Choreographer Sue Healey has been working across the platforms of dance, film and portraiture for some time now. On View: Live Portraits is her newest project, created in collaboration with photographer Judd Overton. Presented by Performance Space, it will feature five dance artists, performing on film and live at Carriageworks.

“Because I work in a series format, I’ve been developing the project in smaller chunks,” says Healey. “The work has had several smaller outings in various galleries and theatres. One version went to Dance Massive in Melbourne. This version in Sydney is the large-scale culmination. There are two separate works – a day installation and a night performance. The show is actually quite intimate, even though I’m using a massive space.”

The first part of the exhibition will see performances from Martin del Amo, Shona Erskine, Benjamin Hancock, Raghav Handa and Nalina Wait, while the second part will feature video portraits of Australian dance icons Dame Lucette Aldous and Professor Shirley McKechnie.

Inspired by the masters of European oil painting, Healey has worked with Overton to create dynamic visual patterns, often using a single light source to illuminate her subjects. “Over the five years I’ve known Judd, I’ve managed to push the boundaries of what I can do through his incredible eye,” she says. “We did a few smaller projects together and then I launched into my first feature-length movie and we toured the world together, filming different dancers. It was that experience which cemented our friendship – we knew we were on the same page.”

When it comes to the combination of dance and portraiture, Healey is interested in amplifying the specific creative language of each artist as well as bringing out more personal traits. “They are a very eclectic group of dancers,” she says. “They are all people I am inspired by and they each have a particular viewpoint on why they are artists. Making portraits is such an essential human activity. What I’m trying to do is unravel how they see the world and make a statement about that.”

According to Healey, one of the most challenging aspects of the project was coordinating movement across the different media, often simultaneously. “When I bring the performers into the projected environment, it’s a whole different level,” she says. “Setting up the dynamic between the live and the virtual is something that fascinates me. You don’t get a lot of time to play with that relationship. It’s tricky, but I love that precarious thing about performance; that precarious reality you have to grab onto and hope it speaks clearly to the audience.”

By bridging the disciplines, Healey discovered striking similarities between the role of a filmmaker and a choreographer. “It’s the ability of the camera to shift its vantage points,” she says. “And as a choreographer, that’s what I do. You shift your perspective on a subject, and a camera is an incredible device which allows me to do that. The edit is precisely the choreographic part of it. I’m deciding which images go next to each other and the rhythm between images.”

In weaving together diverse ways of thinking about the body, On View: Live Portraits is an ambitious project. However, Healey’s vision has been cultivated over many years and she has faith in her dancers. “They are all incredible improvisers,” she says. “They solve the tasks I give them and we shape it together. Collaboration is so important to me and both dance and film are inherently collaborative.”

On View: Live Portraits runs Friday July 17 – Saturday July 25 at Carriageworks.

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