Special Events at the Centre for Performance Studies, 1997

In the first half of 1997 Kim Spinks was the Project Co-ordinator for the Centre before being elevated to the NSW Ministry for the Arts, where she is now manages the theatre, dance and touring programmes. I took over at the end of July to oversee the programmes Kim had instigated, got a few going myself and made a plan for 1998.WorkshopsThe Honours students arc required to attend a number of practical workshops, and they had a wide variety to choose from in 1997. This programme, sponsored by the Centre, is also open to any other interested people.Body WeatherIn first semester students could join Tess de Quinccy and Stuart Lynch for 'Body Weather' training sessions, a form of Japanese butoh practice. Tess and Stuart were in residence at the Centre January-March and this led to their installation, The Gravity of Dante.antistaticTess and Stuart also took part in The Performance Space's contemporary dance project, antistatic for which the Centre was a venue. The two weeks of workshops on improvisation in contemporary dance and choreography were run by three eminent visiting European choreographers and were open to Fourth Year students as a workshop option.Theatre PhysicalFollowing Tess and Stuart came Beth Kayes who, with Theatre Physical, took time off from creating her new show As she leaves her body ... to run workshops for devising physical theatre, teaching: tumbling, balance acrobatics, lifts, holds, jumps and a physical basis for acting.RandaiIndija Mahjoeddin (MusiK KabaU) made a return visit to the Centre to run a weekend workshop, introducing students to the elements of randai performance. Randai is a form of Indonesian folk opera and Indija is Australia's leading exponent of the form. Indija has been commissioned to create a work for the 1998 Sydney Asian Theatre Festival at Bclvoir Street, with which the Centre and its students will again be involved.Crop CirclesIn second semester the director, dramaturg and writers of Urban Theatre Project's (formerly Death Defying Theatre) Crop Circles discussed the process of writing/devising this piece. This workshop was attended by Fourth Year students and Third Year 390 students.interested in non-text based and group-devised work.The Midday MovieBarbara Campbell, well known performance artist, and M.A. student at the University through the College of the Arts was artist-in-residence in August. She created a piece called The Midday Movie and the History of Australian Painting and also worked with students from the Centre and the College of the Arts in workshops examining the uses of video in performance art practice.CapoeiraLowell Lewis ran his annual capoeira workshop (Afro-Brazilian martial art and dance) for his Students in Performance Studies and Anthropology and next year he plans to offer a samba workshop too-so bring along your dancing shoes!Contemporary Performance WeekOrganised by Sidetrack Theatre, CPW took place again this year and several Fourth Year students took advantage of the fantastic array of workshops and masterclasses as part of their practical courscwork component.Indonesian MusicIn September the Centre jointly sponsored with the Department of Music a visit by Alex Dca, a contemporary Indonesian/Westcrn fusion performer. Alex and dancers Maria Dharmaningsih and Ni Nyoman Sudewi lectured and gave a demonstration of some contemporary Indonesian performance practices. The workshop was open to all Performance Studies and Music students.Rex Cramphorn Studio EventsZsuzsanna Soboslay completed development of work she had previously begun at the Centre with her Awakenings project, based on the Wedekind play Spring Awakening. It went on to a season at The Performance Space.Public Works Theatre spent time at the Centre workshopping a draft translation of two Michel Vinaver plays, Dissident, Goes Without Saying and With Nina, It's Different. …