An immersive dance experience into the debauched and underground world of alternative club culture

Enter the world of SlowDive and take a journey to the Brisbane nightclub scene of the 1990s. Choreographer Claire Marshall successfully recreates the atmosphere, aesthetics and feeling of a club in this dance-based, immersive performance art experience where the audience becomes part of the action.

SlowDive cleverly explores human behaviour, as it shifts between the strangely compelling and the somewhat disturbing events that occur in a night club environment. Surrounded by elegant, erotic, at times hilarious and at times violent contemporary dance choreography, the audience follows a bunch of clubbers over the course of a debauched night out.

Venue Format
Black Box Venue
Technical Rating
B, The production can be modified to suit most venues
Touring Party
9
Considerations

Adult content. A talk with student groups/ debrief is recommended if performed for students.

SLOWDIVE INCLUDES: A cast of 6 dance artists, door wench (who doubles as a production assistant), an adaptable set, colourful costumes, additional marketing/ press and promotion (ongoing if toured) as well as a press kit with Claire’s marketing strategies for this work. Slow Dive also bring's it's own bar set piece for use as a bar during the performance!

This work is not recommended for people under 16 years of age. Rated 16+.

Slow Dive is not recommended for people who do not feel comfortable to stand up for long periods of time, or who don't want to move around the space, however wheel chair access can be managed (pending the venue).

Lighting: Standard lighting rig.

The lighting is an important part of the work as it helps direct the audiences attention, given that the audience shares the performance space with the performers. As each venue space is different. lighting will be adjusted to suit, lighting cues are created based on where the action occurs in each venue. A lighting plan will be supplied to each venue based on their tech specs enabling pre-rig and quicker bump-in.

Ideally, Claire would like to use the Lighting operator from the venue and would require the Lighting operator for a 6 hour call on day 1, and an 8.5 hour call on day two.

Bar staff if the venue has a licence for service of alcohol. Plastics for service of alcohol, Mop and bucket,

Claire Marshall is a Brisbane-based independent choreographer and producer. Her work covers a broad spectrum; from independent contemporary dance projects, dance on screen projects, music videos and TV commercials.

Claire has also choreographed music videos for recording artists including Darren Hayes, Megan Washington, Little Birdie, Kate Miller Heidke, Powderfinger, The Sleepy Jackson, The Living End, Skipping Girl Vinegar, and The John Butler Trio. Claire choreographed the Savage Garden Affirmation world tour in 2000, Time Machine UK tour for Darren Hayes in 2007, and projections for a George Michael tour in 2005.

Claire has created numerous independent live contemporary projects including SlowDive which has had two seasons at the Brisbane Powerhouse, Arts Centre Gold Coast, and In the Cairns Festival. SlowDive was presented at APAM in February 2012. http://www.performingartsmarket.com.au/program/details/slowdive

Claire has created dance on screen works. Her first (Pulse) was one of the four shortlisted finalist nominated for an Australian Dance Award in Canberra in 2013.

Company Website
clairemarshall.com.au

Unique Selling Point

The music used in the show is a unique selling point.

As is the subject matter, as most people have been to a night club.

There's a sense of nostalgia for older people who often have moved away from the city and 'used to go out'.

For younger audiences SlowDive can have an educational perspective through it's confrontational delivery of some of the incidences that occur in the work (alcohol abuse, date rape, excess, drugs, the need to belong/ fit in)

Community Engagement

The audience engages through the experience of viewing the work which occurs in a immersive setting where the audience and performers share the performance space.

Slow Dive is a unique way to sell contemporary dance to uninitiated dance audiences; it’s a work that diverse audience can relate to, and delivers in an accessible (yet still artistic and innovative) way. Slow Dive is contemporary dance packaged as a great night!

INCORPORATING LOCALS: SlowDive can also incorporate 2 local dancers to participate as one of the dancers "boganette offsiders". Dancers are selected through an audition/workshop process and additional rehearsal time in the space is required. Introduced at The Arts Centre Gold Coast, this resulted in improved box office sales.

SlowDive is designed for interested venues in locations ideally with a larger youth or university populations, or where there might be a pub or club scene.

Slow Dive is suited to people aged 16-50 or who have an interest in music subcultures, niteclubs, seeing bands, drinking alcohol, or carving up the local discotheque. The work occurs in a non-traditional format where by the audience shares the space with the performers.

Slow Dive is designed to be able to be tweaked slightly to appeal to various music based sub-cultures depending on the demographic of the location. For example, (within Queensland) this could be Indie dance scene for the gold and sunshine coast, Ipswich Emos, Brisbane goths. Slow Dive is set in the early 1990's (which is on the brink of a fashion and pop music revival), and so the work also has a sense of nostalgia for the 30- 40 year old age bracket, whist also being current for younger generations.

Should time permit, community workshops can be conducted with potential for locals to be included in the work.