shaving a cactus
“I don’t believe it’s possible to shave a cactus. I don’t believe it’s possible to be perfect.”
Choreographed by Holly Newsome in collaboration with the dancers
Sound curation by Holly Newsome and Te Aihe Butler
Lighting by Brynne Tasker-Poland
Dancers Issy Estrella, Holly Brogan, Gus Syben, Toa Paranihi, Connor Massuers, Kit Reilly, Georgia Sekulla, Georgia Van Gils, Breanna Timms, Isaac DiNatalie, Alex Warren, Jessica Johns and Olivia Knapton
Shaving a Cactus was a short work created for the 2016 New Zealand School of Dance Choreographic Season called Scope. The work used a large cast in the hopes of creating satisfying visual complexity. The idea to play around with shapes and patterns within a large cast to effectively produce organised chaos.
“…most notably Holly Newsome's, Shaving a Cactus, showcases these young dancers' joy in robotic mechanised movement. They do the twitchy demented humanoid thing well. Newsome's work also stands out for its greater complexity and visual uniqueness, relative to other items"
Chris Jannides, Theatreview