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'It has the potential to encapsulate global politics and humanities empathy...an important contribution to the cannon of performance art.'
- Kate Usher, Festival Director, Supercell Festival Of Contemporary Dance, on 'They Gather' -
"Inner Terra’..is a duet on heavily-researched themes of migration, crisis and outsiderness....Intelligent, emotional and with some powerfully strong and distinctive choreography...the connection between Fiske and Lau is compelling...the pair are engrossing to watch."
- Peter Jacobs, The Public Reviews, on work in progress performance of ‘Inner Terra’ 2016 -
'Balancing SUPERCELL’s stylistic breadth was its tight focus on the themes of globalisation and identity... Particular mentions to Bridget Fiske’s ‘Inner Terra’ and Hepi and Wasasala’s ‘Passing’ for their powerful exploration of cultural assimilation and its impact on identity. Both duets used physical exchanges, and the friction between the two bodies, to demonstrate how cultural assimilation works on and through our bodies, and the emotional marks it leaves.'
- Alana Tierney, Scenestre, 2017 -
Examples of works from Fiske & Lau's portfolio's: collaboratively & seperately
Bridget Fiske www.bridgetfiske.com
Bridget has an accomplished and international portfolio of roles in performance, choreography, teaching and facilitation (in community, education and professional contexts) as well as producing & dance development (including initiatives prioritising the artist’s voice in strategic sector development). As an artist Bridget strives to respond to underlying conditions of how we perceive, experience & cohabitate in the world: engaging with what is challenging & what is wonderful.
20 years in contemporary dance & interdisciplinary collaboration, in Australia, the UK, Europe and internationally, has reflected this philosophy and has defined responsiveness, embodied considerations, shared experience, discourse and rigour as central to Bridget's practice. These interests have opened opportunities for Bridget's artistic work to tackle a broad range of subjects including: urgent human rights issues, cultural identification and tensions and areas of scientific research. As a consequence, each work/project reveals unique processes and sensibilities that emerge from a desire to: be authentic to the subject matter and context, and engage with audiences and participants on kinaesthetic, conceptual, imaginative, social and emotional levels.
Since 2012 Bridget has been working as Choreographic / Movement & Rehearsal director with Belarus Free Theatre (BFT) on several international touring productions including ‘Burning Doors' with Pussy Riot’s Maria Alyokhina (winner ‘Best Ensemble’ Off West End Awards and listed in the New York Times 'Best Theatre of 2017'), ‘Trash Cuisine’ (winner 2013 Impacto Totale Award) and ‘Red Forest’ (LIFT Festival). as well as working with BFT directors on ‘Trustees’ (Malthouse Theatre and Melbourne International Festival) and ‘Counting Sheep: Staging A Revolution’ (VAULT Festival, London).
Bridget’s solo and collective independent works have been commissioned and presented by organisations and festivals such as: BeSpectACTive!, Illuminating York, Urban Moves, Supercell Festival Of Contemporary Dance, Mintfest, The Lowry (including The Future a partnership between Rambert and The Lowry and Dance: Sampled, The Queensland Art Gallery and more.
As a performer Bridget has worked with Buzz Dance Theatre, on ‘Accented Body’ (Director/Producer Cheryl Stock, presented in 2006 Brisbane International Festival) and with Joseph Lau (2010 TURN Prize winning work), Rosetta Cook, imitating the dog and Tarcisio Teatini-Climaco.
Bridget has an extensive portfolio of work teaching, facilitating and choreographing in community, education and professional artistic contexts including The Lowry Centre for Advanced Training, Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts, University of Salford, University of Central Lancashire, Manchester Metropolitan Univeristy, Dance North Australia, Tasdance, Expressions Dance Company (now Australiasian Dance Collective) and more.
Selected engagement projects have included:
- Choreographer of 'Stelarium', commissioned by Dance Manchester and the Science Engineering Education Research and Innovation Hub (SEERIH) at the University of Manchester. A Dance and Astrophysics project working with astrophysicists, Dr Rowan Smith, Norman Lockyer Fellow at Jodrell Bank, University of Manchester and Dr Helen Mason of the University of Cambridge, with additional support from Philippa Browning, Professor of Astrophysics at Jodrell Bank, University of Manchester. Performed by hundreds of young people from Greater Manchester and the North West at the Great Primary Science Share at Manchester Town Hall, the Great Science Share Takeover for Secondary school students at the Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester Day and as part of Signatures Youth Dance Trail, a partnership project by Dance Manchester and the Lowry, presented as part of UDance, the national youth dance festival.
- Choreographer (as Associate Artist of Company Chameleon) of 'Before The Pass' for Rugby League Cares 'Join The Momentum'. A large scale work performed by over 400 young people and youth dance leaders across Rugby League Magic Weekend at St James's Park, Newcastle reaching tens of thousands of live and broadcast audiences.
Working in the areas of dance development, management and producing Bridget has worked with
- Manchester Dance Consortium (Prodcuer of Manchester Choreolab 2017),
- Dance Manchester,
- Rio Rhythmics Latin Dance Academy, and
- Ausdance Queensland
Bridget is currently developing:
- as Associate Director & Curator, ’Sufi In The City’ (www.sufiinthecity.com, an intercultural & interdisciplinary project by contemporary British artists working with Sufi philosophies & artistic forms led by Sarah Sayeed),
- ‘The Body Of Us’, and - ‘They Gather’ (with Joseph Lau, Stephanie Pan, Stelios Manousakis and collaborating performers, www.theygatherproject.com).
Bridget completed a Bachelor of Arts (Dance) and BA Honours (Dance) at Queensland University of Technology.
Joseph Lau www.jauartist.com
CURRENT
'The Correspondents': Producer from Project Auske of a House of Europe funded international collaboration between artists Bridget Fiske (UK/ AUS) and Roman Liubyi (UA) with partner Babylon'13 (UA).
‘They Gather’ (co-creator/choreographer/director/producer): A multi-modal international and interdisciplinary independent project creating ‘gatherings’ in public, festival and digital spaces. Presented to date at/by The Lowry (UK), The Place & Chisenhale Dance's 'How Do We Tune Into Sentationm?' festival (UK), Rewire International Music Festival (NL) and Supercell Festival of Contemporary Dance (AUS). Supported to date by funders and partners in the UK, the Netherlands, Australia, Italy and Bulgaria www.theygatherproject.com
'Elephants': early-stage research into a new project. Recently supported via a remote residency funded by Dance4.
Coupling personal history with research into the legacy of elephants being used as beasts of burden in the logging and timber industries in South East Asia, as well as being motivated to engage with histories, cultures, identities, ecologies and activism. The project is exploring the complexities of the transformational cultural and socio-economic impact on communities from resource industries and the West’s influence, obsolescence, and who ultimately pays for the cost. This project adds to Joseph’s ongoing research interests and work that intersects economic theory, artistic & cultural identity (including migrant identity), trade history & globalisation, value systems and colonialism.
Joseph will be working with renowned artist Tony Yap as a virtual provocateur/ mentor.
CHOROGRAPHIC PORTFOLIO
'Snow': commissioned by University of Salford and performed by 2nd & 3rd-year dance students for their annual major performance project.
'The Study of Many': created as part of ATOM Choreographic Series #3, 2019. Working with 30 emerging and established international artists across a week-long international choreographic development project (Sofia, BG). This is a key event for dance in Bulgaria and as a consequence ATOM Choreographic Series #3 received a Sofia Municipality award for achievement in cultures (dance./ art).
‘Viva...’: a work for public spaces commissioned by ‘Dance Channels’ a Creative Europe project with outcomes in outdoor international dance festivals in England, Italy and Spain.
'Viva...Reverb': a public space work in development presented at 'Derelict', Preston and University of Salford 'Watch Us Dance' as a guest professional work.
‘Deeper Than All Roses’: for FascinatE a multimedia project between BBC, Technicolour, University of Salford and various EU partners.
‘PIIGS...Italy’: commissioned by Moving Dance Forward and presented at Contact, Manchester.
'Drawn Together. Drawn Apart': a fine art and dance collaboration involving 6 visual artists, 1 musician and 3 dance artists. Presented to date at MediaCityUK and TURN at Contact (UK).
Out of the Blue Productions (co-choreographer & performer): A new music and dance collective presenting works at Bridgewater Hall (UK), Austrian Cultural Forum, London (UK), the opening of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra's new studios at MediaCityUK,m Urban Moves International Dance Festival (UK) and La Fenice, Venice (IT).
‘Abandoned Things’, 2010 TURN Prize-winning work. A commission from Dance Manchester, hAb and greenroom. Presented at greenroom, Manchester (UK).
SOLO WORKS
‘Staff ID 5201’: Performed at TURN 2012 (Contact), Chorlton Arts Festival 2012 (Edge Theatre), Dance Cuts (Lancaster), Dance Base (Edinburgh), MediaCityUK for Black History Month at the University of Salford and Works Ahead presented by hÅb (Contact).
‘The Age Of Ledger’: Presented at Unity Theatre and Contact as part of Moving Dance Forward, Z-Arts as part of Homegrown and Supercell Festival Of Contemporary Dance (AUS).
PERFORMANCE PORTFOLIO
'Sea Change': by Boris Charmatz. Manchester International Festival (UK) 2021.
'Ways of Being Together: by Jo Fong. Presented as part of Chinese Arts Now Festival, London (UK), 2020.
Barking Gecko Theatre Company: Undertaking the lead role in ‘Hidden Dragons’. Touring urban, regional and remote Australia as well as to many children’s theatre festivals in Canada.
Buzz Dance Theatre: Company Dancer performing works by Paige Gordon and Felicity Bott, touring urban, regional and remote Australia. Also delivering outreach workshops in public and in-education contexts.
imitating the dog: Performer in ‘Zero Hour’ for Edinburgh Fringe Festival, British Council showcase.
Bridget Fiske: Collaborating performer in ‘YES Move. NO Move. (Moved?)’ a BeSpectACTive! commissioned EU residency project engaging with current asylum seekers (in & out of detention), Roma communities & artists, activists, people ‘erased’ during Slovenia’s independence and Romanian youth navigating current racial tensions, ‘Because of Gravity’ for The Future a partnership between The Lowry and Rambert, ‘Inner Terra’ a public space work presented in the UK and Australia, ‘Never The Foxes’ commissioned by Moving Dance Forward and ‘Dance, Dance, Dance’ with the Queensland Orchestra (co-choreographed by Kristen Bell).
Opera Queensland: Dancer in Graham Murphy’s ‘Turandot’, ‘Andre Chenier’ and ‘The Pearl Fishers’.
Dance North Australia: Performing works by Jason Pitt and Kylie Ball as well as delivering on youth engagement projects.
Willi Dorner: ‘Bodies In Urban Spaces’, Bangor, Wales.
Slunglow: ‘They Only Come At Night’, The Lowry, England.
As well as works by: Wendy Wallace (‘Moving Visions’ at the Queensland Art Gallery), Jean Tally (s part of ‘Riverscapes’), Eleni Edipidi, Dada Dance, Dynion Pro and Tarcisio Teatini-Climaco (opening of the Goodwill Games and with Brazilian musical group Olludum).
FACILITATION & TEACHING PORTFOLIO
Joseph has worked on many grassroots community engagement projects and facilitates in education and public contexts, including on/for: Dance Manchester and Company Chameleon on STRIDE (a Greater Manchester young men's dance project), University of Salford, Manchester College and Access Arts, as well as delivering regular classes for adults and professionals in independent and studio contexts.
STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT ROLES
Prior to studying dance, Joseph completed a Bachelor of Commerce at University of Queensland and qualified as an Australian Chartered Accountant. This dual knowledge has supported Joseph to take on roles in arts and cultural leadership and spearhead artist led initiatives. Currently Joseph is a Strategy Committee Member for Manchester Dance Consortium and Advisory Committee Member for hAb. Previously Joseph has been a Board Member and Treasurer for Company Chameleon, Ausdance Queensland and Expressions Dance Company.