The Glorious Future

This is the culmination of three months of research during the final semester of the Master of Dance degree 2024. Over two evenings, you will have the opportunity to witness each artist's Creative Portfolio investigating their current field of research.

The Glorious Future is NOW in our hands! Together, humanity will ignite the call for renewal and awaken the power of healing. We invite you to dance, dream, and embrace an everlasting rave on earth!

Content Warnings: This performance includes bright lights, religious and environmental content, depictions of war and loud music.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Vivien Tandos
Vivien Tandos is born in Naarm, Australia. She graduated from Deakin University with a Bachelor of Creative Arts-Dance with Honours (First Class) and ANU with a Bachelor of Art(Visual). Her passion for dance led her to pursue a Master of Dance, where her research is centred on Improvisational Composition, Choreographic Scores, Dance Writing and Documentation. Vivien was awarded the Eleanor & Joseph Wertheim Scholarship at UoM in 2022-2023. She has participated in ‘SOMA’, a duet performance at the Midsumma Festival at La Mama Theatre, and has had a professional placement with Buxton Art Contemporary Gallery. She has partaken in ‘Choreolab’ with Melanie Lane and a reenactment of ‘Locus’ by Phillip Adams and VCA dancers. Following her Masters Vivien is keen to continue her Dance praxis by teaching, making solo and group dances in Australia and Europe, and completing a Diploma of Yoga Teacher Training.

Program Note for Grounded Angel
The piece rests on the transformative power of faith through trauma as Vivien yields her body to the deity Jesus Christ in a sacred and divine rite of passage. The intertwining of the blood and the body of Jesus, with the dancer's genetic blood disorder and medicalized embodiment, creates an eternal realm for ritualistic devotion and an apostolic rave. This synergy of faith, hope, and love, ingrained with the contradictions and complexities of pain, brokenness, and forgiveness, is a powerful testament to the freedom gained through surrender. The raving surrenders control, liberating the dancer from the denial of the reality of things, the harshness of science and the aftermath of trauma. When the eternal realm enters the inner woman with life, healing, and miracles manifest in her mortal body.

Zhimeng Bian

Zhimeng Bian hails from Anhui, China. She started learning dance at the age of 4 and has continued to this day. When choosing a university, she decided to pursue professional dance training. She graduated from Anhui Normal University with a Bachelor's degree in Dance performance. Her passion for dance led her to pursue a Master's degree in Dance, where her research is centered on dance politics, choreography, and teaching.

While in China, Zhimeng Performance celebrates the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, participating in performances including A Century of Glory at prestigious venues like Hefei Grand Theatre. These experiences honed her skills and deepened her understanding of dance as a political and expressive medium.

In 2023, Zhimeng began her Master of Dance at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA). During her master's studies, she worked as a trainee teacher in the Dancing The Dance course and accumulated some overseas educational experience. In addition, she actively participated in volunteer activities to bring Chinese dance to Australian primary schools and won the love of students. Her current research focuses on the intersection of dance and politics, examining how choreography can be used as a tool for social and political expression, addressing environment and sustainability in the contemporary setting. Following her Masters Gloria is keen to pursue teaching， She hopes to impart the different types of Chinese dance and contemporary dance she has learned since childhood to her future students without reservation.

Program Note
“You and I are the same.
We all live on this blue planet.
I have heard the sound of the sea.
When I opened my eyes this morning,
I saw the warm sunshine and the white birds flying by.
Deeply, deeply，breathe with me.
Green hope flutters in the wind.
Trees are the power of the earth's pulse.
Clear rivers and blue skies are our common wishes to protect.
Every leaf and every inch of soil carries the thousands of steps of the earth.
We are children of nature，

We should not forget,
Protecting it is our eternal belief.”

Zhimeng Bian briefly transformed into an environmental diplomat today, dancing with body language. I advocate and call on each of you to do what you can. In order to protect this deep blue planet, we coexist with nature and we are a community of shared destiny.

All venues at the Southbank campus are wheelchair accessible. To read more about access services available at our venues, please visit: https://finearts-music.unimelb.edu.au/access-our-events

Due to current COVID-19 restrictions and University guidelines, there are a number of conditions currently in place for our in-person events. To read more about the University's COVID-19 response, please visit: https://www.unimelb.edu.au/coronavirus.

• The University continues to strongly encourage individuals to remain up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations, but no longer requires evidence of vaccination in order to access campus.
• Wearing a mask remains recommended when you cannot physically distance.
• Please stay at home if you feel unwell or have been ordered to isolate.
• Walk-ups and latecomers will be admitted at the discretion of front of house staff.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Studio 221, Dance Building, Southbank, Australia