Get Moving

When US choreographer Erik Kaiel came to the Arts Centre to deliver a masterclass on making shows for young people earlier this year, he didn't sugar-coat his intentions. “Working for young audiences is not about simplifying things, but about investigating and deepening,” he said. “There is no need to dumb-down our work, no need to remove the sharp edges. In fact, during this workshop we will work on sharpening them further.” Committed to making contemporary dance for children and young people, Kaiel is known for pieces that include acrobatic, playful elements, and often take place in unconventional territory – from disused swimming pools to subways.

One of the participants on the four-day course – which was put on as part of the Arts Centre's new Industry Card scheme – was Jordine Cornish, a young Melbourne-based dancer and choreographer. Cornish impressed Kaiel so much that he invited her to join him in Dusseldorf as an artistic assistant at an upcoming project. “It was really lovely to not have known him beforehand, [but for him to] see something interesting in me and invite me over to Germany,” Cornish says. Raised in Bunbury, WA, Cornish moved to Melbourne at the age of 17 to pursue dancing. After completing a Bachelor of Contemporary Dance at the Victorian College of the Arts she travelled around Europe for five months, attending workshops and festivals from Austria to Spain, before heading back to the VCA for postgraduate study in performance creation and choreography.

The absence of dance performances for young people is mystifying to Cornish, who, like many people, began dance lessons as a child, and developed a passion for jazz, tap and musical theatre as a girl. There's an abundance of theatre shows for kids, but when it comes to dance – especially contemporary dance – next to nothing. Perhaps it's an image problem; it's an art form that can get typecast as too inaccessible and abstract for kids to handle. Kaiel's manifesto makes it clear he couldn't disagree with this view more. “Young audiences are an extremely exciting audience ... because of their openness, and the fact that they have not yet lost connection with imaginative play as a means of making sense of the world. They do not complain about what they don't fully understand, but rather respond and riff on new developments. Not so concerned about being understood, or justified, but with being present, being anchored in the Now.”

Cornish is in agreement: “I think it's incredibly important to be challenging and inspiring young people through dance. It is an empowering tool ... [And] it would be a shame if kids grew up without being able to look at the world in a creative, playful way.”