i'm so cultured right now

last night i went to the opera house to see shades of gray, the latest offering from the wonderful sydney dance company. it is sdc artistic director graeme murphy's interpretation of oscar wilde's 1890 classic The Picture of Dorian Gray. through contemporary dance, murphy explores the fabled character of Dorian Gray, a charismatic young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. murphy draws parallel's between wilde’s original story and the contemporary world of dance, where the desire for eternal youth, beauty and perfection has particular resonance.

i have been an admirer of murphy's choreography and vision for a long time now. and he has certainly not let me down with this latest production. the show is both haunting and histerical, beautiful and disturbing. from the classical opening sequence in which petite ballerinas adorned in white tutus pirouette gracefully around their male lead, to the intense s&m style scene in which leather-clad males dance on motorised urinals to the sounds of aphex twin, i was entranced.

so, if you like contemporary dance, you want to see golum do ballet, you enjoy a good old homo-erotic dance sequence, or you now just want to find out what the bejiggidy i'm on about, i definitely recommend a trip to that great boat-like landmark by the sea.