Chunky Move

Chunky Move
Name	Chunky Move
Formed	1995
Location	Melbourne, Australia
Genre	Contemporary dance, interdisciplinary performance
Artistic director	(see Artistic Direction and Key Works)

Chunky Move is an Australian contemporary dance company founded in 1995 in Melbourne, known for interdisciplinary performance, digital innovation, and international touring. The company has developed works that intersect dance with technology, visual arts, theatre, and music, engaging with institutions, festivals, and venues across Australia and abroad. Its profile includes collaborations with choreographers, composers, designers, and technologists, leading to a repertoire that has influenced contemporary performing arts practice.

History

Chunky Move was established amid the 1990s expansion of contemporary arts in Australia, alongside companies such as Bangarra Dance Theatre, Sydney Dance Company, Australian Dance Theatre, Force Majeure (dance company), and Lucy Guerin Inc.. Early performances took place in Melbourne venues associated with Arts Centre Melbourne, Festivals like Melbourne Festival, and contemporary arts spaces similar to Monash University and Victorian College of the Arts. The company emerged during the tenure of national funders including Australia Council for the Arts and state bodies like Creative Victoria, benefitting from touring networks such as Country Arts SA and international presenters including Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Biennale of Sydney, and Next Wave Festival. Over successive decades, the organization navigated shifts in arts funding, partnerships with cultural institutions like National Gallery of Victoria and Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, and exchanges with international companies such as Compagnie Käfig, Batsheva Dance Company, and Pina Bausch Tanztheater Wuppertal.

The leadership trajectory included founding artistic leadership and subsequent directors who steered programming, toured works to venues such as Sydney Opera House, Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Hong Kong Arts Festival, and participated in biennales and festivals like Performa, Avignon Festival, and Venice Biennale. The company's history is marked by experimentation with audiovisual technology and institutional collaborations with universities and research centers including RMIT University, University of Melbourne, and international labs such as MIT Media Lab and ZKM.

Artistic Direction and Key Works

Artistic directors and resident choreographers have shaped the company’s aesthetic, commissioning designers, composers, and technologists comparable to collaborators like Trent Reznor, Lisa Gerrard, Nick Cave, Jonny Greenwood, and visual artists in the lineage of Bill Viola and Bruce Nauman. Signature works combined choreography with motion-capture and video projection, aligning with projects presented at TED Conference, SXSW, and digital art festivals including Ars Electronica.

Major productions toured nationally and internationally, appearing at presentation platforms such as Sadler's Wells Theatre, Lincoln Center Festival, Barbican Centre, and contemporary venues like Carriageworks and The Kitchen. The company developed repertory that dialogued with theatre makers from Belvoir St Theatre, music collaborators associated with Australian Chamber Orchestra and Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and designers linked to National Institute of Dramatic Art graduates and alumni of Wesley Enoch and Neil Armfield.

Repertory and Collaborations

The repertory encompasses collaborations with choreographers, composers, lighting designers, and digital practitioners with profiles akin to Akram Khan, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Wayne McGregor, and William Forsythe. The company partnered with composers, sound artists, and institutions similar to Philip Glass, Max Richter, Brian Eno, Gillian Welch, and ensembles such as Bang on a Can and Ensemble Modern. Collaborations extended to contemporary visual artists and filmmakers connected to Jane Campion, David Lynch, Maya Deren, and video artists associated with Nam June Paik.

International co-productions and exchanges were mounted with presenters such as Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Hebbel am Ufer, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, and Staatstheater Stuttgart, and with creative labs and technology partners akin to Microsoft Research, Google Arts & Culture, and other research-driven collaborators.

Educational and Community Programs

Education and outreach activities connected with tertiary institutions, conservatoria, and community organizations including Victorian College of the Arts, Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Australian Ballet School, and community festivals like Melbourne Fringe Festival and Design Week Melbourne. Programs offered workshops, residencies, and mentorships with youth ensembles, partnering with local councils, cultural precincts, and national initiatives similar to Creative Partnerships Australia and Australia Council for the Arts funding schemes. The company engaged in professional development exchanges with international training hubs such as Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, Codarts Rotterdam, and artist-in-residence schemes at institutions like Goethe-Institut and British Council.

Awards and Recognition

The company and its artists have received national and international awards paralleling honours such as the Helpmann Awards, Green Room Awards, Dance Awards (UK), South Bank Sky Arts Awards, and grants from bodies like Australia Council for the Arts and philanthropic supporters comparable to Ian Potter Foundation and Besant Hill Foundation. Recognition included critical acclaim in publications and festival circuits including The Guardian, The New York Times, Le Monde, Die Zeit, and citations at festivals such as Edinburgh International Festival and Venice Film Festival.

Category:Australian dance companies