Michelle Aitken

The Show

'Topographs' is a double bill presented by dance makers Anneliese Kirk and Michelle Aitken. It will premiere as part of a well-known program in early 2017. The works fuse dance, text and music in two curious explorations of interiority.

Anneliese's 'fuite pt. deux' is an exploration in contact with the real, inspired by the philosophical concept of the rhizome. Together, four artists navigate intimate space with an explorative sense of being. They construct and deconstruct intersecting lines of flight and the perceptions they have of themselves, each other and the audience.

In Michelle's work, 'Milk, Moonlight' two dancers delve into their experiences of modern womanhood. What is it to be seen as a siren or sphinx? How are our bodies tamed and regulated? What catcalls have we not already heard? 'Milk, Moonlight' is a physical affirmation of our right to be, and to do the looking back.

The Choreographers

Michelle and Anneliese are both part of WAAPA's 2016 graduating class of dancers. Topographs will be their first opportunity to present their work, and themselves as emerging dance makers, to the public. 

Michelle's work reflects her curiosity in presenting embodied experience on stage, through dance, improvisational scores, and story telling. She says:

"At the moment, I see Milk, Moonlight as the first expression of what interests me about dance and live performance. I want to share my experiences as a young woman, and contribute to discussion about how women are regulated by social forces. This will be a very personal work that I hope will move and challenge the audience."

Anneliese is interested in the collaboration between text, dance and music. She enjoys the explorative and experimental process of dance making, and observing the serendipitous transformation that occurs. As a second exploration of an idea that blossomed into her previous work ‘ligne de fuite’, Anneliese says, “I am excited to re-explore this idea, delving deeper into the philosophy of the rhizome and lines of flight. I am especially looking forward to seeing the way ‘fuite pt. deux’ manifests working with a smaller team. The collaboration between dancer, actress and musician should be very interesting!”

We are so excited to be making and presenting this spirited and evocative double bill, and have been working hard to be able to present the best work possible. But! We need your help making the leap from the studio to the stage! Producing a new work can be expensive, and funding support is needed for us to cover costs such as the registration, our associated artists' fees, and the price of marketing our show. We have some sweet rewards for our supporters, so please get on board and help us dance our way towards fund-raising success!

The funds raised through this campaign will help us cover the costs of presenting our works next year. These include:

- producing the images for and marketing our show. This will involve working with a publicist, printing and distributing flyers, and advertising on social media. 

- paying the fees of our associated artists such as our lighting designer, stage manager and composers, who will make the show happen

- realising our basic set and costume ideas

Any extra funds will help us pay our performers for their work.

Independent artists face a lot of challenges, the greatest of which may be finding funding. Self-funding this production is a daunting task for us as emerging artists, and presenting it comes with the added challenge of reaching our target audiences at a very busy time of year. Being able to afford marketing will really help us cut through the noise and sell our season. 

We hope that 'Topographs' will not only provide us with invaluable experience, but lead to more opportunities to create and perform.

We are so grateful for any support you can give us! 

The Team

MILK, MOONLIGHT:
Performers- Michelle Aitken, Sarah Chaffey

Composer- Rebecca Riggs-Bennett

FUITE PT. DEUX
Performers- Audrey Blyde, Scott Galbraith, Zal Kanga-Parabia, Shae Larsen

Composer- Zal Kanga Parabia

ADDITIONAL CREATIVES
Stage Manager- Danae Crawford
Lighting Designer- Rhiannon Petersen