The National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, presents a new performance commission by artist Rochelle Haley. At the core of the work is a relationship between dancer, sunlight, and architecture. Conceived in relation to the design of the original National Gallery building, shafts of sunlight streaming through architectural forms provide changing sets for dance over the course of a single day – 24 February 2024. Three cycles marked by morning, midday and afternoon sun provide opportunities for audiences to orientate themselves within the structure of the work.
The performance, developed over different seasons, draws influence from the feel of sun on skin; the temporal passage of sun to earth; the geometries of the architecture; the hum of the building; and architect Col Madigan’s observation of light “dancing” through the gallery.
Rochelle Haley, A Sun Dance (work in development, November 2023). Commissioned by the National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra 2023. Assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body. With additional support from the Australian Research Council through research and commissioning partner Precarious Movements: Choreography and the Museum. Dancers pictured: Angela Goh, David Huggins, Lizzie Thomson, Niki Verrall and Ivey Wawn. National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra. Photograph: Leanne Mason
