FAULT LINES
An international collaboration between two nations, who have experienced the devastation, loss, and ongoing after effects of an earthquake
A unique collaboration between Leshan Dance Company, Melbourne Arts Festival and Christchurch Arts Festival
Fault Lines depicts the human response to the devastating earthquakes in Christchurch and the Sichuan province of China. The show had its world premiere at the Melbourne Festival in October 2012 in a unique collaboration between New Zealand choreographer Sara Brodie and China’s Sichuan province- based Leshan Song & Dance Troupe.
Together they crafted an intimate, personal response to explore shared earthquake experiences by combining traditional Chinese dance and culture with contemporary dance.
Now this critically acclaimed production is touring to Sydney and Canberra from 11 to 16 June 2015.
On a quiet spring afternoon in 2008, an earthquake measuring eight on the Richter scale devastated the Sichuan province of China, killing over 69,000 people. It was a natural disaster on such a scale that defied imagination – but for millions of Chinese survivors, there was nothing for it but to pick up the pieces and carry on.
The earthquake hit with intensity, and inflicted fear, trauma, and not only the loss of loved ones, but the loss of inner peace. The choreography and the dancers take the audience on the roller coaster journey that follows this event. In a dance of rare technical prowess, Fault Lines is a sincere elegy to those lost, and a stirring tribute to the resilience of the human spirit.
As well as dance and theatre, the performance includes elements of song. Composer Gareth Farr sat in on the creative process and composed the music as the work was put together. In addition to his new score, the show also includes Questioning the Mountain (written by Gao Ping in response to the Sichuan earthquake) and Nor’West Arch (written by Farr in response to Christchurch’s quake.)
“The dancers are beautifully trained in Chinese classical dance, and handle the unfamiliar contemporary dance vocabulary with skill.” The Age
“The dancers moved with such grace and ease, it was as though they were weightless. This is a must see performance.” Dance Informa
Feedback/Comments
Very moving dance show. The dancers really told the story and the additional screen display brought it all to life even more
My husband & I attended Fault Lines last night and must say what an incredibly moving piece of art and dance. It touched us emotionally and it was so beautiful to watch, such talent, so spiritual in nature, funny at times, sad at others and very human through out. The choreography portrayed without words the trauma that occurs during, after a BIG one! The music added to the emotional rollercoaster we travelled on with the dancers. A brilliant production, Thank you so much!!
We cannot say enough wonderful things about this production, we would see it again, and recommend it to everyone.
Wow, wow and wow! What absolutely amazing dancing. The story came through in the dance so easily and the use of information on screen at various times aided in the story-telling. The way the dancers moved their bodies to depict the feeling of an earthquake along with the emotion during and after an earthquake was felt within the audience. The final scene was very poignant and you could hear the hush across the audience as some tears fell. Words just can not describe the fluidity of this dance and how much of a story it told.