The Dinner Party
Image: Brendan Maclean stars in Velvet (Supplied image)
This June, contemporary theatre dance piece The Dinner Party will take to the stage at Parramatta’s Riverside Theatres. From the award-winning Expressions Dance Company, the piece tells the story of a host and his guests, presented through contemporary dance with original music as the backdrop.
Choreographed by former Expressions Dance Company Artistic Director Natalie Weir, The Dinner Party was nominated for two Australian Dance Awards in 2016. Now, with an all-new cast of phenomenal dancers, each character is played with precision and accuracy, taking the audience seamlessly through the narrative’s journey.
Bernard Knauer plays “The Rival”, and spoke with City Hub about the piece.
“We spend a lot of time making our characters fit onto our bodies through the dance. I’ve spent a lot of time with my character looking at the rivalry and how do I show that through my body.”
Bernard also spoke of the level of communication audiences can receive from the dancers onstage, and how the narrative can be portrayed through movement, saying: “There’s a lot you can portray just with body language alone. It’s a lot more amplified what you do with your body [in dance], a lot of postures and the speed of movement that you take.”
For readers who may not have ventured into the world of contemporary dance theatre, The Dinner Party promises a night of entertainment, and, according to Bernard, a narrative and characters you can definitely understand.
“Audiences can expect some great dancing! And a show that has a little bit more of a narrative, so you can actually follow along. It might be quite easily accessible for people that haven’t seen much contemporary dance.”
June 13-15. Riverside Theatres, Corner of Church and Market Streets, Parramatta. $44-$49+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.riversideparramatta.com.au
By Madison Behringer
