Influences from far and wide
- 21 Sep 2015
Abby Johnson shares her personal professional development journey as an independent dance artist…
As an independent contemporary dance artist who has performed both within Australia and internationally, it is very important to be constantly exposed to new and varying artistic influences. Unlike a full time dance company member, we ‘freelance’ artists have the opportunity to seek our own opportunities and those we believe best align with our aims and desires. In the last five years, I have been creating dance experiences both in Australia and overseas in the hope of becoming a well rounded and educated arts practitioner.
Travelling overseas is a major priority in my practice. It is necessary to be regularly exposed to the different styles and trends of contemporary dance in countries other than our own in order to broaden perspective and to maintain currency and connection with the industry.
Throughout 2012 and 2013 I completed three dance residencies with Maya Dance Theatre in Singapore, which provided the opportunity to live, learn and perform within a different culture. The resulting impact on my performance skills and merit as an artist was a positive artistic achievement. Integrating successfully into the company’s practices was both highly challenging and rewarding. It required performance and collaboration in contemporary dance works and also training and performing in traditional Indian dance (Bharatanatyam) for the first time. I toured and performed with the company and the resulting experiences will continue to influence my career.
In July/August 2014, I attended the month long international dance festival ‘ImPulsTanz’ in Vienna, Austria, enabling me to spend time with hundreds of other dancers who possessed similar outlooks and passions. This was both highly motivating and comforting. Participating in twelve unique (week long) workshops given by teachers and choreographers drawn from varying artistic backgrounds and dance techniques provided great professional development. Attending multiple performances presented as a part of the festival, gave the opportunity to view dance works and companies that I would not have access to in Australia.
Contacts were made with both European dancers/choreographers and individuals living in the Asia Pacific. The festival was an invaluable opportunity to benchmark my work. It lead to an invitation to participate in further classes by artists working in the UK, to form a collaborative relationship with a dancer living in Hong Kong and also a dancer working in Darwin. Having a secure network of contacts within the dance industry is vital for the sustainability of an independent artist.
In March this year, I participated in the National Dance Forum (Melbourne) that coincided with the Dance Massive festival. This led to an introduction to Clare Watson – Artistic Director of St Martins Youth Arts Centre (Melbourne). Claire explained how they create professional theatre works “by children for adults”. Her passion struck a chord as it reminded me of how much we can learn from children and the beauty of their curiosity. Often the works produced by St Martins reflect two different realities, that of a child and that of an adult.
Having worked with children in a professional context myself (chaperoning child performers in musicals), I have experienced first hand their raw passion and unaffected nature. This gives perspective and can be an inspiration when creating art.
Although there are many performers competing for funding and support, the rewarding nature and sense of fulfilment achieved as an artist strongly outweighs any such challenges.
Abby completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance Performance) – with Distinction (QUT) in 2009 and a Bachelor of Arts (Dance) Honours – Second Class Division A (WAAPA/LINK Dance Company) in 2010. Along with four colleagues from university, she founded MakeShift Dance Collective in Brisbane in 2011. Abby performed The Present Past with MakeShift at the 2012 Brisbane Festival and at Short Sweet + Dance 2012 in Canberra. In 2013, collaborating with fellow MakeShifters she perfromed Three Easy Steps (Anywhere Theatre Festival), Paper Thin (DANCE. INDIE DANCE) and The Only Way Left is Right (Brisbane Emerging Arts Festival).
2014 saw Abby participating in MakeShift’s first Sydney residency. During July, Abby attended the World Dance Alliance (WDA) Global Summit as a choreolab dancer in Angers, France. She then spent one month learning from multiple teachers and choreographers at ImPulsTanz (International Dance Festival), Vienna with the help of funding from Arts Queensland. During 2015, Abby has performed for Iranian opera singer Shirin Majd’s production of Rebirth – Combined Art Performance (choreographed by Vanessa Mafe) both in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast.
Feature image: Torrey James