Blood on the Dance Floor
previous Project
Blood on the Dance Floor explores the legacies and memories of our bloodlines, our need for community and what blood means to each of us – questioning how this most precious fluid unites and divides us.
We hold memories in our blood. It connects us. It defines us.
A choreographer, dancer and writer from the Narangga and Kaurna nations of South Australia, Jacob Boehme was diagnosed with HIV in 1998. In search of answers, he reached out to his ancestors. Through a powerful blend of storytelling, projection and movement, Boehme pays homage to their ceremonies whilst dissecting the politics of gay, Blak and poz identities.
Blood on the Dance Floor is a story of our need to love and be loved. Boehme’s striking monologue uses humour and intimacy to reveal our secret identities and our deepest fears, seeking to invoke ancestral lineage in a contemporary quest for courage and hope.
After touring to Canadian stages in early 2019, Blood on the Dance Floor has since played to a variety of Australian festivals and venues. It previously enjoyed a sold out Sydney Festival season after premiering at Arts House, Melbourne, for which it received the 2017 Green Room Award for Best Production.
Performance History
- 2019
- 2017
- 2016
Sydney Festival
Australia
Arts House – Melbourne
Australia
Media
“Theatre and dance don't usually achieve such compelling synergy as they do under Isaac Drandic's direction. And Boehme is marvelous: his charismatic presence and easy smile, graceful movement and the emotional intelligence behind his storytelling make this an entertaining, moving work that elicits as much empathy as laughter. 4 ½ stars.”
“Blood on the Dance Floor is an impressive accomplishment on many levels… it’s well-proportioned and beautifully crafted, but perhaps most importantly, it tells a story that is rarely heard in a way that is accessible and, ultimately, affirming. 4 ½ stars.”
“In between the darkness, there is humour; and Boehme’s poetic writing is a perfect balance of heart-wrenching and heart-warming. He lets himself be completely vulnerable while telling us extremely personal details, and when he moves the emotion pours out of him.”