The involvement of local young and professional dancers was a highlight when the Dancing with Bees artwork was created.
The community launch of Dancing with Bees will be held next week (Wednesday 27 March).
Orange Regional Gallery Director, Brad Hammond believes “one of the most exciting aspects about the upcoming Dancing with Bees public artwork will be the inclusion and celebration of Orange’s young dancers in the project.”
Artist Zanny Begg put out a casting call for local dancers last year, and Brad Hammond said it was “inspiring to see young performers from our region selected to dance for this ground-breaking project by one of Australia’s leading visual artists.”
Young dancers from our region include Madison Gwynne, Claudia Horan, Paityn Klaare, Lylah Maunder, Lucy Nunn and Maddie Tratt.
Established professional dancers Ella Havelka and Ashlee Wilson, who both grew up in the Central West, also returned specifically to take part in this significant project.
DANCERS: A production image from a dance by Paityn Klaare and Lylah Maunder, presents a creative response to the Sugar Bag Bee/Austroplebeia Australis – one of the 11 native bee species that feature in the artwork each hour.
Zanny Begg professionally engaged all of the dancers as well as the local videography team. She majority-funded the project through grants that she secured from Creative Australia and Create NSW. Additional funding from a NSW Government Arts and Culture Infrastructure Grant awarded to Council for Public Art projects also ensured that the project could be realised.
The artwork consists of digital imagery and video shown 24/7 on two circular screens, one hung above the other. The screens are positioned on the front of the Orange Civic Theatre, about seven metres above the ground.
The top screen will display a series of very high-resolution images of native bees photographed by Zanny Begg at the Insect and Mite Collection at the NSW DPI Biosecurity Unit in Orange. Each image of a bee specimen is assembled from up to 200 separate photographs using microscopic equipment. Scientists tell how bees communicate with each other through intricate dance-like movements when they return to the hive about the direction and distance to food sources.
The lower screen will show video of local and visiting dancers responding through dance to each of the bees on the screen above. The video, created by artist Zanny Begg, was filmed by local production team Little Image Co. on the stage of the Orange Civic Theatre. The dancers perform choreography created by renowned Australian choreographer Larissa McGowan in response to the movement of the bees.
Public Launch
The launch, to be held Wednesday 27 March at 5.30pm will feature:
- Zanny Begg, Artist and
- Peter Gillespie, Curator, Scientific Collections, Biosecurity Collections, Primary Industries, Department of Regional NSW present a discussion in the Gallery Theatre about the project.
- There will also be a dance performance by Central West dancer, Maddie Tratt who features in the ‘Dancing with Bees’ project.
- This will be followed by the official launch of the project in the cultural precinct, including a performance of the Sugar Bag Bee dance by Paityn Klaare and Lylah Maunder.
