OLIVIA DEVINE

Olivia’s work discusses ideas of femininity from a lens of queer theory. It creates strong atmospheres that recognise and allow audiences and dancers to enter the piece as a shared world or environment. With foundations in modern and post-modern dance philosophies and recognisable influences from artists Trisha Brown and Pina Bausch, Olivia explores functional movement that incorporates abstract forms of gesture to evoke an emotional response from the dancer and audience. By creating strong visual, musical and emotional atmospheres, it allows the audience to relate others’ (the dancers’) experience to their own. It is void of narrative, void of expressionism, yet evokes emotional responses.

Referencing ideas of Bourdieu’s theory of ‘habitus’, the work is rooted in ideas of embodied knowledge and acknowledges our dispositions as defining how and who we are as individuals. The work is personal, and draws on audiences empathic capacities as themes of nostalgia often cloud the soundscapes and influence the relationships between performers on stage. Olivia also often collaborates choreographically with LEGEM artist Sam Furney as their intersecting styles are highly compatible.