Knitting while sleeping
Half the audience are seated safely in the seating bank, the other half at risk on the stage floor. Four female dancers will enter the space. Their relationship to the audience is full of potential — will they fulfil their role as caregivers or belie it?
Taking thematic inspiration from the works of J. M. Coetzee and Berlinde De Bruyckere, and choreographic inspiration from the theatrical language of Pina Bausch, Knitting While Sleeping takes audiences on a highly individual journey through ideas and images as various as maternal instinct, floating feathers, migration, over-population and babies made of blankets.
Inspired by We Are All Flesh by Berlinde De Bruyckere & J.M. Coetzee.
“The show for anyone who’s been too nervous to go to see modern dance. It offers a variety of audience experiences all of which give you a fascinating look at an emotional, impressively physical world.”
— Brooke Matherly, Art Murmurs (NZ)
“Occasionally an artist emerges who possess the thrill to surprise. Eliza Sanders is such an artist… Sanders’ work will offer a new experience in the lexicon of dance. She emerges as a refreshing new talent in contemporary Australian dance.”
— Peter Wilkins, Canberra Critics Circle
Creative team
Creator and choreographer — Eliza Sanders
Dramaturge — Charley Sanders
Dancers — Laura Beanland-Stephens, Jadyn Burt, Tyler Carney, Sophie Gargan
Costume, set design and construction — Eliza Sanders and Jane Allan
Lighting design — Owen McCarthy