Modern Dance

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Leap into the Modern archive

This collection documents the reconstruction of The Demon Machine, first created in Vienna in 1924 by Gertrud Bodenwieser. The recreation was performed as part of a public performance program Dancing Sculpture (10-13 August 2017) and one-day symposium Leap into the Modern (12 August 2017), held at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia.

Dancing Sculpture is a performance program that accompanied the National Gallery of Victoria’s exhibition A Brave New World: Australia 1930s, featuring Gertrud Bodenwieser’s The Demon Machine (1924) was performed by Victorian College of Arts dance students, recreated by Carol Brown a student of Bodenwieser dancer Shona Dunlop-McTavish. Acts of Becoming, a solo performance by Carol Brown, uses the archives of former Bodenwieser dancers to inspire dialogues and gestures with the embodied politics of women who risk everything. In the process she draws attention to the necessity of hospitality for strangers during turbulent times.

Leap into the Modern was a one-day symposium exploring modern dance in Australia from the 1930’s, curated by Professor Rachel Fensham and Dr Jordan Beth Vincent. Session topics included modern dance as cultural history, Australian moderns and radical bodies and re-performing the archive. Speakers included contemporary dance artists Meryl Tankard, Carol Brown and Shelley Lasica, as well as interdisciplinary researchers such as Suzanne Robinson and Maggie Tonkin.

This collection includes photographs, designs, programs, press clippings and film.

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    Leap into the Modern Symposium
    University of Melbourne (2017)
    Leap into the Modern: a one-day symposium held at the National Gallery of Victoria on Saturday 12 August 2017, convened by Professor Rachel Fensham (University of Melbourne) and Dr Jordan Beth Vincent (Deakin University). The program explored the unique art of modern dance in Australia from its expressive vitality to its cultural and aesthetic legacy. Gathering an interdisciplinary field of researchers, as well as artists and specialists who carry the living legacy of modern dance, the symposium included a series of talks, discussions and an opportunity to view the performance program Dancing Sculpture and exhibition Brave New World: Australia 1930s. Organisations: University of Melbourne (Grant Body), Australian Centre, University of Melbourne (Partner); School of Culture and Communication, University of Melbourne (Partner); Faculty of Arts, University of Melbourne (Partner); National Gallery of Victoria (Partner).
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    Dancing Sculpture
    University of Melbourne (2013)
    Dancing Sculpture Description: Gertrud Bodenwieser's The Demon Machine (1924) performed by VCA Dancers and Carol Brown's Acts of Becoming (1995). The event also includes the screening of a new dance film, "Releasing Her Archive", which contrasts archival video of Bodenwieser's work with contemporary recreations filmed in collaboration with the New Zealand Dance Company at the Wellesley Studios, Auckland, New Zealand.
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    Speakers' biographies and paper synopsis
    (2017)
    Leap into the Modern Symposium at National Gallery Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, Saturday 13th August 2017.
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    Programme schedule for Leap into the Modern Symposium
    (2017)
    Leap into the Modern Symposium at National Gallery Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, Saturday 13th August 2017.
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    Image from the Leap into the Modern symposium
    (2017)
    Session 4 panel members at the Leap in the Modern symposium at the National Gallery of Victoria. From left to right: Rachel Fensham, Meryl Tankard, Carol Brown, Maria Randall, Michelle Silby.
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    Image of dancers at National Gallery Victoria
    (2017)
    The cast of Carol Brown's recreation of Gertrud Bodenwieser's Demon Machine at the Leap into the Modern symposium at National Gallery Victoria. Left to right: Hayley Roe, Carol Brown, Phaedra Brown, Anika De Ruyter, Jazmyn Carter, Rachel Fensham.
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    The Source Code
    Roller, Jochen (2017)
    Video by Jochen Roller screened as part of the Leap into the Modern symposium at National Gallery Victoria.
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    Leap into the Modern Symposium - Session 4: Re-performing the Archive
    Roller, Jochen ; Brown, Carol ; Randall, Maria ; Tankard, Meryl (2017)
    Session 4 of Leap into the Modern: Dance Culture in Australia from the 1930's symposium at National Gallery Victoria. Session titled 'Reperforming the Archive'. Features speakers Carol Brown, Maria Randall, Rachel Fensham and Meryl Tankard. Chaired by Michelle Silbey.
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    Leap into the Modern Symposium - Session 3: Radical Bodies / Radical Ideas
    Moore, Tony ; Tonkin, Maggie ; Osborne, Ruth ; Srinivasan, Priya (2017)
    Session 3 of Leap into the Modern: Dance Culture in Australia from the 1930's symposium at National Gallery Victoria. Session titled 'Radical Bodies/Radical Ideas'. Features speakers Tony Moore, Maggie Tonkin, Ruth Osborne and Priya Srinivasan. Chaired by Paul Rae.
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    Leap into the Modern Symposium - Session 2: Dancing the Self: Recalling Australian Moderns.
    Quartly, Marian ; Robinson Suzanne ; Kinder, Jenny ; Lasica, Shelley (2017)
    Session 2 of Leap into the Modern: Dance Culture in Australia from the 1930's symposium at National Gallery Victoria. Session titled 'Dancing the Self: Recalling Australian Moderns'. Features speakers Marian Quartly, Suzanne Robinson, Jenny Kinder and Shelley Lasica. Chaired by Meredith Rogers.