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city, community, dance, DirtyFeet, Glebe, Sarah Fiddaman, Sydney, Under The Weather
It’s dirty work, but they love it. Director Sarah Fiddaman says DirtyFeet offers simple solutions for the resource-starved contemporary dance sector. “There is a real lack of infrastructure in the Sydney dance scene and we wanted to bridge that gap,” says Fiddaman.
A trio of Sydney dancers came together to form DirtyFeet, a non-profit dance company showcasing up-and-coming talent. A fresh venture for contemporary dance in Sydney, DirtyFeet will soon present its latest production Under the Weather.
The Glebe-based troupe was established by Fiddaman, Anthea Doropoulos and Eva Fernandez Adan in response to the need for rehearsal venues and regular opportunities to create and perform.
DirtyFeet founding members volunteer their time, wearing the various hats of director, dancer, choreographer and administrator. The City of Sydney supports the venture, through free access to the Peter Forsyth Auditorium in Glebe where the dancers are currently preparing for the upcoming DirtyFeet production.
Fiddaman says the goal is to create a sustainable production house that has a strong commitment to Sydney’s talented independent artists and close connections with the community. DirtyFeet dancers give free dance workshops to children around Sydney, including a recent, eight-week hip hop workshop at Redfern Community Centre.
“Artists come together to test new ideas and take risks, develop their practice, meet other artists and showcase their work at performances DirtyFeet produce,” says Fiddaman. “It’s important and necessary for dancers and choreographers to create their own opportunities, try out new ideas in a supportive environment and stay engaged when they are between gigs because there just isn’t enough work in Sydney.”
Fiddaman says she is encouraged by the growing level of interest in contemporary dance demonstrated by the popularity of the recent So you think you can dance? television series. Also, last year’s inaugural Short, Sweet + Dance Festival helped raise the profile of dance in the city. DirtyFeet founding members took home two awards at the festival, Best New Talent for Choregraphy (Eva Fernandez Adan) and Most Outstanding Female Dancer (Sarah Fiddaman).
The upcoming DirtyFeet production Under The Weather features three short works by Kay Armstrong, a prolific and committed member of the independent dance sector, founding DirtyFeet member Eva Fernandez Adan and emerging artist Sarah-Vyne Vassallo.
Kay Armstrong’s piece Full cup, Steady hand plunges the audience into a world of five women where chaos reigns and is described as a “subtle treaty on the state of our planet.” Pieces of Mind is a physical exploration of memories, inspired by a trip to Spain. In her debut work for DirtyFeet, Sarah-Vyne Vassallo’s piece Did I do it? delves into the complexities of the mind through high energy dance.
Performances of Under the Weather on August 21, 22 and 23 at 8pm and August 23 at 2pm at Cleveland St Theatre, 199 Cleveland St, Sydney. Tickets $20 adult, $15 concession can be reserved by email at rsvp@dirtyfeet.com.au and are also available at the door.
Linda Daniele 
