4/4 is choreographically complex. It requires physical accuracy and mental endurance. It also requires teamwork, and under perfect conditions a work like this would be made with dancers who train together year-round with a common practice and purpose. But this group of dancers didn’t start this way. They had to become an ensemble and master the choreography from disparate beginnings. They came together in collaboration out of discord, assembled for the project during the pandemic. Most had never worked together previously. As an ensemble, David, Jayden, Aimee, Nikki, Mel, Michaela, Harrison and Mason are diverse in their dance practice. The expanse of their embodied experience ranges from freestyle Hip-Hop, Krump and House, to contemporary dance practice that is as fragmented in its ancestry as the times we live in. With this range of artistic lineages, the dancers have brought this creation to bear with virtuosity of craft and generosity of spirit. It’s worth noting that no matter how technical you try to make a work, dancers are not machines, and the show is made of the people in it. The personality and swagger of these dancers outmanoeuvre the strictness of the choreographic composition, and so 4/4 is ultimately a very human expression.
4/4 was inspired by my 2015 work MEETING, a duet involving similarly complex arrangements of movement and sound that devolved into other-worldy expressions through numerical vocal chants and incantations. While 4/4 doesn’t explore vocalisation, MEETING’s movement concepts have been expanded here to explore a duet of quartets, finding new possibilities of choreographic layering and organisation. The technical limit of MEETING proved too restrictive with 4/4, so a myriad of other choreographic ideas were developed; largely, a long sequence of detailed partnering was composed, and this has been an extremely rewarding new exploration for the dancers and myself. Finally, four staging decks act as additional choreographic devices; the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th ‘bodies’, creating movement elements in the work in dialogue with the dancers in a choreography of objects.
The incredibly nuanced sound, costume and lighting designs for the work are equal to the choreography, and rigorous in their function, form, and attention to detail. I am deeply thankful to the artistic collaborators Paula, Alisdair and Bosco for their tireless commitment to the vision of the work.
I do not take for granted what dancers have gifted to me in their commitment to my work. Not just this one, but the many works I have created. Dancers concentrate their labour and artistry into a distillation of energy, poured into the creation both in the studio and on stage. I graciously thank the ensemble dancers, as well as other contributing artists Adrian, Marni, Damian, Callum, Cody and Benjamin, who along with understudies Kyall, Samakshi and Harshil, interns Pat and Rory and guest secondments during the studio development, all contributed meaningful elements to the choreographic exploration.
A special mention to Chunky Move friends Phil Rounsevell and Nelson Estrella whose generous patronage, alongside all our other treasured individual donors, has made this work possible. We are endlessly grateful for their curiosity and trust in the work we make. Their support is deeply valued.
Finally, Nick, Claudia, Liv, Ash, Kristy, Kristina, Hannah, Ngioka, Elyse, Isabella, Alice, and the Board of Chunky Move, you are all incredible humans who make it possible for me to do what I do. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
– Antony Hamilton, Artistic Director / Co-CEOCreative Team
Concept & Direction
Antony Hamilton
Choreography
Antony Hamilton
with Mason Kelly, Melissa Pham
David Prakash, Harrison Ritchie-Jones, Aimee Schollum, Michaela Tanche , Nikki Tarling, Jayden Wall
Performers
Mason Kelly, Melissa Pham, David Prakash, Harrison Ritchie-Jones, Aimee Schollum, Michaela Tanche , Nikki Tarling, Jayden Wall
Costume Design
Paula Levis
Costume Fabricator
Fiona Holley
Chunky
Artistic Director & Co-CEO
Antony Hamilton
Executive Director & Co-CEO
Kristy Ayre
Program Producer
Kristina Arnott
Production & Operations Manager
Ashley Buchanan
Production & Operations Coordinator
Olivia Walker
Sound Design
Alisdair Macindoe
Lighting Design
Bosco Shaw
Rehearsal Director (May/June)
Alice Dixon
Production & Operations Manager
Ashley Buchanan
Stage Manager
Claudia Howarth
Production & Operations Coordinator
Olivia Walker
Lighting Programmer
Nick Moloney
Understudies
Kyall Shanks, Samakshi Sidhu, Harshil Vora
Marketing & Communications Manager
Isabella Oliveria
Development Coordinator
Elyse Cox
O ce & Program Coordinator
Hannah Brown
First Peoples Partnership Coordinator
Ngioka Bunda-Heath
Finance Administrator
Tammy Currie
Choreographer in Residence
Melanie Lane
Chunky Move respectfully acknowledges that we are gathered on the unceded lands of the First Peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation. We pay our deep and enduring respect to Elders, as their knowledge and experience hold the key to the success of future generations. We recognise the significant contributions of Australia’s First People as the traditional custodians of the land, the sky, and the water ways. This land is home to the longest living culture, they are the first dancers and storytellers, and we acknowledge their continuing resilience and survival.
Move Sta 4/4 is supported by Creative Victoria, the Australian Council for the Arts and City of Melbourne. Venue Partner: Malthouse.