Happy Hour #20: The BUDGET

Happy Hour is ReadyMade Works' signature short works program showcasing the extraordinary practices of Sydney's independent dance artists. Initiated by Linda Luke and Samantha Chester in 2016, Happy Hour is the platform for encountering the diverse and uncompromising work being made by local dance artists. 

Happy Hour #20 is curated by Lisa Maris McDonell who has reimagined this iteration as the third stage development of her ongoing project, The BUDGET 

Lisa says "This Happy Hour I'm bringing a handful of Sydney's most respected and experienced artists out from behind their desks (where they work in order to survive and also support our ever more fragile dance community) for a new work development that doubles as a performance. The BUDGET does just as our funding overlords would like us to do and places The BUDGET at the centre of creative output. The BUDGET looks at an artist’s relationship to money in a world that requires everything to have a dollar value.

I'm asking myself a few questions as I enter this stage of development, including;

• How can I creatively work within the budget that I've been given by ReadyMade while completing an entire stage of development for this project AND provide an enjoyable evening out for our audience, while making important statements and sticking to the rules I've made to contain the project?

• Why do mature dance artists in Australia (often female) end up putting their choreographic practices aside to work behind a desk?

• Should I be doing that (working behind a desk) instead of this (making more dances)?

• What if Australia got to see their choreographers work over a lifetime making dance, like sometimes happens in other places?"

Performers: Jane McKernan, Maya Gavish, Emma Saunders, Lizzie Thomson, + others TBA. 

Live projection: Martin Fox