Scoop  Culture

24 March 2017

Artist in Residence’s first choreographer to take up eight-week residency

Chloe Loftus (front) dancing at Aberystwyth, Wales (image credit: Keith Morris)

Choreographer and dancer Chloe Loftus has been selected as the 2017 Auckland Council Artist in Residence – an annual initiative celebrating the creation of new and inspiring art. She is the first choreographer to be selected for the residency, which is now in its 10th year.

Chloe will take up residency in the picturesque Long Bay Regional Park to choreograph a parks-inspired dance during an eight-week period from mid-October.

She is an experienced performer whose vibrant choreographic work has toured internationally to critical acclaim. Chloe’s gravity defying, bungee-assisted dance will be a key element of her performance, which will be showcased to the public at the end of her residency.

She has experimented with suspended movement before and the residency will give her the opportunity to develop this, inspired by elements of the park and its visitors. Park visitors will be able to observe and engage with Chloe while she choreographs and rehearses.

Councillor Alf Filipaina, Deputy Chair of Auckland Council’s Environment and Community Committee, says the residency offers an unusual and challenging opportunity and Chloe’s extensive experience and originality won favour with the selection panel.

“The Artist in Residence programme immerses an artist within one of Auckland’s most beautiful regional parks. It provides them with a place and space to create work, which is later shared with the public.

“Chloe’s previous work shows innovation and inventiveness and I think youth in particular will be intrigued by the new way of moving that she is experimenting with,” he says.

Chloe – who specialises in outdoor and site-specific performances, taking dance away from traditional theatres to public spaces including parks, beaches and city squares – says living in the park day in and day out will enable her to soak in the sights and sounds of her surroundings, which will be reflected back through her performance.

“I look forward to delving into my residency later in the year and echoing the patterns and shapes of the park’s environment into my work. I am also fascinated with the positive effects experienced by visitors as they interact with nature,” she says.

Visit Auckland Council’s website for further information about the Artist in Residence programme and previous residents.

About Chloe Loftus

Chloe has worked as a professional dancer and choreographer around the world. She initially trained in Wellington before continuing her career in the UK where she achieved a BA (Hons) in Dance Performance. Eager to create her own work, Chloe started her dance company Chloe Loftus Dance in 2006. Over the past decade she has been creating dance, which is characterised as being very physical and often includes suspension work. She is also active in dance education, teaching workshops, movement direction and mentoring dance graduates.

About the Auckland Council Regional Parks Artist in Residence programme

• Selected artists live and work in our regional parks to generate new, original artwork to share with the public;

• The programme is open to artists working across all media. Previous residents include a poet, installation artists, composers, photographers, filmmakers and painters;

• The residency is for an eight-week period from mid-October to mid-December;

• The residency moves every year to generate awareness about different parks;

• Art generated through the residency is shared with the public. This might be via an exhibition, performance, concert, workshop or publication.
ends

© Scoop Media

 

Culture Headlines | Health Headlines | Education Headlines