Holding Space is a revolutionary performance series of short works directed by Australian choreographer Michelle Heaven redefining the intersection of performance and immersive experiences in an innovative and intimate dance theatre production for audiences in hospitals.
The work draws inspiration from iconic Australian children’s author, Jeannie Baker, whose distinctive picture books create meaningful stories with broad appeal to audiences of different ages and cultural backgrounds. Baker’s book, ‘Window’ tracks an unfolding sequence of events across time witnessed through one window. Baker’s works are often wordless and carefully crafted to evoke meaning and bring awareness to readers while advocating for the voiceless including the environment. For Michelle, these works are like choreography on a page and stimulate her ongoing interest and investigation into the many correlations between dance and visual arts. Holding Spaces’ stage, a cone-shaped frame, designed by Ben Cobham, will act like a portal or ‘window’ framing a ‘moving collage’. The cone- shaped frame connects to the hospital table and glides seamlessly into place without touching the bed or patient, obscuring the hospital environment to provide a focus point for the performance.
The unique Restless dancers perform a deeply personal, one-on-one performance, informed by disability, crafted to emotionally resonate and provide a profound and uplifting experience for audiences unable to attend a theatre. Six specially designed theatrical cones/portals transform patient’s bed spaces into intimate sanctuaries, where the sterile, clinical environment of a hospital fades away. Each innovative, perspective bending portal is a key part of the performance and is designed adhering to hospital protocol.