PROJECT B is a double bill featuring...

Tanz der Sehnsucht by Lucas Jervies:

This piece is a love letter to the human spirit, inspired by dreams of dancing for Pina Bausch. The process has been a collaborative exploration of our shared humanity, a journey into the depths of what it means to connect, yearn, resist, and simply be. The heartbeat of this journey is gifted by my dear friend and collaborator Oliver Northam, who will improvise live on piano, guiding these four remarkable women through moments of vulnerability, power, and ultimately, hope.

The Darling by Tim Harbour:

It’s a joy to be creating something with four artists of such rich and varied backgrounds - both professional and personal. Our time in the studio has produced something mysterious. I don't know yet where it'll land but look forward to sharing it this December.

CHOREOGRAPHERS

Lucas Jervies

Lucas Jervies, an Australian choreographer and director, traverses the diverse landscapes of ballet, contemporary dance, opera, and theatre.
Lucas has crafted dance for esteemed companies in Australia, including The Australian Ballet, Sydney Dance Company, Queensland Ballet, West Australian Ballet, and Opera Australia. His work has been presented at the Sydney Festival, Perth Festival, Darwin Festival, Vivid Festival, Dark Mofo, and Out of the Box Festival. His international reach extends to the Finnish National Ballet, Scapino Ballet Rotterdam, Singapore Dance Theatre, Milwaukee Ballet, Louisville Ballet, Korzo Theatre, Noverre Society Stuttgart Ballet, and Co-Darts Rotterdam.
In 2018, Lucas choreographed the bold three-act ballet SPARTACUS for The Australian Ballet, captivating audiences in Melbourne, Sydney, and later Helsinki, at the Finnish National Ballet. His repertoire extends to the Louisville Ballet, where he has created five compelling works, notably reimagining Stravinsky's THE FIREBIRD and the thought-provoking HUMAN ABSTRACT. In 2021, Lucas choreographed BUTTERFLY, marking the first original story ballet crafted for The Australian Ballet School in nearly two decades. The production premiered to acclaim at Melbourne’s Playhouse, embarked on a successful tour to Sydney, and then delighted Melbourne audiences with a return season.
Lucas' artistic journey encompasses a spectrum of projects, from directing and choreographing an immersive cabaret HIDDEN SYDNEY: THE GLITTERING MILE to collaborating on acclaimed productions as assistant director and choreographer for Belvoir Theatre's MR BURNS, adapter and director of Roald Dahl's THE WITCHES for Griffin Theatre’s 2016 & 2017 national tours, to assisting David McAllister AC on The Australian Ballet’s SLEEPING BEAUTY and David Hallberg for SWAN LAKE.
Lucas has also assumed leadership roles, including Artistic Director of Buzz Dance Theatre, Rehearsal Director of Sydney Dance Company, Director of JACK productions, and Affiliate Director at Griffin Theatre. His rich background in both classical and contemporary dance, coupled with his training from The Australian Ballet School and the National Institute of Dramatic Art in directing, underscores his multifaceted interests. Currently, Lucas serves as the Contemporary Teacher at The Australian Ballet School, nurturing the next generation of dancers.

Tim Harbour

Australian choreographer Tim Harbour has been working professionally within Australia and internationally since 2008. His work, encompassing classical, contemporary and theatrical performances, has been praised for its dynamism, emotion and rich invention.

His choreography has received multiple nominations in the Australian Dance Awards, Helpmann Awards and Green Room Awards. Dance Australia Magazine has described Tim as ‘a truly original and creative Australian talent’. His works have been praised by critics and audiences around the world.

From 2014 to 2021, Tim was a Resident Choreographer with The Australian Ballet, creating celebrated works Squander and Glory and Filigree and Shadow, which have been performed throughout Australia and the U.S.A.

Tim has worked internationally and within Australia for companies including the Australian Ballet, Houston Ballet, Singapore Ballet, Queensland Ballet, West Australian Ballet, Louisville Ballet, New York City Ballet’s Choreographic Institute and Morphoses – the Wheeldon Company. Tim’s work has been performed in London’s Sadler’s Wells Theatre, New York City’s The Joyce and City Center, as well as the Sydney Opera House and Singapore’s Esplanade Theatre. He has presented performances at the Melbourne International Festival and the Fall For Dance Festival NYC.

Tim joined the Australian Ballet as a dancer in 1995. He performed many soloist and principal roles, worked with Australian and international choreographers to create new work and toured all over the world. In 2007 he danced the role of Colas as a guest with the Royal Swedish Ballet in their production of Frederick Ashton’s La Fille Mal Gardée. He retired that year as a Senior Artist of the Australian Ballet. While still a dancer, Tim was nominated as Best Male dancer in both the Australian Dance Awards and Green Room Awards.

Tim’s first main stage work for The Australian Ballet was Halcyon in 2010. This was followed by Sweedeedee in 2012 for the Australian Ballet's 50th Anniversary celebrations.

In 2014, Tim was named a Resident Choreographer for The Australian Ballet. That year The Australian Ballet presented Tim’s Ostinato at the Fall For Dance Festival at City Center, New York City.

In 2015 Tim created Filigree and Shadow for the Australian Ballet. It was nominated for multiple Greenroom Awards, Australian Dance Awards and Helpmann Awards for categories including choreography, design, lighting, original score and best ensemble. The Houston Ballet staged it in 2018 and The Australian Ballet staged it again in 2018 and 2019.

In 2016 Tim created Another Energy for Singapore Ballet. That year he was also Choreographer in Residence for the RAD Geneé International Ballet Competition, held in Sydney, Australia.

In 2017 he made Squander and Glory for the Australian Ballet. They performed it over 30 times that year to resounding critical acclaim.

In 2018, Tim created LINEA ADORA for Singapore Ballet's 30th Anniversary. It went on to tour internationally and has been performed every year since.

Also in 2018, Tim choreographed the musical Josephine Wants to Dance for Monkey Baa Theatre Company. It toured regional Australia for 6 months and won the Theatre Critics Award for Best Children’s Show.

In 2019 Tim created Chairman Dances for the Australian Ballet, premiering it at the Joyce Theater, New York City. That year, he also made MODELS for the Louisville Ballet, Kentucky, USA.

In 2020, Tim created a second piece, Odyssey, for the Louisville Ballet.

In 2021 The Australian Ballet presented an excerpt of Filigree and Shadow for their Summertime Ballet performances. Later that year, Tim created Aurora for senior dancers of the Australian Ballet School.

In 2022, Tim created the 10 minute pas de deux In a Landscape for the Australian Ballet, based on the short story Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway. It toured regional Australia.

That same year he made his third piece for the Singapore Ballet, Protecting Veil.

In 2023 Tim has created a new dance film What Remains for retired Principal of the Australian Ballet, Kevin Jackson. The film examines what remains when an artist stops performing.

DANCERS

Arianna Marchiori

Arianna Marchiori was born in Padua, Italy and gained her first experience at Il Balletto di Castelfranco Veneto. At the age of 16 she moved to the USA to continue her training at the Boston Ballet School and graduated at San Francisco Ballet School. She began her career with Dortmund Ballet, Germany until she moved to London to perform with internationally renowned companies including English National Ballet, New English Ballet Theatre. She then continued her artistic journey working and touring with Ballet Ireland. Arianna’s repertoire continued to expand when she moved to Estonia and started working at Teater Vanemuine as a soloist. There she performed solo roles in works choreographed by Wang Yuan Yuan and Petr Zuska. In 2021, Arianna was invited to join the National Ballet of Ostrava as a soloist. Her vast repertoire includes soloist roles in Dangerous Liaisons by Krzysztof Pastor, Don Quixote, Coppelia, Corsaire, Nutcracker, Rossini Cards by Mauro Bigonzetti and Hora by Ohad Naharin.

Chimene Steele-Prior

Originally from Darkinjung Country, Chimene has worked as a performer with an array of independent artists and companies. Most recently, Chimene performed in Project Animo’s inaugural season in 2022 in works by Alice Topp, Cass Mortimer-Eipper, Izzac Thomas and in solo work In Real Life by Kristina Chan. Chimene joined Australasian Dance Collective in 2023 for Lucie in the sky, by Amy Hollingsworth and in 2024, she was engaged to perform Future Cargo by Requardt and Rosenberg (UK) throughout the Adelaide Fringe Festival. Chimene worked extensively with Opera Australia between 2011-2021, touring throughout Australia and China. Chimene’s choreographic work has been presented at the National Gallery of Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria, the Lawler Theatre, Dancehouse, Melbourne Fringe Festival Hub and the Winter in Banyule Festival. Her solo work INFORMATION II was nominated for a Green Room Award for Concept and Realisation in 2015. Recently, Chimene has been exploring larger scale choreographies on students at Transit Dance, NICA, and Albert Park College. Chimene is a Certified Counter Technique Teacher and is passionate about facilitating dancers’ connection to joy and trust in their own bodies

Stephanie Petersen

Australian dancer Stephanie Petersen, has been a member of the American Ballet Theatre, HET National Ballet and The Australian Ballet. Notable performances include the principal role of "Myrta" queen of the Wilis in American Ballet Theaters’ Giselle, Jerome Robbins’ “Afternoon of a Faun” and Christopher Wheeldon’s “After The Rain” with The Australian Ballet.
In 2009 Stephanie was a guest artist with Christopher Wheeldon’s Morphoses, performing principal roles in “Commedia” and “Fool’s Paradise” and in that same year she became the youngest ever winner of The Australian Telstra Ballet Dancer of the Year award and people’s choice award.
Stephanie won the Gold Medal at the 10th Asian Pacific International Ballet Competition in Tokyo (2005) and upon graduating from The Australian Ballet School performed Odette/Odile in Swan Lake.

Jessica Thompson

Jessica trained at the Australian Ballet School and holds an Advanced Diploma of Dance (2003). She has danced as a company artist with The Australian Ballet and Sydney Dance Company, touring extensively throughout Australia, Europe, the UK, the USA, South America and New Zealand. In 2011 she was awarded an Ian Potter Cultural Trust Grant to undertake artistic development in Europe and India. Her performance repertoire is vast and includes works by George Balanchine, Rudolph Nureyev, Krzysztof Pastor, Kenneth McMillan, Stanton Welsh, Rafael Bonachela, Graeme Murphy, Stephanie Lake, Alexander Ekman, Gideon Obarzanek, Lee Serle, Gabrielle Nankivell, Alice Topp and Jacopo Godani. In 2023 she performed as a guest artist with The Australian Ballet as part of their 60th birthday celebration seasons in Melbourne and Sydney. She also collaborated Yuiko Masukawa in creation and performance of her work “Yugen” for Frame festival in Melbourne. She is committed to honesty and sustainability in her relationship to environment, community and history through the expressive capacity the body and approaches dancing as medium for embodied presence offering endless possibilities for intimacy, freedom and human connection.

Producer: Arianna Marchiori

Musician: Oliver Northam

Photographer: Dominic Steele

Light designer: Jenny Hector

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