Black Milk
Presented by DOUGLAS WRIGHT DANCE COMPANY
Supported by Creative New Zealand and the Douglas Wright Charitable Trust
AUSTRALIA
SYDNEY – Sydney Opera House, Drama Theatre, July 2006
NEW ZEALAND
INVERCARGILL – Civic Theatre 25 March 2006
DUNEDIN – Regent Theatre 28 March 2006
CHRISTCHURCH – James Hay Theatre 31 March 2006
AUCKLAND – Sky City Theatre 5-8 April 2006
WELLINGTON – Opera House 12-13 April 2006
Black Milk is the culmination of 25 years of making dance theatre by Douglas Wright.
Like all dance works, Black Milk began as a seed of an idea that gathered momentum and energy from its creator. It germinated and grew while Douglas Wright drafted the manuscript for Terra Incognito, his latest literary offering. He described the idea as haunting him, begging to be created.
"I didn't think I would make another large-scale dance theatre work, but the central idea for Black Milk wouldn't leave me alone, and in the end I had to give in to it," he says.
The result is Black Milk, a profound and physical exploration of the intangible boundaries of love, fear and memory, in a uniquely physical language charting the divided human personality.
Director/Choreographer/Writer Douglas Wright
Producer Fenn Gordon for Tandem
Set/Costume Designer Michael Pearce
Composer/Sound Designer David Long
Lighting Designer Robrecht Ghesquière
Rehearsal Director Megan Adams
The Ventriloquist Brian Carbee
Dancers Craig Bary, Sarah-Jayne Howard, Helaina Keeley, Alex Leonhartsberger, Claire O'Neil, Jessica Shipman, Taiaroa Royal
Dancers/Understudies Kelly Nash, Guy Ryan
Media Release
In March 2006 acclaimed New Zealand choreographer Douglas Wright will premiere a new full length production, Black Milk, culminating 25 years of making dance theatre. The tour will premiere on 25th March 2006 in Invercargill's recently renovated Civic Theatre and proceed to Dunedin, Christchurch, Auckland and Wellington.
Not only has the internationally lauded choreographer produced some of this country's most memorable and confronting dance theatre, he has also demonstrated an exceptional flair with the written word, winning the EH McCormick Best First Book Award (Non-fiction) at the 2005 Montana Book Awards for his memoir, Ghost Dance. The desire to create a new performance began to haunt Wright as he was working on a new book, an insight into his creative process and his recent life.
“After Inland in 2002, I intended to focus exclusively on my writing,” Wright said. “I didn’t think I would make another large-scale dance-theatre work, however the central idea for Black Milk wouldn't leave me alone, and in the end I had to give in to it.”
Black Milk is an exploration of the boundaries of love, fear and memory, expressed through Wright's uniquely physical language and trademark earthy black humour. This is the first major new work since 2002 from Douglas Wright (an inaugural Arts Foundation of NZ Arts Laureate and recipient the Creative NZ Choreography Fellowship) and will showcase the gifts of some of New Zealand's leading dancers. Sarah-Jayne Howard and Claire O'Neil are both returning from overseas for the tour. Leading male dancer Craig Bary also had a planned performance at the Opera House in Australia rescheduled in order to be available, commenting: “When I heard Douglas was creating a new work I knew it would be because he was intensely inspired. This is a rare and precious opportunity to be part of that experience.” The ensemble will also feature Helaina Keeley, Tai Royal, Alex Leonhartsberger and Jessica Shipman.
The choreography will be set to the music of famed Hungarian composer Gyorgy Ligeti, integrated into an original score by Wellington's David Long (recent recipient of a 2005 NZ Screen Award for his work on The Insiders Guide to Happiness). Formerly a member of The Mutton Birds and Six Volts, Long recently produced Dave Dobbyn's widely-acclaimed album Available Light and created musical sound design with Plan 9 for the Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong.
Wright's long-time collaborator Michael Pearce will design the set and costumes. Pearce is an exhibiting artist in his own right, whose set work includes stage design for the Australian Dance Theatre, Sydney Dance Company, Nederlands Dance Theatre and the Australian Ballet.
The 2006 season of Black Milk will coincide with the release of Douglas Wright's second book, Terra Incognito, to be published by Penguin.
Donors of significance to the Douglas Wright Charitable Trust to support the tour of Black Milk were Brian Sweeney and Jane Vesty, Sam Neill of Two Paddocks, Denis and Verna Adam, Jenny Gibbs, and James Wallace Arts Trust. Support was also provided by the Performing Arts Foundation of New Zealand, DANZ Dance Aotearoa New Zealand and Tapac.