UNTRAINED

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What is dance? An old question is not always a good one The Age 13 March 2009 Reviewed by Jordan Beth Vincent In New York City in the 1960s and 1970s, a group of post-modern dancers set about redefining their art form by asking the most basic question: what constitutes dance? Key aspects of their choreographic and artistic explorations included using untrained performers, a democratic choreographic process, and rejecting traditional forms and structures. Nearly 40 years on, Lucy Guerin does her own exploration of those concepts in Untrained, a work that — considering the long history of such explorations — feels dated. The premise is simple: four men appear onstage, two of whom — Byron Perry and Antony Hamilton — are trained dancers. The other two — Ross Coulter and Simon Obarzanek — are visual artists, meaning that they bring a certain level of artistic awareness and creativity to the performance, yet have no physical training. There is a strong sense of a rehearsal-in-progress, an impression confirmed by the casual costumes of trackies and runners, as well as minimalistic lighting. The men take turns performing a series of tasks, each designed to create a portrait of the individual performer. Some are as simple as acting out a favourite movie scene, while others are slightly more intimate. There are some amusing moments, mostly surrounding the fumbled and clumsy attempts by Coulter and Obarzanek to imitate the complex movement patterns of Perry and Hamilton. Untrained succeeds in exposing some sort of truth about each of these performers. These are real men, who deserve to be commended for their brave willingness to reveal their insecurities, vulnerabilities and idiosyncrasies to an audience. Unfortunately, the piece never develops past the comparison between dancer and nondancer, even as it tries to emphasise the fallacy of such a distinction. Untrained fails to break any ground and, although seeing it may be mildly entertaining, this work is ultimately uninteresting. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2009/03/12/1236447401936.html
Spring Dance festival looks to have legs The Australian 22 September 2009 Reviewed by Deborah Jones SYDNEY Opera House's new Spring Dance festival should be a stayer. In its first year the program has been small but well chosen. ... Lucy Guerin's Untrained puts together two dancers and two artists, men completely untrained in dance. Guerin, isn't, however, revisiting the 1960s notion that everyone has an equal right to stage time regardless of skill but shows how the two sides can learn from one another. Yes, it's amusing to see artists Ross Coulter and Simon Obarzanek try to emulate the superlative dancers Byron Perry and Luke Smiles, but in a sympathetic way. Who of us could do any better? As the men dance, sing, draw and talk about how they feel, the audience is drawn into selfexamination about life, art and stretching boundaries. One question particularly intrigued me: how would this piece look with women? Very different, I suspect; one of the delicious mysteries of art. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/successful-festival-looks-to-have-legs/storye6frg8po-1225777802322
Page 1 and 2: LUCY GUERIN INC. UNTRAINED Directed
Page 3 and 4: Director’s Notes Lucy Guerin Untr
Page 5 and 6: Classroom Management Suggestions Da
Page 7 and 8: Introduction to Performance Topic/T
Page 9 and 10: Performance Reflection & Humour Top
Page 11 and 12: 7. Students are to consider the wor
Page 13 and 14: Physical Tableaux Series (NB studen
Page 15 and 16: Collective Discussion 9. A ‘Drawn
Page 17 and 18: Amateurs take the spotlight, steal
Page 19 and 20: What emerged from this series of ta
Page 21 and 22: Indeed, there were more than a few
Page 23 and 24: of a playground ball court or a box
Page 25: other and us. We have guessed at an

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