Alyx Duncan and Co: The Nature of Wishing

MEDIA RELEASE
6 July 2006

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR…

Alyx Duncan and Co present
THE NATURE OF WISHING

Auckland audiences are treated to performance magic as they take their seats behind the curtain on the stage of the St James Theatre for the premiere on the 25th of August of a new dance work, THE NATURE OF WISHING, by choreographer and filmmaker Alyx Duncan.

THE NATURE OF WISHING is a haunting and beautiful dance theatre work that presents moments in the life of a traveling female magician. Beset the mundane and the insurmountable, the hilarious and the sorrowful, the illusory and the magical, she searches for happiness in the world of magic and in the magic of life.

“Together they tumbled, their love swirled and compressed. Time, which looked on though all of this, passed. The passions of my parents were endless. Yet after a millennia of both tender and violent nights, their scorching heat seared a something into being. That something was me. I lay softly shimmering… ”

So begins a dance that weaves together the mythic with the subtlety of ordinary life: A charlatan, two lovers, an alarm clock, a landscape in miniature, a dismembered torso and pair of legs who struggle to reunite, and through it all the tale of a magician striving to find magic in simple things. “We walk through life with our minds constantly filtering information and technology, but we are beings that grow from the earth and eventually return. THE NATURE OF WISHING explores the beauty and joy of being right here, now,” says Alyx.

Alyx Duncan has directed, choreographed and studied film and dance for the past ten years. Her short film Pandora is currently touring Australia and New Zealand in dance film festival REELDANCE and her direction and choreographing of music video Fuji for New Zealand band Minuit has seen her nominated at the 2006 Kodak Music Video awards in Wellington. Alyx also teaches videodance at Unitec and works as a commercial director with production company Automatic.

Alyx Duncan’s direction and choreography of THE NATURE OF WISHING creates a poetic journey that combines a surreal beauty with a gritty reality.

The cast, including five talented dancers and a live music ensemble, create a piece with luscious imagery with vitality and pathos.

THE NATURE OF WISHING promises a unique and memorable dance experience. With its powerful use of movement, theatrics and live music this piece will make a distinctive contribution to New Zealand dance.

THE NATURE OF WISHING stars dancers Felicity Molloy, Tallulah Holly-Massey, Kristian Larsen, Alex Leonhartsberger, Josh Rutter and musicians Chris O’Connor and Rosie Langabeer.

THE NATURE OF WISHING plays at the ST JAMES THEATRE:
Friday 25 August at 8pm, Sat 26 August 26th at 2pm (matinee show) and 8pm,
Sun 27 August at 6.30pm
Tickets $25 (plus booking fee), bookings through Ticket Direct ph: 0800 4 ticket or www.ticketdirect.co.nz

ENDS

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