Wayne McGregor relishes the process of watching an idea transpire through different points of view. As one of today’s great collaborators, and most forward-thinking choreographers, he has worked with Joby Talbot of The Divine Comedy, Jim Henson’s Creature Workshop, The White Stripes, and prolific English artist Julian Opie. But for McGregor, collaboration is far from simply brand association – it’s a matter of beginning with a question, and finding the answer via collaboration with professionals from entirely different fields to dance.
Lately, in preparation for his new work with The Australian Ballet, McGregor has been working with neuroscientists, researching the psychological theory of distributive cognition. “I thought it would be very interesting to find out what was the nature of collaboration from a cognitive point of view,” McGregor says. “We did a whole research program in the States in preparedness for this piece. It was about how an idea distributes between a group.” McGregor’s work for the upcoming Concord programme, Dyad 1929, is the partner piece for his London-based work Dyad 1909. The works bookend the period of between the birth of the Ballets Russes and the death of its mastermind Sergei Diaghilev.
McGregor’s work begins with an idea – usually about the mechanics of the human body – and music is incorporated into the process at later stages. In the collaborative tradition of the Ballets Russes, McGregor will be working with American avant-garde composer Michael Gordon. During the time of the Ballets Russes tours, technology was mechanical and Futurism flourished throughout the art world. McGregor believes that Gordon is the perfect artist to help bring these themes to the surface: “Michael is very much about the history of looking forward and using technology to inspire his work.”
Concord premieres in Melbourne on 21 August and before opening in Sydney on 11 November
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