What a journey it has been to get to this moment. In 2020, as we were in the theater in technical rehearsal for the original iteration of Impermanence, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic became apparent. A matter of days before opening night, the curtain came down before it had ever been raised.
In 2015, I choreographed Frame of Mind using Bryce Dessner’s Ahyem—a driving, thrilling piece for string quartet, originally commissioned by the Kronos Quartet. I really connected to that piece of music and the artistic relationship with Bryce grew once he had an opportunity to see the dancers rehearsing to his score. He was in Sydney performing with his band, The National, in 2018 when he had the opportunity to visit the studio. From that meeting, our creative collaboration blossomed.
Bryce Dessner and I were initially inspired to consider the ephemeral nature of life when we spent time together in Paris in 2019, shortly after the Notre Dame fire. We reflected on how easily things fall apart, even structures we imagine to be eternal, but also the fragility and impermanence of human life, the planet, and human relationships. This transience, so fleeting and vulnerable, is the perfect subject for live performance and brings added poignancy as we now navigate a post-COVID world.
Much of the score was written towards the end of 2019, when the bushfire crisis overwhelmed Australia. Bryce was deeply affected by what he was seeing—the images of the bush on fire, headline news across the world, permeated his thinking and the work. The personal connection he felt to Australia, to Sydney, to the Company, the dancers, saw beauty germinate from desolation.
As it became apparent towards the end of 2020 that we would, perhaps, be able to perform on stage again, I contacted Bryce to explore extending both his score and my choreography—to create a full-length work that responded to the initial stimulus and to the shattering change to the fabric of our lives that had affected us all.
Bryce has created incredible music. It is full of emotional power—epic, driven, raw, and poignant. The choreography takes its cues from these drivers inspired by the questions the music raises for me: What do we hold dear? How do we make each and every moment count? From devastation, what is the pathway through energy and urgency to peace and radiance?
It has been a real treat to conceive this work together—to explore the emotional drivers through both dance and music and to arrive at a place where the parts knit together so closely to make the whole... and to be able to shape Impermanence in response to such unexpected, but life-changing global events— for me, this encapsulates the incredible power of contemporary dance and music and how the response of the artist can truly resonate.
Part of making that whole is of course the Australian String Quartet—working with them to not only realize the work for performance but to also jointly commission the score has been a joy. I want to thank the wonderful musicians of the Australian String Quartet—Dale Barltrop, Francesca Hiew, Christopher Cartlidge, and Michael Dahlenburg. Their talent is breathtaking and their passion for this project inspiring. It has been a pleasure to work again with Damien Cooper, whose lighting brings so much depth to this work, and designers David Fleischer and Aleisa Jelbart, whose set and costume designs have captured our world of Impermanence.
My sincere thanks go to all those who have worked on Impermanence, especially the dancers—both those who worked through months of Zoom rehearsals to bring the work to life, and those who have since performed it around Australia and the world.
Now more than ever, I realize that we must make the most of every moment, that every moment counts—we must hold tight what we hold dear. I hope that you enjoy every moment of Impermanence.