“She surpasses anyone for me, every move she makes means something,” says Irinushka on Pavlova. “I have always felt so close to what she was about. A presence who has come alongside me all this time.” Dancing with Dark Goddesses was first a book of poetry dedicated to her mother. Irina was often told stories of when she was very small, dancing to every musical note she heard, whether in church or in a shopping centre. Ultimately, mothers form a large influence in the show: from mother’s of contemporary dance to her own.
“Dark: people assume it’s a descent, and in a way it is a descent into darkness, but I think it’s like most people who have been on any sort of quest whether it’s a mystical quest or a personal one,” says Irinushka on her show’s title. “A lot of women have to go through it to find themselves. When you’re really in that darkness it requires its own light – its own luminosity.”
Irina has had an extraordinary journey so far, as a woman and as an artist. An Oxford doctrine graduate and junior research fellow who has shown her work in Germany, London and several times in New York, has achieved a great deal. Dancing with Dark Goddesses will be performed for the second time in Melbourne, tying into Fringe’s theme of ‘Stepping into the Light’ succinctly and with grace. As far as audience’s go, it’s a chance to find “a deeper connection through themselves, through their souls.” With Irinushka’s work scoring accolades across the globe for achieving exactly this, there’s no doubt that that will be the case.
BY STEVIE ZIPPER
Venue: Dancehouse – Upstairs Studio Theatre
Dates: September 29 – October 1
Time: 8.30pm
Tickets: $20 – $25
