MAKE MOVES, BREAK RULES
Ready to let your creativity off the leash? Choreolab is back and it’s time to get moving.
WORDS BROOKE GIBBS
IMAGES DUANE PRESTON
CHOREOLAB ALUMNI STEP back into the playful, supportive world of Tracks Dance Company’s longstanding development program, where big ideas take shape, collaboration takes centre stage, and the next generation of dancemakers gets a taste of the real deal.
Chorelab and its extension is a program where dancers draw from the unique cultural mix of people who call the Territory home, and this month, previous participants reunite to give it another spin.
Led by Tracks’ powerhouse artistic team of Rachael Wallis, James Mangohig, Jenelle Saunders, Kelly Beneforti and Alyson Evans, Chorelob - Extend participants dive deeper into the art of movement, weaving together storytelling, music and theatre to create something entirely their own.
Over two jam-packed days, those Choreolab skills are put to work. Think less follow-the-leader, more making the rules. Participants collaborate with Tracks’ Artistic Leadership as equal members of the creative team, devising an original collective work from the ground up. And the grand finale? Taking their creation to the stage for an audience at the Tracks 2027 program launch. No pressure, just a whole lot of creative energy.
“This year’s theme is tipping point where we use all our different art forms to explore that theme, so we have no idea what’s going to come out of it,” says Beneforti.
“We’re kind of asking and inviting the participants to be in a space that’s new and perhaps a little scary, exciting and challenging. We haven’t been in this space either, so I like the theme of tipping point because it also feels like that’s what we’re stepping into.”
Beneforti and Saunders are incredible dancers, while Beneforti brings a theatre background and Mangohig, music – Chorelab sees these different mediums come together to create something unique.
Evans says that inviting an audience to watch new ideas emerge collaboratively as opposed to a polished, rehearsed piece, allows people to understand the way an artist works and the way they get to what they want to say and make decisions about that.
“I think showing ideas is so important and so great because often we get so stuck on anything that’s shown to the audience has to be polished. Whereas, I think for this, because it’s not going to have a running narrative or be this beautifully shaped thing, it’s going to be quite raw,” she says.
“It’s not about creating a performance – it’s about exploring an idea for an audience to understand something about what an artist wants to say.”
Beneforti shares that the process behind Chorelab - Extend reminds her of baking with her kids.
“When I first started doing that with them, I’d always be like, ‘well, it’s not ready yet’, but now, the bit we enjoy most is tasting every single part and I’ve often found that once it’s cooked, it’s like, ‘oh, now the chocolate has butter in it. What does that taste like?’. It’s the joy in being in all those parts of the process and the explosion of all those things,” she says.
And if the showcase gets you keen to move more – or you’re an audience member inspired by the experience – keep the inspiration flowing with a masterclass led by accomplished dancer, choreographer and Artistic Director Rachael Wallis.
Drawing on her work with leading Indigenous dance companies nationally and internationally, Wallis explores movement that connects us to Country, with the changing seasons offering a starting point for discovery.
Loosen up, think big, and get ready to make your move.
Choreolab ‑ Extend
WHEN SAT 21 & SUN 22 NOV 10.30AM-4.30PM
COST $110-$350 | PAY WHAT YOU CAN BY DONATION
Program Launch and Showcase
WHEN SUN 22 NOV | 5PM COST FREE (REGISTRATION REQUIRED)
Tracks Masterclass Series
WHEN SAT 28 NOV | 11AM-1PM
COST $55 AT TRACKS DANCE STUDIO
INFO tracksdance.com.au
