Dragonfly Dance, an Adelaide-based adult dance company that values diversity in age and body shape amongst its dancers, is proud to present Midnight at the Blue Star, an immersive dance performance set in a fictional 1940s jazz and swing club. The show, which explores the lives of women during the war and post-war years, is part of the Adelaide Cabaret Fringe Festival. It will be presented at 7pm Friday 2 June and 5pm Sunday 4 June at Star Theatres.
Director of the show and founder of Dragonfly Dance, Jo McDonald, says, “We wanted to create an immersive experience where the audience feels like they are patrons in a 1940s jazz club, but also get to witness the inner lives of the dancers through the vignettes. The show, created as a collaboration between five choreographers, is a mix of jazz, tap and swing dance, and nods 1940s films, with contemporary dance techniques and film noir style voiceover to tell the story of characters and events from the era.”
The vignettes reveal the inner lives of women in the era, and depict various war and post war topics. McDonald says, “We were inspired by the likes of Nancy Wake, a New Zealand/Australian woman who was instrumental in helping people escape occupied France and was the Gestapo’s most wanted, known as ‘The White Mouse.’ We also give a nod to The Garage Girls, who were a group of female codebreakers who worked at Bletchley Park. We also have characters who are more general, and drawn from the family histories of the dancers, such as grand mothers.”
Dragonfly Dance has a long history of staging immersive dance performances. McDonald says, “We started 18 years ago as Move Through Life, giving adults the opportunity to pursue their dreams in dance through classes, performance, choreographic and teaching opportunities. We’ve done several similar performances exploring dance of different eras in this kind of immersive format which were sell outs.”
The company is also proud of its commitment to providing dance opportunities to all dancers. “Our company values diversity in age and body shape amongst its dancers, and this is reflected in the cast for this show,” McDonald says.
The Adelaide Cabaret Fringe Festival, now in its fourth year, is held annually in Adelaide. The festival provides open-access affordably priced experimental platform where emerging talent can cut its teeth on courageous audiences in venues in Adelaide’s West End.
Midnight at the Blue Star, presented by Dragonfly Dance during the Adelaide Cabaret Fringe Festival, has two performances only – 7pm Friday 2 June and 5pm Sunday 4 June at Star Theatres. Tickets can be booked online at cabaretfringefestival.com/artfuel/program/67/show/midnight-at-the-blue-star.
For more information about the show, head to www.dragonflydance.com.au/bluestar.
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