This site has limited support for your browser. We recommend switching to Edge, Chrome, Safari, or Firefox.

Man Power

Dancer and choreographer Shaun Parker, hailing from Mildura, Victoria, has had a near two-decade career as a dancer with prominent Australian contemporary companies such as Meryl Tankard's Australian Dance Theatre, Force Majeure, Chunky Move and Sydney Dance Company. Now his company, Shaun Parker & Company, performs to sold-out theatres internationally. His newest work is “King,” an all-male exploration of patriarchal power, and socio-sexual and political structures. The world premiere took place in Sydney as part of the 2019 Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival.

Performance

Shaun Parker & Company in “KING”

Place

Seymour Centre’s Everest Theatre, Sydney, February 24, 2019

Words

Claudia Lawson

Shaun Parker & Company in “King.” Photograph by Prudence Upton

subscribe to the latest in dance


“Uncommonly intelligent, substantial coverage.”

  • Weekly articles from the world of dance
  • Wide diversity of reviews, interviews, articles & more
  • Support for quality art journalism

Already a paid subscriber? Login

As the audience enters the Seymour Centre's Everest Theatre, an entrancing figure sits on the edge of the stage. Dressed a maroon velvet blazer and black shorts, his face is beautifully androgynous. He plays a small piano accompanied by cabaret-esque vocals. The figure is Ivo Dimchev, renowned Bulgarian songwriter and vocalist and musical collaborator for “King.” He will remain on stage for the entire performance, having not only written the entire score, but performing the vocals live for the entire 90-minute performance. The program gives little away, but the stage is framed by a jungle of palm fronds and lush green plants.

As Dimchev’s sings, ten male dancers wearing tuxedos enter the stage. The mood is light-hearted, theatrical. The dancers move predominantly as a unit, forming wonderful patterns wrought of clever choreography. Directed by Dimchev’s vocals, it is enchanting to watch—a mix of contemporary dance peppered with humorous interactions and occasional acrobatics, dancers disappear into the palm fronds, only to emerge elsewhere on the stage.

Shaun Parker & Company in “King.” Photograph by Prudence Upton

The tone of the dance slowly changes and the group takes on a more primitive, aggressive form. One dancer, Toby Derrick, departs and slowly undresses. It is intense and disarming all at once: the spectacle of the male figure just as it is. The other nine dancers now move together in contrast to the naked individual, and themes of toxic masculinity, brutality and pack mentality come to the fore. As the choreography intensifies, the nude dancer picks off the smallest dancer of the pack, taunting and playing with him, and then ultimately killing him. The pack retaliate, and the nude protagonist is engulfed, the choreography bold and brutal, until he is taken down. It is a powerful, intense few minutes to watch, the audience is completely silent. Only Dimchev’s haunting voice rings out across the theatre.

There are relatively few classical or contemporary dance performances that are set only for male dancers, Matthew Bourne’s “Swan Lake” and BalletBoyz, the London-based all-male dance troupe are notable exceptions. Typically it is the female form that is showcased, while the male role is one of strength, support and bravura. Shaun Parker challenges these norms. “KING,” he writes, is a nod “to a society in revolt against an exhausted patriarchy.” In the current environment of changing patriarchal structures, “King” is a must see.

Claudia Lawson


Claudia Lawson is a dance critic based in Sydney, Australia, writing regularly for ABC Radio National, ABC Arts, and Fjord Review. After graduating with degrees in Law and Forensic Science, Claudia worked as a media lawyer for the ABC, FOXTEL and the BBC in London, where she also co-founded Street Sessions dance company. Returning to Sydney, Claudia studied medicine and now works as a doctor. She is the host of the award-winning Talking Pointes Podcast.

comments

Featured

A Parisian Dream
REVIEWS | Rachel Howard

A Parisian Dream

A participatory eagerness, a desire to be part of something sweet and beautiful, suffused the return of George Balanchine’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” to San Francisco Ballet on the cusp of spring.

Continue Reading
Sparks Flew
REVIEWS | Merilyn Jackson

Sparks Flew

Entering his 10th year as artistic director of Philadelphia Ballet, Ángel Corella put his artists through a ring of fire in their early spring concert at the Academy of Music.

Continue Reading
Good Subscription Agency