MELBOURNE FRINGE FESTIVAL AT TEMPERANCE HALL
a SOLO SHOW THAT CELEBRATES THE IMPORTANCE OF LOVE AND ART, BY INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED, MONTREAL BASED CHOREOGRAPHER josé NAvas
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AVES, a solo show that celebrates the importance of love and art. Following his lineage of solo work, imbued with sobriety, abstraction, and simplicity, José Navas continues dancing his life on stage, as he has done for the last forty years. This show comprises dance solos that will invite the audience into the personal story of José Navas and Bill Douglas. The two artists met and lived together in NYC and later Montreal, sharing life and art until the death of Douglas from AIDS in 1996. The culmination of this artistic relationship, “While Waiting” – choreographed by Douglas and performed by Navas – was recognized in 1994 with a Bessie Award (New York Dance and Performance Award). AVES is a luminous dance ritual of hope and optimism, Navas’ way to pay homage to Douglas.
Choreographer and Performer: José Navas
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PERFORMANCE DATES
Thursday 19 October, 7pm
Friday 20 October, 7pm
Saturday 21 October, 7pm
LOCATION
Temperance Hall, Main Hall
199 Napier Street, South Melbourne
DURATION
50 mins, no interval
ACCESSIBILITY
Wheelchair accessible.
TICKETS
Full $30
Concession $24
Mobtix $15
Please book on the link below or call the Melbourne Fringe Box Office on 03 9660 9666 or have a look at the website for more information: melbournefringe.com.au
Contact: program[at]temperancehall.com.au for more information.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
JOSÉ NAVAS
Founder and Artistic Director of Compagnie Flak since 1995, José Navas carries out his overall artistic approach in three distinct ways: he dances with intensity in solo shows charged with emotion, he constructs abstract group pieces, and he creates pieces of contemporary ballet. Fascinated by the resonance of the body in space and by the calligraphy of formal movement, he shows himself to be an architect, constructing geometric abstract pieces. In 2008, the choreographer returned to his passion for the solo form by presenting Miniatures, exploiting his maturity’s resources. Next followed Personæ (2012) and Rites (2015). Winterreise (2020) unfolds around Schubert’s song cycle in an adaptation for piano, voice, and dance. In 2023, Navas celebrates the importance of love and art with AVES.
José Navas is also renowned for the innovative way he looks at contemporary ballet. In 2013, he celebrated the centenary of The Rite of Spring with a solo accompanied by a hundred musicians of the Brussels Philharmonic. As guest choreographer, he created for Ballet BC, The National Ballet of Canada, and the German company tanzmainz.
An Associate Dance Artist of the National Arts Centre, José Navas has presented his work in 30 countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia.
Image credits:
José Navas, by Sasha Onyshchenko
Temperance Hall's Melbourne Fringe Festival program has been made possible through the generous support of Gary Charman, our wonderful patrons and Creative Victoria, The Australian Government RISE Fund, The City of Port Phillip, Working Heritage and Heaps Normal.
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.