AC ARTS Dance and Technical Production & Design Students presents a collaboration with Australian Dance Theatre, to re-mount The Third from 2022.

The Third looks at the body as an archival tool and how we hold memories both personally and collectively. As dancers we have ingrained rhythms, knowledges and experiences that we are able to draw from each time we step into a creative space. Our internal archives are unlocked in varying depths depending on the creative environment and who we are surrounded by.

'The Third' is a term I came across when reading the first book in Professor Margo

Neale’s First Knowledges series titled 'Songlines'.

‘The Aboriginal archive of knowledge is embodied in Country. In combination with the Western archive, this knowledge creates a third archive, accessible to all.’

— Margo Neale'

Revisiting this work on the inspiring emerging dance artists from AC Arts has been incredibly special. To open up to The Third is to open yourself up to a new way of inhabiting your body and thinking about the country that we dance upon. Country is story, Country is knowledge, Country is our past and our future, and Country is the legacy we leave behind for future generations. Ultimately, Country needs to be respected and acknowledged as all of these things, and we all need to tread lightly and care for it.

This is a deceptively complex and intricate work. The students have approached it with remarkable openness, generosity and skill. The work starts a thrilling and vital conversation about our past, present and future – it’s been so heartening to see the next generation of dance artists tackle it so wholeheartedly and for us to continue to strengthen our relationship with the students and Lecturers of AC Arts Dance.

A huge thank you to everyone from Adelaide College of the Arts and Australian Dance Theatre for making this season happen. I hope this is the start of many collaborations as Australian Dance Theatre continue to solidify its place as a company for South Australian artists, audiences and future dance artists.