Somewhere, Everywhere, Nowhere
Australian and Japanese co-choreographers and dancers, Alison Currie and Yui Kawaguchi, join forces to compose a cross-cultural collision of the significant, simple and absurd. Their contrasting and intricate choreography explores the relationship between the body, objects and form, all through the lens of the strange times we live in.
Humans (for now) live on one planet. This is a globalized, digital world through which we all connect. Yet simultaneously, people are separated by borders, deserts, seas and mountains, cultural histories, political inclinations and languages. When we pause to consider, however, we discover it is also both our similarities and differences through which we connect.
Despite living in different time zones, border restrictions and quarantine, two choreographers, Berlin-based Yui Kawaguchi and Adelaide-based Alison Currie were eventually able to unite in person, to create a trans-hemispheric, cross-cultural, mixed-medium work exploring a world concurrently divided and united by technology and contagion.
During the three years leading to the premiere of 'Somewhere Everywhere Nowhere', Yui and Alison exchanged personal stories, phone calls, sound recordings and video rehearsals. Together, online, they explored the challenges of maintaining control and balance in a globalized world, where distant events influence each other - sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly. They translated their experiences into choreography, and through an animated light sculpture designed by Fabian Bleisch and a mesmerising soundscape by Sascha Budimski featuring distant sounds and conversations in English, Japanese and German.
Since Yui and Alison began discussing 'Somewhere Everywhere Nowhere' the world has changed a lot. Long-distance connection has become the norm for a lot of people who are unable to travel to see their families and who are, at times, also isolated in their homes, away from their local communities. The work brings the perspectives of two distant artists, together, to reveal a fuller picture of our world, and shine light on the ghosts in the machines we all operate within.
In this new world, chaos is serene, the smallest deviation can be the biggest opportunity, and humans are defined, not by what we know, but rather by what we are yet to discover together.
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“This powerful, haunting performance by Adelaide-based Alison Currie and Japanese-born, Berlin-based Yui Kawaguchi explores the constraints and possibilities of this strange new age in which we find ourselves.”
“In 50 short minutes, Currie and Kawaguchi manage to convey this sense of being together, yet apart; of being individuals from different nations who share the same humanity; of finding connection in a virtual world while growing ever more disconnected from what is real.”
“Whether a warning or a lament, this is a performance that will burn deep long after it is over, leaving one pondering for days afterwards about the nature of the era of connectivity and disconnection we now live in.”
“This is a superb piece of work”
“…mesmeric and affecting…”
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