Aura
2019, Ulysses Dancers, Riverway Arts Centre, Townsville
Inspired by the form and colour of Matisse’s works and the elusiveness of his subjects, Aura explores in tandem, the importance of form in communicating complex emotions, relationships and abstract aesthetics. Embracing the potential of the body to convey meaning - both placed in spatial formations and by using gesture - this work explores the interconnectedness of the subject and the artist and highlights the shifting landscape of understanding that exists within works of art.
Looking at Matisse’s work, one can imagine a realm of colourful life, where gestures and form take on a multitude of meanings and significance. This realm of possibility and the tension between real and imagined; intention and accident; and possible and impossible is where Aura sits and stirs and then moves away...like the viewer of a work of art.
This work was commissioned by Ulysses Dancers for their annual performance season in 2019 involving 30 youth dancers, presented alongside works by four emerging choreographers at The School of Arts Building (Dancenorth).
Creative Team
Choreography, Concept and Design: Tegan Ollett
Dancers: Ulysses Dancers
Sound: Didascalies by Jean Phillippe Collard and Vincent, Curious Yellow and Exercise in Colour by CoH, Drifting by Vast Veil, Gen by Komet (Pre Recorded)
Costumes: Jane Pirani
Lighting Design: Jamie Schmidt
Production Manager: Andre Reynaud
Images: Chrissy Maguire