanian aboriginal artists and designers, outcomes of which will be an exhibition at Design Tasmania in 2022, and national runway events in 2023.

https://www.boyde.com.au

CHRIS JACKSON

Chris holds a Bachelor of Contemporary Arts, Master of Contemporary Arts and his Master of Fine Arts. He has worked in various capacities across the theatre and performance sector including: Directing, Acting, Performance Art, Production, and Design – where his work has seen local, state, national and international stages.

Highlights include: Actor - Dancing Back Home (JUTE/Mudlark Theatre Inc.); Performer – Borders (Ihos Opera/JUNCTION Arts Festival); Assistant Director - Barbarians (Ihos Opera/MONA FOMA); Actor - Savages (Persona Collective/ JUNCTION Arts Festival); Performer - Artaud Defacteau (OzFrank Theatre Matrix); Vision Designer - Relax The Chimp (TasDance/JUNCTION Arts Festival); Composer/Sound Designer I Am A Lake (Mudlark Theatre); PANOPTICON (DARK MOFO); Blood Brothers (Encore Theatre); Performer/ Assistant Director - Backwards From Winter (Ihos Opera/ DARK MOFO); Lighting Designer – Killer Joe (3 River Theatre/IO Performance).

GRACE ROBERTS

Grace completed her Bachelor of Theatre in 2013 and then went on to complete her Honours and Masters in Performance Design at the University of Tasmania. Grace has worked at the University of Tasmania as a Sessional Lecturer in theatre as well as Charles Sturt University in Design. Grace has worked as Production manager for Launceston Youth Theatre Ensemble (LYTE) and launched IO Performance Company early 2017 with her partner Chris Jackson.
Grace enjoys all areas of the arts including: Stage Makeup, Acting, Stage Managing, Directing, Photography and Lighting/Sound/Set/Costume Design and Producing. Grace lives and breathes the arts and hopes to continue on her journey of learning and developing her trade.

EBONY NICHOLS - INTERNSHIP DANCER

Ebony Nichols is a recent graduate of a Bachelor of Performing and Screen Arts (2021), majoring in contemporary dance, in Aotearoa (New Zealand). Ebony is a queer dance artist who has experience in the realms of dance making, performance, leadership, and community building. Originally from lutruwita, Ebony is an alumni of Stompin Youth Dance Company, having performed with the company from 2016 - 2019, and most recently taking on a Rehearsal Director role during the HQ performance season (April 2022). Currently based in Naarm, she is only in her first year of independence as an artist, but is looking forward to furthering her practice as a graduate. In her spare time you can find Ebony reading, hanging out with dogs she doesn’t own, and thinking about disappearing into the wilderness at any given moment.