By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Breaking through ceilings is nothing new for 20-year-old choreographer Alexandra Dellaportas.
Aptly in a show based on the British Suffrage movement, her troupe of 28 young dancers will perform Shatter on the giant stage at Bunjil Place.
For the first time, Bunjil’s stage pit will be filled by a 35-piece professional orchestra for the show.
Delllaportas formed her non-profit Spark Youth Dance Company out of frustration for the lack of opportunity for young performers on the Mornington Peninsula.
She was just 18 at the time, a year after finishing school.
She decided the best solution was to be the solution. She works with an all-youth creative team of choreographers, directors, lighting, costume and set designers and dancers aged 7-25.
Their goal is to create performances, Dellaportas says.
“We’re just here for the love of the artform.”
As a “huge feminist”, Dellaportas was drawn to teaching her dancers about the Suffragette movement.
Many didn’t know that women had to fight for the vote, or what feminism and the fight for gender equality was, Dellaportas said.
She says the Suffragettes’ story – full of strength, passion, hunger strikes and violence – was mightily relevant in 2018.
Still, the debate rages for equal pay and for the end of #metoo abuse in entertainment circles, she notes.
“Just teaching the little ones that females don’t have to be soft all the time.
“You can have a voice.”
Shatter is at Bunjil Place, Narre Warren on 11 April, 7.30pm.
Bookings: bunjilplace.com.au or sparkyouthdance.com.au
