UP CLOSE & PERSONAL – An Interview with Chunky Move (AAPPAC 30th Anniversary Edition)
UNITED Asia TOPA_Gianna-Rizzo
Who is Chunky Move?
Chunky Move is a contemporary dance company based in Naarm/Melbourne, known for its brand of genre-defying experimental performance involving a sophisticated melding of choreography and integrated design with an evolving cohort of collaborating artists.
The work U>N>I>T>E>D was selected for presentation at the 2024 AAPPAC Connecting Series in Taipei. Tell us more about how the pitch programme supported your goals as a company.
The AAPPAC programme connects artists and companies to an incredible network of institutions and presenters who have capacity to support touring works of scale. For Chunky Move it allowed us to expand our networks significantly, and selection in the programme also elevated the company’s platform, acknowledging the significance of our work in a competitive international context. The backing of AAPPAC has been critically important in profiling Chunky Move to new networks for future exchange and opportunity. It also positioned us as a voice that has relevance in the Asia Pacific region, which means a great deal to us as close neighbours with goodwill to share!
What do you think are the most important ingredients/factors in bringing about meaningful international partnerships and collaborations?
Most important is taking time to build meaningful connections by listening and learning about each other’s context, experience, capacity and point of view. It’s also good to try to sense if you think you are the big fish, or the little fish in the partnership/collaboration. That’s not always obvious or straightforward, but sometimes you should know if you need to be the one supporting the project more than the partner, or vice-versa.
Beyond pitching, how do you think AAPPAC can support companies like yours looking to engage with presenters and partners in Asia-Pacific?
Bringing together individuals and organisations from all corners of the globe who have a shared care for the value of art, cultural dialogue and exchange, is a time-honoured practice. AAPPAC honours and cultivates this practice as intrinsic to a healthy, happy and purposeful world, where sharing experiences, stories and creativity is the first step.
Looking ahead, what do you think are some challenges and/or opportunities for dance communities in Asia Pacific, and how do you see Chunky Move leading in these areas?
Connections between Australia and the Asia Pacific feel especially vibrant. Chunky Move is fortunate to have 31 years of experience in leading a space for ambitious, experimental new contemporary dance works with a technical rigour in form and content. We offer many touch points for engagement through our programming, which offer both high-quality performance outcomes, as well as a vibrant studio programme, hosting artists at home and from abroad. One such programme, our biennial Choreolab, invites a notable artist from the Asia Pacific to lead a week-long free dance and/or performance workshop for local participants, connecting local artists with the most interesting artists from our nearest neighbouring countries.
Outside of rehearsals and touring, what inspires the team at Chunky Move creatively?
What inspires Chunky Move is being able to see the capacity for creativity within everyone, and then creating a space and culture that can shape this into something special. We love creative ideas and the enthusiasm to manifest them, no matter who or where they come from.
UNITED_Asia TOPA_Michael-Pham
UNITED Biennale-Danza (Image courtesy of Andrea-Avezzù)