Mel Lane
Get to know Melanie Lane – choreographer, performer and Assistant Choreographer & Rehearsal Director for Token Armies.
CM: What has it been like working with Antony on his first work as Artistic Director of Chunky Move?
ML: This has been an epic project to be a part of, it’s been a wild ride, an intensive creation period, and as always, a lot of fun. There have been many post rehearsal brain work sessions to nut out the inner workings of the piece. Having worked with Antony for the first time when we were students in 1998(??!!), and in more recent years in a number of his works, I’ve had the great privilege to see the journey he has taken and it’s been a joy to witness him become the fearless artist that he is.
He has always had an original choreographic voice that speaks beyond contemporary dance as we know it. Antony builds universes, and he builds them to the very fine detail – Token Armies is no exception – and this time it’s to an epic scale, whilst maintaining his rigorous interrogation of the body and its environment. It feels like a seminal work that speaks to what is yet to come. Antony has dreamt big for this project and to support him in bringing this dream to life has been pretty magic.
CM: Why should we be excited to see Token Armies?
ML: You will be a part of it all, it will transport you somewhere you have never been, you will see things you have never seen, your senses will be heightened, it will offer you a space to see and think through a different lens. It will be unforgettable.
CM: What can we expect to see from you in the future/ what’s in the works besides Token Armies?
ML: I have a couple of new works of my own in progress, including a project in Indonesia I’m excited about which I will begin in November. I’ll be touring Lucy Guerin’s Split to Canada and Japan, and will be part of her new work Metal premiering at Asia TOPA next year. Then I will be off to Norway to create a new commissioned work premiering in April 2020. I would like to learn more new skills/work on radical projects.. I really want to go to Cuba and Costa Rica.. One step at a time.
Token Armies is an evolutionary leap into an unknown tomorrow. Commissioned by Melbourne International Arts Festival.