James Welsby
James Welsby: HEX
The piece involves three Generation Y contemporary dance artists traversing the arc of the HIV/ AIDS crisis (circa 1981 – 1996) to better understand contemporary issues of health, identity, community, and history.
This project aims to combine contemporary dance with queer performance languages; HEX takes queer performance out of the nightclubs and places it within a contemporary arts forum that can critically engage with the work’s themes whilst remaining accessible for non-arts audiences.
The work embraces humour, reverence and intense sorrow, in a series of intimate, choreographed vignettes. These vignettes seek to provide the audience with an experience of both celebration and reflection as the show depicts evolving club-dance styles that coincide with the timeline of the Western HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Images: Gregory Lorenzutti & Alice Hutchison
CREDITS
James Welsby: HEX
Next Wave Festival
Fortyfive Downstairs
6 - 11 May 2014
Choreograper: James Welsby
Performers: Chafia Brooks, Benjamin Hancock, James Welsby
Sound: Claudio Tocco
Lighting & Set Design: Rose Connors Dance
Stage Manager: Anastasia Ryan
Costume: Bryn Meredith
Research assistant: Dion Kagan
Associate Producers at Next Wave: Kristy Ayre & Kyle Kremerskothen
VIDEO
WRITING
“Not leaving a moment unconsidered, Hex had the audience transfixed. The choreography was as hypnotic as it was intelligent and the dancers moved it beautifully”
Hex
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Leonard Miller Toorak Times May 9 2014
“HEX is a powerful work that looks at the AIDS crisis from a generation away, and explores its legacy and impact.”
Hex review: the Aids crisis revisited through dance
★ ★ ★ ★
Jane Howard The Gaurdian May 8 2014
“Hex explores the pain and struggle of fighting against adversity. It is also a joyful celebration of what it means to be free.”
Hex
★ ★ ★ ★
Mark Brandi Arts Hub May 12 2014
“Welsby, a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts, made a handful of full-length works before Hex, but none have resonated as well. Hex is an enormous step up and forward, and a sign of his promise as a dancemaker.”
James Welsby – Hex (part of Next Wave Festival) – Melbourne
Jordan Beth Vincent Dance Tabs May 15 2014
Rehearsal Images
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