Theatre news: ULTRA by Darkroom Contemporary Dance Theatre at Woorfees 2023

Exciting news is that ULTRA, Performed By Darkroom Contemporary Dance Theatre, will be staged at the 2023 edition of Toyota US Woordfees in Stellenbosch. This new work [2023] by Louise Coetzer, features an original score by Brydon Bolton. ULTRA was commissioned by the South African State Theatre’s Kucheza Afrika Festival in April 2023. Darkroom Contemporary’s Louise Coetzer and Oscar O’Ryan recently received the Artist Award at POOL Movement Art Festival in Berlin (Germany). There are only three performances at Woordfees 2023. Read on for more:

A new work by Louise Coetzer, with original score by Brydon Bolton- Performed by Darkroom Contemporary Dance Theatre

ULTRA is a new work by Louise Coetzer, created for Darkroom Contemporary, originally was commissioned by the South African State Theatre’s Kucheza Afrika Festival in April 2023. In collaboration with the US Woordfees, ULTRA will be part of the Festival’s exciting line up, this October.

ULTRA exposes the physicality of extremes. The performance transcends beyond its own range of limits, seeking to balance the tension between extreme and moderate. The work echoes our current climate of extremist, reactionary colliding, and tests to what degree, the moderate and the revolutionary can co-exist.

“The concept for ULTRA stems from an interest in the nuances and complexities of  how societies function, both on the real and virtual planes. This seems to be a moment of extremes, in many forms and guises, and this work seeks to understand our physicality within that.” says choreographer Louise Coetzer.

ULTRA conjures a virtual reality where the performers’ humanness is continuously interrupted by an omnipresent machine. The live art performance incorporates multimedia elements and a new, original score by music artist Brydon Bolton, combining to draw viewers into an immersive experience.

True to the style of work Louise Coetzer, and Darkroom Contemporary are renowned for, ULTRA merges dance theatre with interdisciplinary live art, technology and elements of sound design to offer audiences a uniquely immersive experience.

This new full length work premiered at Kucheza Afrika Festival in April 2023, performed by award winning company Darkroom Contemporary Dance Theatre. Darkroom Contemporary’s Louise Coetzer and Oscar O’Ryan recently received the Artist Award at POOL Movement Art Festival Berlin (Germany), and the company’s performance art work blame it on the algorithm received Best Live and Interdisciplinary Art Production Award at the Vrystaat Kunstefees 2022. As a touring company, this is a rare opportunity for Western Cape audiences to experience Darkroom Contemporary’s work live.

ULTRA features as part of the Toyota US Woordfees 2023, at the HMS Bloemhof Hall, with performances on October 7 at 20h30, October 8 at 18h00 and October 10, at 15h00.  Tickets are available through Quicket, at R96 – R160 or R190 at the door.

Booking link: https://www.quicket.co.za/events/224060-ultra/?ref=events-list#/

NOTE: The work carries a Flashing Light Warning – ULTRA uses multimedia and lighting effects that may disturb photosensitive viewers.

LOUISE COETZER (b 1980, South Africa) is a multidisciplinary Dance Artist working  within the genres of Site-Specific Performance, Digital & Live Art, Choreography for the Stage, and Screendance. Her works are experiential, experimental, and place interdisciplinary approaches at their core, while grappling with the tensions between the physical and psychological, and mankind’s place within the universe and metaverse.

Her research on the use of New Technologies and Media Applications as presentation tools, is ongoing. A focus on broadening audience
interest in Dance, by connecting the form to the world outside the Theatre, informs her explorations of placing Dance in surprising juxtaposition with everyday life, both real and virtual. Her works are recognisable for their distinct physicality, intricately woven counterpoints and the conjuring of unexpected domains her performers inhabit, and she has produced works incorporating Kinetic Motion Sensor Technology, Full Dome 3D Projection, Interactive Laser Projection, Interactive Projection Mapping, Telematic Performance, Gaming, Interactive Sound Installation and Artificial Intelligence.

Coetzer trained as Dancer and obtained a B. Tech Degree in Dance, with Movement Composition as Major, from the Pretoria Technikon, and is currently living and working in Cape Town. She is founding Artistic Director of Darkroom Contemporary Dance Theatre, an Award Winning Company formed as a vehicle to reimagine Dance, through its innovative approach to staging and presenting Interdisciplinary Works. Coetzer is a Guest Lecturer at the University Of Cape Town’s Centre for Theatre Dance and Performance Studies and has taught as part of the faculties of the Cape Academy of Performing Arts, Dance For All, Western Cape Education Department, Cape Junior Ballet, City Varsity and AFDA.

PERFORMANCE

Recent commissions include new works for the Kucheza Afrika Festival, Pan African Telematic Art Project, CREATIVATE at the National Arts Festival, Zeits MOCAA, and the Iziko Planetarium. Her Performances and Installations have been showcased at the Zeits Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, the Centre For The Less Good Idea, Dance Umbrella, Kucheza Afrika Festival, Baxter Dance Festival, the National Arts Festival, Ars Electronica (Linz,Austria), Fak!ugesi Festival of African Digital Innovation, and the Norval Foundation, and was awarded Best Live & Interdisciplinary Art Production at Vrystaat Kunstefees 2022.

FILM

Coetzer is an award winning Dance Film maker and her Video Art and Screendance works have been presented at festivals worldwide. Awards include the POOL 22 Artist Award at POOL Movement Art Film Festival Berlin (Germany), Best of Festival Award at Third Coast Dance Film Festival (Nevada, USA); Best Film Award at Under The Dome Festival (SA); and Jury Awards at Denton Black Film Festival (Texas, USA); and Danceador Videodance Festival (USA). Her Film works have been presented by Video Art Miden (Greece), 40 North Festival (Calif. USA), Foreign Exchange (Paris, France), Ubumuntu Arts Festival (Kigali,Rwanda), Agite Y Sirva (Oaxaca, Mexico), The British Film Institute (London, UK) and Global Art & Moving Images (Pinsio, Finland).

More on Louise Coetzer: www.louisecoetzer.com

DARKROOM CONTEMPORARY Dance Theatre is an award winning, interdisciplinary Company formed as vehicle to reimagine Dance, through its innovative approach to staging and presenting contemporary works. Darkroom Contemporary challenges perceptions on how Dance is viewed, by creating unique audience experiences, and new ways of representing Dance through Live Art, Screendance, Interdisciplinary & Tech – Based Performance, and Site – Specific & Public Performance.

The organisation was founded in 2010 by Louise Coetzer and Oscar O’Ryan, in Cape Town, South Africa. Coetzer, a Dancer and Choreographer, and O’Ryan, a Photographer and Filmmaker, bring together expertise from their respective fields to form a dynamic partnership. Projects spearheaded by the founders provide platforms and create opportunities for skills development and exchange among all artists involved. An emphasis on the use of New Technology and Digital Media frames their artistic approach, with a focus on three pillars of activation:

PERFORMANCE                                                                                   

Darkroom Contemporary is a research & development Dance Company, exploring how Dance can merge with Technology to enhance its Live Performance and Film works. To date, the Company has produced works incorporating Kinetic Motion Sensor Technology, Full Dome 3D Projection, Interactive Laser Projection, Interactive Projection Mapping, Telematic Performance, Gaming, Interactive Sound Scaping and Artificial Intelligence; showcased at Ars Electronica (Linz, Austria); National Arts Festival, Zeits MOCAA, Norval Foundation, Centre for the Less Good Idea, Fa’kugesi Festival of African Digital Innovation, Pan African Creative Exchange, Kucheza Afrika Festival, Ubumuntu Arts Festival (Kigali, Rwanda) and Dance Umbrella.

FILM                                                                                                                         

An extensive & award winning body of Dance Film works exist alongside the Company’s Performance Repertoire, making the work accessible to a larger global audience through the mediums of Film and Digital Media. The Company’s Film works have featured at POOL Tanzfilm Festival Berlin (Germany); Festival Miden (Kalamata, Greece); Dance Days Chania ( Crete); Under the Dome Festival of Immersive Films; Denton Black Film Festival (Texas, USA); Antidote Festival (Netherlands); 40 North Festival (California USA); Agite Y Sirva ( Mexico); Foreign Exchange ( Paris, France); Global Art and Moving Images Awards ( Finland); U- Dance on Screen (UK); and the British Film Institute (UK).

DEVELOPMENT

The Company consistently explores new avenues to make Dance accessible to all, through its Artistic Output, Educational Activities and Developmental Initiatives. Darkroom Contemporary is a registered Non Profit Organisation and Public Benefit Organisation with the objectives to provide opportunities for trained performers and arts practitioners, while encouraging audiences to appreciate and support the art of Dance. The Company’s Development Initiatives provide platforms and create opportunities for skills development and exchange among all involved. These Development Initiatives include facilitating Youth Development through Arts Education, encouraging audience expansion through free Public Art activations, and raising the profile of Dance through its interactive approach tailored to the Digital Age.

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