CHOREOGRAPHIC WORK:
IT’S CALLED ACHILLES





‘... the work spoke of a journey from queer repression to queer expression. An intimate work of powerful storytelling that left audience members in a buoyant moment of celebration.’ - Claire Holland, Theatre Haus

FROOTY Magazine: Open Letter on Camp and Campiness in the Regions. Read here>>>




Performance History: 

2022 MELT: Festival of Queer Arts and Culture, Brisbane Powerhouse.
2021 Dancenorth’s ‘Tomorrow Makers 4’.

Credits:
Choreographer / Performer:
Michael Smith

Sound Composition and Accompaniment:
Felix Sampson

Costume Design:
Andrew Treloar

Lighting Design:
Charles Wiles and Yoshie Kenny

Dramaturgy:
Ashleigh Musk and Amber Haines

A relentless undressing, a damsel unleashed and a frivolous body. This is Camp as autobiography.

In the name of all that is Camp, It’s Called Achilles puts the body on show, draped and adorned with exaggerations, frivolities and the dramatic. This is not Camp as performance, but Being-as-playing-a-role, where the performer attempts to locate a self-proclaimed truth within the morphic notions of “Camp”.

It’s Called Achilles is a solo contemporary dance work, performed by Michael Smith with live accompaniment from composer Felix Sampson. This work is one prolonged and very necessary undressing, where the idea of ‘reveal’ takes an honest turn as Smith relentlessly morphs Camp archetypes with depictions of self. This work is ultimately a celebration, a sequestering of traditional ideals in liberation of Queerness, particularly in regional spaces.

It’s Called Achilles was originally Commissioned by Dancenorth in 2021, under the TOMORROW MAKERS program, supported by the Ian Potter Foundation.



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