Contemporary dance is thriving here in Western Australia. Sam Fox knows it. His new show – Personal Political Physical Challenge (PPPC) is testament to that.
In it, Fox sets suburbia ablaze with the old sleepover childhood game, ‘Truth, Dare or Physical Challenge?’ The result is a show which blurs the line between bad romance and high drama.
At its core the show attempts to reconcile a fantasy of radicalism within suburbia. Heady fare, but done with blistering brilliance by Fox and his cast of five dancers.
Fox took some time to chat to OUTinPerth about this upcoming performance.
Truth, dare or physical challenge? Why this concept? The premise is essentially built around everyday people trying to find their personal politic. And it’s not a super intellectual exercise. They aren’t satisfied with the depth of who they are as people, and their relationship has become bland. It’s the B grade romance formula. But we approach it pretty differently. So the Truth or Dare tool from childhood is a game most of us played as children/young adolescents. And for our characters it is the tool they find in their personal history to use to excavate what they stand for. The game has inherent risk and play, but the hardest thing inevitably is truth. And I think that is the same for your personal ethics.
What’s the overall premise of the show / what does it explore? The show tries to reconcile a fantasy of radicalism with suburbia. I don’t really believe in the bland monocultural view of suburban WA but it is a very oppressive environment. If you look at suburban life up close it is stupefying, dull and horrifying, but if you zoom out every person within that lego-land goes through huge journeys in their life. They are 3D and there are embedded politics within their lives. That radical politics within suburban Australia (and/or Anglo-patriarchal dominant culture around the world at large) is so unfathomable makes this fantasy interesting for me. And I hope that it suggests some kind of power for our audience. Alienation is very real but pretty boring as well.
How does it come together? There is a cast of 5 dancers for this work and we move between scenography (visual theatre, some text) and more abstract choreography. There are two very literal settings for the work but the experience is fairly surreal and extravagant. There is hyper-meaningful karaoke, weird costumes, simple stuff, big dancing and an amazing sound track featuring original composition by Stina. The music is really beautiful and awesome. I’m really excited by the score.
Truth: what’s the dance scene really like in Perth? It’s getting there. Western dance comes from a terrible pedagogy where you are taught to shut up and copy movement and respect hierarchy and status. And this permeates the whole ‘industry’. Dancers don’t represent themselves as well as actors or writers or musicians. You can see this in the union movement. Dancers just aren’t protected and that’s largely because they haven’t organised or been as militant, historically speaking.
Truth: what are some of the shortcomings of the dance scene here in Perth? There is a disbelief in local artists being able to make great work. I think this exists across most art forms in WA but it’s pretty bad for dance. There are plenty of choreographers here who can make work that cuts it and will enthrall audiences but they need to be given a chance. That opportunity often gets given with one hand and taken away by the other. It needs to be put on the table. There is an obvious lack of diversity too and a conservative approach to ideas and to what audience are up for. One thing that Hydra attempts to do in every show is challenge our audience. I don’t think audience want to rock up and re-experience the same old shit. They want a new experience and to be taken on that journey. Make it strange is one of our principles. More strange work would go along way to building dance.
Truth: what are some of the greatest opportunities people can create for themselves here? Artists in Perth are renowned for their self sufficiency and hardcore drive. Small clusters of artists build movements all the time here and there are heaps of DIY institutions of creative practice. Everyone says, ‘going out and seeing things creates opportunities’ and it is true. The people that go to things provide creatives with an audience and a job. I think commitment is hugely important. You see the artists who are committed to what they create and they work really hard and that creates opportunities. It doesn’t neccessarily mean that ‘make it’ or can live from it, but they go hard and their is pride and achievement in that.
PPPC opens at PICA from July 16 until July 20. www.pica.org.au
Scott-Patrick Mitchell
