Photography ©Andrew Sikorski

Artist : James Batchelor and Collaborators
Year : 2022, Australia/ Dance
Venue : Jim Thompson Art Center / NOV 19-20 at 18:30
Dance Workshop / NOV 20 at 14:30

In Shortcuts to Familiar Places, James Batchelor creates a personal performance about the body as a site of historical and choreographic inscription.

Like a map that is constantly being redrawn and rewritten, the body here goes through endless cycles of transmission and reception. What are the gestures, forms and patterns that persist over time? James Batchelor’s dance teacher Ruth Osborne was trained in the methods of modern dance pioneer Gertrud Bodenwieser, who developed visionary approaches to dance education and choreography in the early-20th century. Bodenwieser’s repertory and training were rarely documented in video and hence now mostly survive in the body memories of her students. James Batchelor explores the fragments of movement that still linger from this time in body memory, existing in tension with a seemingly oppositional pull towards the obsessively detailed anatomical deconstruction. In one solo and two duets, he finds new artistic ways to embrace the complexity of self-expression in contemporary times – while echoing the free spirit of the expressive dance (Ausdruckstanz) era.

This tour to Bangkok is a special occasion for a fruitful cultural exchange on the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Australia and Thailand. James Batchelor will share his practice with Thai artists and audiences to foster a deeper connection between the arts of both nations.

Choreography, Performance: James Batchelor
Dramaturgy, Production: Bek Berger
Composition: Morgan Hickinbotham
Performance: Pakhamon Hemachandra
Light design: Vinny Jones
Costume design: Juliane König
Choreographic consultant: Ruth Osborne, Eileen Kramer, Carol Brown
Research consultant: Michelle Potter
Internationalization support: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian
Co-production: Festival Materiais Diversos