Phillip adams balletlab at TEMPERANCE HALL
Phillip Adams BalletLab respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which Temperance Hall is located, the Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respect to Elders past, present and emerging, and to all First Nations people.
ABOUT
Phillip Adams BalletLab at Temperance Hall is the Australian amplifier of experimental dance, performance and art. We champion queer artistic ambition, creating transformative dance and cultural experiences that are open to all.
We are an art producing company creating experimental dance with a queer heart.
We manage a venue for the presentation and development of our work and the work of others.
We produce work in theatres and community places, live and online.
We support and develop the work of emerging and mid-career independent artists and collectives.
We partner with established artists, companies and festivals to spread our art and our resources.
We tell stories with, by and for, the LGBTIQ+ community and share this artistic expression with the wider community.
VISION
Phillip Adams BalletLab and Temperance Hall aspire to be pinnacle creators and curators of an unconventional artistic program of experimental dance, performance and art, inclusive of LGBTIQ+ and marginalised communities, nationally and internationally.
This vision is underpinned by values of:
- Radical inclusivity
- Expansive connectedness
- Fearless, courageous collaboration
- Audacious leadership
- Artistic distinction.
HISTORY
Established in 1998, Phillip Adams BalletLab (PABL) is a visionary Melbourne based dance company and leader in innovative and experimental Australian dance practice. Led by seminal choreographer and artist Phillip Adams, winner of the 2018 Australia Council Award for Dance, Phillip Adams BalletLab has presented over 20 works in prestigious arts festivals and venues across Australia, Europe, North and South America, and Asia.
PABL embodies an absolute devotion to extending the boundaries of contemporary dance practice by stimulating new languages between art forms. The company has spearheaded critical connections between dance and the visual arts, shifting choreography into highly unexpected contexts. Phillip has played a leading role in the curation of choreography into Australian museums and galleries including MONA, NGV, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Art Gallery of WA, Melbourne Museum and MPavilion.
In November 2016, PABL stepped into a new phase, assuming its position as company in residence at South Melbourne’s historic Temperance Hall (TH). Built in 1863, TH stands on the lands of the Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri peoples near Emerald Hill, which was a gathering place or willam, a site for corroborees, marriages and dispute resolution. TH is of historical and social value as a community place for over 150 years, used for social and cultural events, meetings, and religious worship. Since the 1980s, TH has been associated with the performing arts, beginning with the legendary Anthill Theatre who inhabited the building during the ‘new wave’ of Australian theatre in the 80s and early 90s. Since then, TH has been vitalised by a range of local independent artists working across dance, theatre and contemporary performance.
PABL has worked in close partnership with the building’s custodians, Working Heritage, to restore and re-invigorate this South Melbourne landmark into a thriving and welcoming home for multidisciplinary art. As the Artistic Director of TH, Phillip has extended his curatorship to programming experimental dance and performance works in the venue and leading advocacy for LGBTIQ+ artists and arts practices. Infrastructure funding through Creative Victoria in 2018 has further allowed PABL to renew TH host a variety of artistic and cultural programs and events. PABL/TH continues to develop and deepen the capacity of TH to be a unique hub for Victorian artist development, residency, exchange, presentation and exhibition.
Image credits:
1. Top left image courtesy: EVER photo by Gregory Lorenzutti
2. Top right image courtesy: Glory photo by Jeff Busby
3. Exterior photo of Temperance Hall
4. Aviary by Phillip Adams, headdresses by Richard Nylon, photo by Jeff Busby.
Temperance Hall acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land in which we dance and create, the Bunurong Boon Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation, and pay our respect to Elders both past and present and, through them, to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.