ABOUT
Alana is a movement artist, specialising in Butoh and physical theatre.
Having trained with 12 Butoh Masters for over 15 years including Yoshito Ohno, Yukio Waguri, Natsu Nakajima, Semimaru, Koichi Tamano, Maro Akaji, Saisaku, Katsura Kan, Yumiko Yoshioka, Kudo Takateru, SU-EN, and Moe Yamamoto. Alana's work always begins with a questioning of the body; a desperate discourse of flesh. She enjoys collaboration with artists from other mediums, often working with Sound Artists and Graffiti Street Artists. Her work focuses on how the body is informed by these more external modes of art.
She has performed throughout Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Australia.
Currently, in 2023, Alana is an Associate with Back to Back Theatre, she was co-devisor on their Ensemble lead project 'Elephant', which has had developments at ACMI for Midsumma 2022 and PACT Sydney 2023. She had ran Butoh workshops in Back to Back's C.A.M.P International 2020 and 2021, and co-faciliated IRL C.A.M.P workshop Elephant in 2022. Alana also is developing ‘Behind the Seams’ with four of Melbourne's most renowned Butoh artists, directed by Kaira Hachefa and is a regular ensemble member of The Thursday Group, and is currently dramaturg on Matt Crosby's work 'Corporare'.
In 2020 she co-devised the award winning film ‘rEvolve’ with Blackhole Theatre, and was Artistic Associate on ‘Front Yard Frolics’, and ‘Velveteen Rabbit’ for Born in a Taxi. In 2019 she completed a 6-week residency at the Lìzé Puppet Art Colony in Taiwan, where a documentary was made about her skill exchange with the company. She also performed in the award-nominated season of ‘The Intriguing Case of the Silent Forest' with The Thursday Group.
Alana is also a performer for Born in a Taxi performing physically driven work that is absurd and comical. She has regularly performed with The Environmental Performance Authority - a bodyweather collective headed by Peter Fraser, and Dr Gretel Taylor. She is a dancer in various reiterations of ‘ROOMAN’, created by Fluer Elise Noble, she has performed with Tony Yap Company in iterations of MAPFest in Australia and Malaysia. She has trained and performed with Dairakudakan and Sankaijuku in Japan.
She believes that art is primarily about connection. This philosophy has led her to not only perform but facilitate and produce theatre as well.
She is currently an Associate Production Manager and Stage Manager for Back to Back Theatre, with whom she managed their retrospective of ‘Food Court’, ‘small metal objects’ and ‘Ganesh Versus the Third Reich’ for Rising 2021. She also stage managed a 9 week tour of the Europe and the UK with their award winning show ‘The Shadow Whose Prey The Hunter Becomes’ in 2022. Including Stage Managing Shadow as part of the presentation for the Ibsen Award in Olso in 2022.
In the past Alana was the Project/Production Manager for Rawcus Theatre, for their public work installations and main stage productions. She was also the Company Manager and Producer for Born in a Taxi, and Creative Producer for The Thursday Group. Producer for 5AngryMen (5AM) for their national tour of ‘The Bells’, Festival Director for The Environmental Performance Authority - running ‘Melbourne47’ (2016), a site specific performances festival which held 47 events in one month. She was Production Manager for the Butoh festival ‘Evocation of Butoh’ for Yumi Umiumare and AsiaTOPA in (2017). She also runs Anomaly Productions, whose flagship show is ‘Neon Laneway’ - a large-scale neon graffiti/dance installation. With Anomaly, she most recently curated ‘The Source’ at Arts Centre Melbourne (2018). Alana’s experience with the Graffiti scene led her to co-produce ‘The Paterson Project’, where 150 visual and installation street artists raised over $50,000 for the Royal Children's Hospital (2015).
Her work has been seen at:
Ibsen festival Olso, RISING, Melbourne International Arts Festival, Under The Radar Festival - New York, National Gallery of Victoria, WOMADelaide, Splendour in the Grass, White Night, HOTA, Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Darebin Arts - Speakeasy Season, Horizon Festival, Due West Festival, Melbourne Zoo, Federation Square, Melbourne Fringe Festival, Upstream Festival, Floriade, The Commonwealth Games Festival, La Mama, Adelaide Festival Centre, Werribee Zoo, City of Melbourne, Stonnington City Council, City of Wyndham, Hobsons Bay City Council, City of Maribyrnong etc.