You're sitting in a darkened theatre when suddenly the air thickens, bodies move like liquid shadows, and you realise you've stumbled into a world where the living and the dead dance together.
Welcome to PHANTASM, Melanie Lane’s spine-tingling new work that’s about to haunt Chunky Move this August.
Chunky Move presents PHANTASM, a new contemporary dance work exploring feminine spirits and underworld mythology from 7-16 August. The production invites audiences into a liminal world where ghosts, jinns and heroines emerge from the shadows, drawing from stories of feminine supernatural forces that have captivated cultures for centuries.
PHANTASM represents the culmination of Lane’s two-year journey as Chunky Move’s Choreographer in Residence, a period that allowed her to delve deep into ambitious creative territories with time, space and resources rarely available to independent artists. The work transforms the studio, inviting audiences to inhabit a world where the supernatural feels startlingly real.
PHANTASM
- When: 7-16 August, various times
- Where: Chunky Move Studios, 111 Sturt Street, Southbank
- Tickets: From free to $45, available via Eventbrite
- Special events: Post-show artist talk 13 August, audio described performance 16 August
The creative vision behind the haunting
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Lane, a choreographer of Javanese and European descent, has built her reputation on visually striking works that interrogate cultural memory and contemporary mythologies. With PHANTASM, she unpacks the roots of feminine spirit stories, reimagining ghosts as bodies of resistance and knowledge rather than mere supernatural curiosities.
The choreographer’s practice spans visual art, theatre, music and film, allowing her to create surreal and shifting futures that challenge conventional storytelling. Her previous works have graced stages across Europe, Asia and the United States, earning her prestigious recognition including the 2018 Keir Choreographic Award and Germany’s 2017 Leipziger Bewegungskunstpreis.
Lane’s accolades extend to Green Room and Helpmann Award nominations, including the Shirley McKechnie Award for Choreography. She received the 2023 Creative Australia Fellowship for Dance and the 2024 Sidney Myer Creative Fellowship, cementing her position as one of Australia’s most innovative choreographic voices.
PHANTASM emerges from Lane’s Corps Conspirators initiative, a Creative Victoria-supported project exploring collaborative choreographic practices and multi-artform experimentation. Launched in 2024, this ambitious undertaking has already produced notable works including Pulau for AsiaTOPA 2025, Arkadia for Rising 2024, Dream Swamp for Melbourne Fringe 2024 and Mountain for Now or Never 2024.
A collaborative supernatural experience
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The creative team behind PHANTASM reads like a who’s who of Australian contemporary performance. Four accomplished dancers – Nikki Tarling, Rachel Coulson, Ashley McLellan and Georgia Rudd – bring Lane’s vision to life, their bodies shifting between seen and unseen worlds as they channel transformative movement languages.
Rama Parwata’s music composition and live performance (he will join the dancers on stage!) creates a sonic landscape that bridges the earthly and ethereal realms. Paula Levis’s costume design enhances the supernatural atmosphere, while Bosco Shaw’s lighting design ensures every shadow serves the story.
The technical wizardry extends to Eugyeene Teh’s set, video and olfactory design, creating a multi-sensory experience that envelops audiences in the spirit world. Jemima Lucas contributes a mysterious double-ended spike that adds another layer to the supernatural toolkit.
The work continues Chunky Move’s three-decade commitment to genre-defying performance that merges the body with other artistic mediums. Since 1995, the company has championed visually striking works exploring contemporary themes and culture, underpinned by collaboration and experimentation.
It’s becoming hard to imagine Melbourne’s cultural landscape without Chunky Move. We’ve struck gold with such an innovative dance company in our own backyard.
Accessibility and audience engagement
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As usual, Chunky Move ensures PHANTASM has comprehensive accessibility initiatives. The production includes an audio-described performance on 16 August at 7pm, designed to enhance the experience for people who are blind or have low vision through additional narration.
A tactile tour precedes the audio-described performance at 6pm, allowing participants to feel key elements including props, set pieces and costumes. The venue provides wheelchair access with designated spaces, accessible bathrooms and companion card support for Victorian and interstate cardholders. A social story provides step-by-step guidance for visiting Chunky Move, available in written format and Auslan.
The production carries content warnings for nudity, haze effects, fake blood, minimal gore and scent elements – if that’s not enough to get you to buy a ticket, we don’t know what will.
For more information, head here.
