Carbon Field
Blur the expanse
Of powdered bone and ash
Where softness ground grain into grain
Shines soot to stone
Where stone that cuts glass
Hums with light
Where light bends breaks
And oscillating flesh stirs the atmosphere to ring
Pure carbon, depending on the way its atoms are arranged in space, forms either graphite or diamond. At one end of the spectrum it is soft and fragile, at the other strong and hard. Between these two extreme variables, carbon occurs in all living things. It is one of the main elements comprising the human body.
Working with strength and delicacy or rigour and abandonment, duality is an aspect of existence dancers negotiate on a daily basis. There is a continuous desire to be precise and masterful but also to be vulnerable, to be real and to test the edges of possibility. It’s a vast expanse to work with. It’s a treacherous but beautiful field.
Credits
Choreography - Gabrielle Nankivell
Music & Sound Design - Luke Smiles / motion laboratories
Performed by - 40 dancers of the Queensland Ballet and EDC
Lighting - Cameron Goerg
Costume - Noelene Hill
Commissioned by - Queensland Ballet for Bespoke 2018