WORK IN PROGRESS showing
- Pain disrupts the barrier between the concealed and the illuminated. Without pain, this experimental journey risks becoming a mere lifeless digital representation, stripped of emotional depth.
Part of a diptych exploring pain and inner struggle, The Wound is a new work by Tony Yap, in collaboration with dancer Jack Riley and musician Reuben Lewis.
Drawing on ancient South-East Asian traditions of trance practices, this unique performance unfolds within a 3x3 metre space. Within this intimate arena, the artists improvise using movement, sound, text and image, driven by hidden grids to create choreographic and abstract forms.
This showing is the culmination of a two-month working period at Temperance Hall and a week-long research trip to Makassar, Indonesia, where Tony and Jack have been collaborating with Anca, a non-binary Bissu (young shaman) dancer.
Performers: Tony Yap, Jack Riley
Music: Reuben Lewis
DATE AND TIME
Saturday 22 February, 7pm
LOCATION
Temperance Hall, Main Hall
199 Napier Street, South Melbourne
DURATION
40 mins, no interval. Post-show Q&A.
ACCESSIBILITY
Wheelchair accessible
TICKETS
Free, register to attend.
Tony Yap is a Temperance Hall Front Studio Resident for 2025.
The Front Studio Residency has been supported by the Neilson Foundation, the City of Port Phillip, the Palais Theatre Community Fund, private donors and the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.
The Wound will be presented alongside Panjat Hujan (Climbing the Rain) in July 2025 in both Indonesia and Australia.
Tony Yap
Tony Yap, born in Malaysia, is a dancer, director, choreographer and visual artist. He was a principal performer with IRAA Theatre (1989–1996) and has dedicated his career to developing a unique dance theatre language that blends psycho-physical research, Asian shamanistic trance dance, Butoh, and psycho-vocal experimentation. Tony has received numerous nominations and awards including a Green Room Award for Best Male Dancer. He has been a leading figure in intercultural discourse, receiving Asialink residential grants to work in Indonesia in 2005 and 2008, and a Dance Fellowship from the Australia Council for the Arts. Tony is the founding Creative Director of the Melaka Arts and Performance Festival (MAP Fest).