LIZZIE THOMPSON AND RYUICHI FUJIMURA
Presented by BLEACH*
Set on a floating stage on the HOTA lake, be transfixed as two dancers perform a 24-hour dance duet.
From the moment the sun’s rays break over the Gold Coast, to long after the sky is blanketed with stars, you can catch this hypnotic expression of human connection and love. Reflect on the complex, deep, rich feeling of love as the duo move in harmony to the endless soundtrack by Cold Ghost.
Emma Saunders is a well-respected award winning choreographer, performer and director. She has co created, performed or directed in more than 25 full length original works, ranging from large scale choreographies (ENCOUNTER, SYDNEY FESTIVAL, 2020) to the signature theatricality of The Fondue Set (NO SUCCESS LIKE FAILURE, Sydney Opera House, 2008), video and film works, site specific creations with community (WHAT IS THE CITY BUT THE PEOPLE?, SOH, 2023, AUSTI BEACH DANCING PROJECT, 2018) and other improvisational projects. She is committed to making dances that matter and has developed her own unique collaborative and interdisciplinary approach to dance, driven by instinct, humor, experimentation, improvisation, and centred around themes of commonality and humanity, identity and the stories we inhabit in our bodies. Saunders shares her knowledge through workshops and masterclasses and began her own current WE ARE HERE Company in 2020 after the success of ENCOUNTER. From 2020 to 2023, they have had an ongoing hosting collaboration with FORM DANCE PROJECTS creating new works including RADICAL TRANSPARENCY (Parramatta Riverside Theatres, 2022), and new iterations of ENCOUNTER (ENCOUNTER SYDNEY, SOH, ENCOUNTER GOLD, Bleach Festival, ENCOUNTER BERRY, Open Field) and are currently in creative development for making a new work, INFINITY BIAS. Saunders has been described as “formidable” and has received final nominations in the top 3 in Australia from the Australian Dance awards for both of her works, ENCOUNTER and the AUSTI BEACH DANCING PROJECT.
Lizzie Thomson works in the field of performing arts as a dancer, choreographer, writer and educator. She has collaborated and performed in Australia and internationally in works by numerous artists including Rosalind Crisp, Agatha Gothe-Snape, Jane McKernan, Mette Edvardsen, Janet Laurence, Angela Goh, Ivey Wawn, Emma Fielden, Diana Baker Smith, Rochelle Haley, Marina Abramovic and Joan Jonas. Lizzie’s writing has been published in books including The Gesture of Writing (2024): a project by Mette Edvardsen; In Perpetuity (2020): a project by Ivey Wawn; Time has fallen asleep in the afternoon sunshine (2019): a project by Mette Edvardsen (2019); and Performing Process: Sharing Dance and Choreographic Practice (2018), as well as in several journals,exhibition catalogues and bespoke publications. She has guest edited journal issues on dance for Runway Australian Experimental Art (Issue #36 DANCE) and for Critical Path’s Critical Dialogues (Issue #9 DANCE/VISUAL/ART. With support from the Agder Kunstsenter, Norway, Lizzie is currently developing a new writing project entitled Close inspired by the early modern closet as a site for veiled societal critique and private performance. Lizzie lives and works on unceded Wangal country.
Ryuichi Fujimura is an independent dance artist based in Sydney. Over the last twenty years, Ryuichi has collaborated with both emerging and established artists/companies in various dance, theatre, opera, site-specific performance and film projects.
Ryuichi began his choreographic practice in 2013 and has created a number of performance works including HERE NOW Trilogy, a suite of short autobiographic solos.
In 2023, he remounted his HERE NOW trilogy in Melbourne (April), Sydney (August) and Seoul, South Korea (September). In 2024, he developed and performed ‘Pink Regenesis of the Curse’ in collaboration with WeiZen Ho at White Bay Power Station for Biennale of Sydney 2024 in April. He is currently rehearsing for ‘Club Origami’, a new production for children by Sydney Dance Company (July 2024).
Cold Ghost is singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and sound designer, Fletcher Babb. Originally from Perth, Fletch moved with his family to the Gold Coast in 2011. His moniker is more than just a spoonerism of his adopted city, it’s a reflection of how he observes and interprets what’s right in front of us.Fuelled by curiosity, Fletch explores songwriting as a vehicle for stories - real and imagined - and uses post-production as an extension of his instrumentation. His latest project ‘Red Gold’ is an exploration of The Nerang River through sound and song. This project is supported by HOTA’s Artkeeper program and uses field recording and sound design along with his alt-folk song writing style to reflect the history, stories and flow of Gold Coast's largest river.
Fletch is also deaf in his right ear from childhood mumps, but this has not ever stood in the way of his exploration of the stereo world. Just recently Fletch has had the opportunity to help design a national songwriting program for d/Deaf and disabled songwriters through APRA and Access Arts. His most recent release is a collaborative song with Brisbane Banjo artist Andrew Tuttle called “Nobody’s Home (There’s Always a Crow)” and his latest album “Dominoes” was written, recorded and produced entirely in Fletch’s home studio and was a finalist for Release of the Year in the 2022 Gold Coast Music Awards.
Fletch is also the creator, curator and composer of the successful stage show “Stories in the Key of GC”, marrying spoken word with music and sound to explore rich local narratives of the city of the Gold Coast.
| Choreographer | Emma Saunders |
| Dancers | Lizzie Thomson, Ryuichi Fujimura |
| Photo | Claudio Kirac, Art-Work Agency |
Presented by
Our Partners
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the Yugambeh Language Region and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People of the Gold Coast. We recognise their continuing connection and contributions to country and culture. We pay respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.
© Experience Gold Coast 2024 | Website by Embark
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the Yugambeh Language Region and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People of the Gold Coast. We recognise their continuing connection and contributions to country and culture. We pay respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.
