Dancenorth’s RED || Kyle Page

The Fame Reporter interviewed Artistic Director and Co-CEO of Dancenorth Australia, Kyle Page. Kyle is one of the Co-Director’s for the current thrilling production of RED presented by QPAC. The show is playing at the Playhouse theatre, at QPAC until 1 April.

Opening to critical acclaim at Brisbane Festival in 2021, RED illuminates the preciousness of life and the intrinsic value of nature through the exquisite, immersive performance by ensemble members Marlo Benjamin (Outstanding Performance by a Female Dancer – 2020 Australian Dance Awards) and Michael Smith (2020-21 Matilda award winner). Performing at QPAC for the first time, Dancenorth is one of Australia’s leading contemporary dance companies having presented work in over 45 International Arts Festivals and venues around Australia and the world.

Epic and intimate, RED illuminates the universal challenge of our survival.

We sat down with Co-Director Kyle Page and talked about the inspiration behind RED, what he loves about being the Co-Artistic Director of Dancenorth Australia with his wife, the importance of live performance has on society and more.

Welcome to The Fame Reporter Kyle, what about Dancenorth Australia enticed you to want to join at age 17 and what do you love about being Artistic Director?
At 17 my two choices were: 1. Go to QUT to train and pay for the degree, or 2. A 12-month unpaid secondment with Dancenorth. I figured I should save myself from a HECS debt and learn on the job, so I moved to Townsville, got a job with a local baker delivering bread from 4am – 8:30am four days a week to pay my way and then went to Dancenorth from 9am – 5:30pm to train with the company. Three weeks into this routine one of the men in the company broke his foot and I have been working full-time as a dancer / choreographer ever since.

What I love most about being an Artistic Director is being a Co-Artistic Director with my wife, the most creative and inspiring human on the planet, Amber Haines.

What was the inspiration behind RED?
Humanities loss of connection with the natural world and the utter devastation that this warped perspective has wreaked upon the planet… and ultimately our own survival as a species.

What was the rehearsal and casting process like for RED?
We have worked with so many incredible artists to create this work, for many reasons including lockdowns, sickness, injury and love we are now seeing the penultimate expression of the work with Marlo Benjamin and Michael Smith.

The work still carries the essence of all those who have contributed including Niharika Senapati, Felix Sampson, Sara Black, James O’Hara, Georgia Rudd, and Nelson Earl.

What 3 performers dead or alive would you love to have a dinner party with?
Amber, Björk and Uncle Archie Roach.

What has been your most memorable collaboration in your career thus far?
Our son Jasper – the ultimate (ever evolving) work of art.

What is the most rewarding and challenging part about your role at Dancenorth?
Most rewarding is the people and the place. To live and work in Townsville, North Queensland and work alongside such a superb group of dedicated humans is an utterly extraordinary gift.

Most challenging is not having enough jobs to employ all of the exceptional dancers out there.

What was the best part about travelling the world to India, Greenland and Svalbard doing what you love?
The vastness, the moments of stillness and the cascade of creativity that the natural world precipitates!

How do you think the human condition is reflected in RED and what importance does live performance have on society?
We are all so desensitized to news and written word. We are bombarded from every corner at all hours of the day.

Live performance is a powerful way of communicating big ideas, a potential avenue to diminish our growing apathy towards the horrors of the world via a visceral, embodied experience.

What can audiences expect from RED at QPAC and what is your favourite moment in the show?
I certainly wouldn’t want to tell audiences what they can expect from RED, for each experience is so subjective.

There is a reason QPAC have brought the work back for a second season in Brisbane after a sell-out in the 2021 Brisbane Festival…

As for my favourite moment in the show, it’s the deathly quiet that echoes across the audience at the conclusion of the show, the collective breathlessness as the truth of what we have just witnessed begins to land, when no-one dares yet break into applause. In that stillness there is a special kind of power.

Fame Reporter Word Play

RED
Breathe

Bucket list
Family adventures in pristine wilderness – and maybe one day, if we ever stop touring, a cat

Any secret talents
Not volleyball!

Place you want to travel to
Nozawa Onsen – to take Jasper snowboarding for the first time.

Commonwealth Games
Migaloo

Favourite dance move
Kitchen dancing

Future dream
More fire baths

Dancenorth
Family

30 under 30
Deep listening

TV Binge
I don’t have a TV

Celebrity Crush
Tara Brach

Best part about your job
Amber