Interview with Rhiannon Newton

Introducing Rhiannon Newton

Rhiannon Newton is an Australian choreographer who grew up on Dunghutti land and lives and work on Gadigal and Wangal land. At Liveworks, she will present Long Sentences.

Long Sentences is a dance about a sentence — and a sentence that realises it is dancing. Navigating double meanings, foretold endings and the gap between words and feelings, Long Sentences plays with how language and sensation move us beyond ourselves.

Spinning in the accumulating choreography of a long sentence, artist and performer Rhiannon invites audiences to time-travel with her and feel the chorus of voices, beings and times shaping the future of our stories.

"Performance feels like an important place for being with something real and vulnerable." - Rhiannon Newton

What can audiences expect from your performance?

A few things, I hope. Long Sentences is about this space between what we feel, and what we can communicate with words. It comes out of my practice of working a lot with dancing and writing — and is interested in how complex and precise the body can be. Through much of the work I dance and speak simultaneously. I am accompanied by a 23kg rock from my hometown on Dunghutti country, as well as a looping pedal, a lazy susan and very beautiful live sound by Peter Lenaerts.

I hope audiences maybe feel something in relation to the second meaning of the word sentence, which is about how an action that happens very quickly in the present moment can shape these much longer time frames. In sharing the work, I hope people experience a sense of toggling between the sharp immediacy of the present and the feeling of being a part of a longer (maybe even planetary scaled) present moment.

What is the role of performance in your life?

Performance feels like an important place for being with something real and vulnerable. Just to be super dance nerdy, I’ve been thinking a bit lately about this quote from Martha Graham – that the body doesn’t lie — even if we maybe want it to. There’s been moments in recent years where I’ve been surprised, maybe even embarrassed, by how moved I am while watching a performance in public.

These works had such refreshing honesty, or had crafted such a thoughtful space for feeling things, which much of life doesn’t quite allow. So, I think I have a kind of faith in performance, as one of the ways of coming together and processing what is going on.

What are you most looking forward to at Liveworks?

I had a really nice time at Liveworks last year; I saw works from artists I didn’t know and loved; Carriageworks felt kind of turned inside out — I felt both lost and at home. So, yes, I’m excited and looking forward to encountering the other works and overall journey of the festival. There’s a kind of heft to solo works, so I’m keen to see the other solos in the program. I am excited about The Queer Woodchop by Pony Express and I think I might really enjoy Sticky Hands, Stitched Mountains by Nanako Matsumoto and Ciwas Tahos.