Digital ProgramPlagiaryby Alisdair Macindoe
12 — 14 September
Run time
This performance runs for 60 minutes.
Event duration is a guide only and may be subject to change.
Age
Recommended for audiences 15+
Children aged 15 years and under must be accompanied at all times.
As the text and imagery in Plagiary is generated by hyper intelligent computer programs with broad creative freedom, the presentation may, in some rare instances, include content that may be offensive to some. Performance contains partial nudity, strong language, drug references and adult themes.
Plagiary is a dance performance experiment that employs artificial intelligence as choreographer and playwright, generating an entirely new show before your eyes in collaboration with 10 live contemporary dance improvisors.
Constructed by multi-award-winning dance technologist and choreographer Alisdair Macindoe, Plagiary hands creative decision-making over to artificial intelligence in a unique dance performance experiment.
A new show is improvised each night from scratch, as ten exceptional contemporary dancers become vessels for unpredictable directives, dictated by a computer voice presence. Acclaimed media artist Sam Mcgilp crafts new visual worlds of AI video for every performance.
Plagiary cracks open a space to deepen our knowledge of embodiment. It champions the human body as one of the final entities untouched by artificial intelligence.
The audience is invited to delve further into this collaboration between human and machine. Follow the AI prompts via an onstage screen displaying the text that directs the performance. Or wear custom glasses to mask the text – the choice is yours.
Presented by Insite Arts and Sydney Opera House Presents
Concept, Direction, Choreography, Text, Coding, Sound Design, Set Design and Image Design
Alisdair Macindoe
Video Design and Coding
Sam Mcgilp
Software Development, Head Coder
Chris Chua
Costume Design, Prop Design
Andrew Treloar
Lighting Design
Amelia Lever-Davidson
Production Management
Zsuzsa Gaynor Mahaly
Producer
Penelope Leishman, Insite Arts
Performers and choreographers
Sam Beazley
Franky Drouisoti
Josh Freedman
Allie Graham
Tara Hodge
Grace Lewis
Frances Orlina
Sam Osborn
Performers, Spoken Text and Choreographers
Joel Fenton
Siobhan Lynch
Director, Programming: Brenna Hobson
(Former) Director, Programming: Fiona Winning
Head of Screen: Stuart Buchanan
Senior Producer Screen: Melinda Dransfield
Programming Coordinator: Abby Johnson
Marketing Manager: Adelaide Garner
Marketing Associate: Emily Edgar
Marketing Coordinator: Ashley Santos
Senior Communications Manager: Julia Barnes
Communications Specialist: Natasha Yuncken
Communications Manager: Emily Cook
Senior Creative: Rohan Cain
Senior Creative - Content: Julia Kenny
Event Account Manager: Anna Bennington
Production Manager: Chris Burn
Food and Beverage Contract Manager: Nicole Switaj
SOHP Ticketing Specialist: Ryan Court
Head of Operations and Business Management , SOHP: Phillippa Martin Reiter
Business Analyst, SOHP: Alison Levingston
Corporate Counsel: Jordana Rowley
Alisdair Macindoe is an independent multidisciplinary choreographer living on unceded stolen Woi Wurrung country (Melbourne, Australia). With an interest in extending the boundaries of choreographic practice, Alisdair’s work spans dance, sound, electronics, coding and text. Recent works have seen him explore automated dance and Artificial Intelligence; new technology for music expression; trans-humanism; waste and climate change; and identity in the age of narcissism.
Alisdair Macindoe’s independent and collaborative work has been commissioned and presented widely, including Forgery (2021, Australasian Dance Collective & Brisbane Festival); Progress Report (2023 & 2021, with co-director Alison Currie for Vitalstatistix & Frame Biennial at The Substation (2021 & 2023); System Error (2021, co-created with Chamber Made & Tamara Saulwick for Arts House); Reference Material (2021, Darebin Speakeasy); Noncompete (2018,The Substation); Meeting (2015, with co-creator Antony Hamilton, commissioned by Arts House, presented across 35 international seasons) and Bromance (2010, Next Wave, Arts House & Performance Space).
Over 2019-21, Alisdair developed the training and creation tool, A.I.D., to facilitate computer generated choreographic instruction. Collaboration with presenting partners and educational institutions influence the design of each new project and the system is also available as a remote, online experience, A.I.D ONLINE.
Alisdair has received six Green Room awards; an Australian Helpmann Award and a New York Performing Arts Award ‘Bessie’. He was the 2019 Resident Director for Lucy Guerin Inc; the 2019 Ausdance Peggy Van Praagh Fellow; the 2020 Dancenorth NO-SHOW resident; a 2020-21Sidney Myer Foundation Creative Fellow and a recipient of the 2022 Chloe Munro Mid-Career Fellowship. He is a current board member of Ausdance Victoria.
Alisdair has an extensive history of almost 20 years working as a dancer (36 works) and sound designer (48 works) for some of Melbourne's most celebrated choreographers, including his career spanning mentor Lucy Guerin.
Creatives
Alisdair Macindoe is an independent multidisciplinary choreographer living on unceded stolen Woi Wurrung country (Melbourne, Australia). With an interest in extending the boundaries of choreographic practice, Alisdair’s work spans dance, sound, electronics, coding and text. Recent works have seen him explore automated dance and Artificial Intelligence; new technology for music expression; trans-humanism; waste and climate change; and identity in the age of narcissism.
Alisdair Macindoe’s independent and collaborative work has been commissioned and presented widely, including Forgery (2021, Australasian Dance Collective & Brisbane Festival); Progress Report (2023 & 2021, with co-director Alison Currie for Vitalstatistix & Frame Biennial at The Substation (2021 & 2023); System Error (2021, co-created with Chamber Made & Tamara Saulwick for Arts House); Reference Material (2021, Darebin Speakeasy); Noncompete (2018,The Substation); Meeting (2015, with co-creator Antony Hamilton, commissioned by Arts House, presented across 35 international seasons) and Bromance (2010, Next Wave, Arts House & Performance Space).
Over 2019-21, Alisdair developed the training and creation tool, A.I.D., to facilitate computer generated choreographic instruction. Collaboration with presenting partners and educational institutions influence the design of each new project and the system is also available as a remote, online experience, A.I.D ONLINE.
Alisdair has received five Green Room awards; an Australian Helpmann Award and a New York Performing Arts Award ‘Bessie’. He was the 2019 Resident Director for Lucy Guerin Inc; the 2019 Ausdance Peggy Van Praagh Fellow; the 2020 Dancenorth NO-SHOW resident; a 2020-21Sidney Myer Foundation Creative Fellow and a recipient of the 2022 Chloe Munro Mid-Career Fellowship. He is a current board member of Ausdance Victoria.
Alisdair has an extensive history of almost 20 years working as a dancer (36 works) and sound designer (48 works) for some of Melbourne's most celebrated choreographers, including his career spanning mentor Lucy Guerin.
Dr Sam Mcgilp is a new media artist based on Wurundjeri country in Naarm. He creates collaborative modes of making with performers through playful experiments that expand the potential dramaturgies of live performance.
Sam’s body of work includes performance (Running Machine, Arts House, 2022), hybrid digital/performance works (STACK, Zerospace New York, 2024), (Triplet State, ACC Korea and DAC Taipei, 2023, Body Crysis, ACMI, 2023 and The Substation, 2022) and films (Body Pipelines, Sydney Opera House, 2023, Bonanza! Chunky Move, MIFF, 2021).
Sam has worked extensively in collaborative contexts including with Harrison Hall, NAXS Future (Taiwan), Lu Yang (China), and Kazuhiko Hiwa and Makoto Uemura (Japan).
Chris Chua is a freelance programmer who typically works with programming embedded systems in C, C++ and Python. He has also been interested in developing software for performance art, working with machine learning systems, and in game development. He has worked with dance artists such as Alisdair Macindoe and Rebecca Jensen, and created technology-dance hybrid works such as TwitchPlaysChris (2015) and BeatStorm (2022)
Andrew Treloar is an artist working between contemporary art, dance and fashion design through multiple practices and collaborations. These include recent projects with Henry Jock Walker, Jack Riley, Daniel Riley, Dancenorth, Jo Lloyd, Marrugeku, Lucy Guerin Inc., and Chunky Move. His design work has shown across many venues and festivals throughout Australia including the 2018 Commgames Opening Ceremony.
He completed a Masters in Fine Art by Research in 2014 at University of Melbourne, Faculty of Fine Arts and Music (VCA) studying interrelationships between training and conditioning practices in dance and sport to generate processes for making art works. Andrew’s Visual Arts practice includes a strong component of problem-solving and material research, which has covered wearable sculptures (Metal. 2020), techno-slime installations (The Venusian Slip 1.0) and multi-venue live-streams (Porous Space. Simultaneous Event., 2014).
In collaboration with Harrison Hall, Harrison Ritchie-Jones and Luigi Vescio, he made and produced The Venusian Slip, which had successful seasons in 2018 and 2020. He is currently in development for new work with Harrison Hall, which has been sustained by residencies at Abbotsford Convent, Lucy Guerin Inc.’s Moving Forward residency program, Temperance Hall’s Exquisite Corps residency and in Andrew’s own studio. They recently showed Surprise, Surprize for Pieces 2021 Season commissioned by Lucy Guerin Inc. and The Substation.
Amelia Lever-Davidson is an award-winning lighting designer for theatre, dance, live art, installation and events. Amelia is a graduate of The Victorian College of the Arts, The Western Australian Academy of the Performing Arts and RMIT. Amelia has designed lighting for Sydney Theatre Company, The Melbourne Theatre Company, Belvoir St Theatre, Malthouse Theatre, Chunky Move, Red Stitch, Chamber Made, Elbow Room, Belarus Free Theatre, Deep Soulful Sweats, The Hayloft Project, MKA, Circa, Dark Mofo, Melbourne International Comedy Festival and many others.
She has collaborated with a diverse range of directors and choreographers including Anne Louise Sarks, Kip Williams, Hannah Goodwin, Susie Dee, Daniel Schlusser, Robin Fox, Yaron Lifschitz, Dean Bryant, Kate Champion, Declan Greene, Luke Kerridge, Janice Muller, Sarah Aiken, Martin Hansen, Prue Clark, Bridget Balodis, Gary Abrahams, Samara Hersch, Le Gateaux Chocolate, Adrienne Truscott, Lauren Langlois and Joel Bray. Amelia’s work has been presented both nationally and internationally at festivals including Wuhzen Festival China, Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and Darwin Festival, Dark MOFO, Dance Massive, Castlemaine Festival, Next Wave, FOLA, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide Fringe Festival, Auckland Fringe, NZ Fringe Wellington and Edinburgh Fringe.
Her design credits include Julius Caesar (STC); Bloom, Bernhadt/Hamlet, Girls & Boys, Slap. Bang. Kiss., Admissions, Torch The Place, The Violent Outburst That Drew Me To You (MTC); Blessed Union, My Brilliant Career, Every Brilliant Thing (Belvoir); They Divided The Sky (Belvoir 25A); Because The Night, Kbox, Australian Realness, Trustees, Turbine (Malthouse Theatre); Leviathan (Circa); Myself In That Moment, System_Error, Diaspora (Chamber Made); Next Move 11 (Chunky Move); Moral Panic, Contest, Niche, Conviction, Dream Home (Darebin Speakeasy); Hand To God (Vass Productions); Looking Glass, Triumph (fortyfivedownstairs); Monument, A Simple Act Of Kindness, Desert, 6:29pm, Jurassica, Foxfinder (Red Stitch Actors Theatre); MKA’s Double Feature (MTC Neon); Meta (Malthouse Helium Season); Ground Control, Camel, Hello There We’ve Been Waiting For You (Next Wave Festival).
Amelia’s work has been recognised with Green Room Awards for Diaspora, Contest, Looking Glass and her 2015 body of work. Amelia is an Australia Council ArtStart and JUMP Mentorship recipient, Ian Potter Cultural Trust recipient, and a past participant in the Malthouse Besen Family Artist Program and the Melbourne Theatre Company’s inaugural Women in Theatre Program. Amelia has also worked as a lighting director and lighting technician for Channel Ten, Channel Nine, the ABC, the National Gallery of Victoria and Fremantle Media.
As lighting director, her work includes: The Sunday Footy Show; Tac Future Stars; Kids WB; A Current Affair, National Nine News. Amelia has undertaken mentorships with Paule Constable, Jon Clark, Paul Jackson, The Rabble, and international placements with Dewey Dell (Venice Biennale) and Hartley TM Kemp (Edinburgh Fringe Festival). Amelia is a founding member of The New Working Group, a network of independent artists, bringing together the creative output, ideas, resources and skills of writers, directors and designers to create a support structure for new work development and presentation.
Zsuzsa Gaynor Mihaly is a Production and Stage Manager based in Naarm/Melbourne.
They are a 2019 Graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) and have worked as a Freelancer across multiple performance genres including Dance, Theatre, Circus, Live Music and Events.
They have worked for companies such as The Australian Ballet, Lucy Guerin Inc, Chunky Move, The Rabble and Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC). Most recently they were the Stage Manager for Chunky Move’s latest work You, Beauty as a part of RISING 2024, Stage Manager for Steph Lake’s Colossus as a part of Ohm Festival 2024 in Brisbane and the Assistant Stage Manager for MTC’s production of Escaped Alone and What If If Only (2023).
Penelope is an Executive Producer at Insite Arts and works out of Insite's Tarntanya Adelaide offices on the land of the Kaurna people.
Penelope enjoys nurturing work that is diverse, inclusive and participatory, and is passionate about fostering artistic expression that captivates and facilitates a meaningful and transformative exchange between the artists and their audiences. For Insite Arts, Penelope supports creative developments, presentations and tours for artists such as Alisdair Macindoe, Alison Currie, Justin Shoulder, Sally Chance Dance, Astrid Pill and Club Até. She also produces presentations of the Luminarium, the inflatable, inhabitable sculptures created by Architects of Air (UK).
Previously, Penelope produced several international and national tours for the musical, circus productions of Strut & Fret Production House. She has also held various roles in programming, marketing, sponsorship and ticketing with the Melbourne International Film Festival and Melbourne Fringe.
Dancers
Allie is a contemporary dance artist based in Sydney. Her artistic practice spans contemporary dance, physical theatre, opera and movement direction. Allie is a graduate of Sydney Dance Company’s Pre-Professional Year and Ev & Bow Fulltime Dance Centre.
She has been engaged as a performer both internationally and locally, most recently as a soloist in Pierrot Lunaire at The Berlin Philharmonic under the direction of Constantine Costi and Shannon Burns. Other performance credits include performer and Revival Choreographer with Opera Australia, guest artist with Pinchgut Opera and company dancer with Catapult Dance Company. She has worked closely with Rachel Erdos, Lee Brummer, Cass Mortimer Eipper, Charmene Yap, Martin Del Amo, Eliza Cooper, Juliet Burnett and Omer Backley-Astrachan.
Frances is a contemporary dance artist based on Gadigal Land (Sydney). Graduating from WAAPA in 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts (Dance), she received the WAAPA medal and the Palisade Award.
During her studies, she completed an exchange at SUNY Purchase College in New York. Frances also trained at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, and Koninklijke Balletschool Antwerpen.
Frances has performed works by Didier Théron, Sam Coren, and Jenni Large, among others. Her creative work, which blends absurdism and satire, includes Moon River, which won the Audience Choice Award at Sharp Short Dance Festival in 2020.
Franky Drousioti is a multifaceted contemporary artist born in Naarm (Melbourne) Australia whose lineage derives from Cyprus, Italy, Scotland and Ireland. He is currently interested in the way we can connect utilising art and culture, and his practice is one that leans on holistic and inclusive space where he can weave together various disciplines to nurture body, mind, and spirit.
Franky’s practice explores and includes improvisation techniques (inspired by Hollow Body, Gaga, Circular Movement), movement techniques (inspired by Counter Tech, Contemporary, Ballet), and restorative techniques (inspired by Qi Gong, Somatic Flow, Meditation, Contact C.A.R.E.) His approach is centred around love, respect and compassion, inspiring him to create spaces that weave presence of human senses.
He continues to ignite his craft by acknowledging founding movement creators while striving to create a safe and supportive environment where individuals can explore their unique journey, cultivate self-awareness, and develop tools for resilience and well-being. Franky is passionate about empowering others to tap into their inner strength and potential and committed to continuous learning and growth to best serve his clients and community.
Hailing from Meanjin (Brisbane), Grace completed her contemporary dance training through the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA).
She has engaged in the performance and/or development of works by Meryl Tankard, Adelina Larsson, Sam Coren, Co3, Kimberley Parkin, and drag/dance artist Valerie Hex, and was a key performer in the Australian premier of ADA, by visual artist, Karina Smigla-Bobinski.
Grace has choreographed and presented work under the facilitation of Critical Path, Ausdance NSW and Dance Makers Collective, and recently premiered her solo work SUB/stand through Studio 1 Brisbane’s 2024/25 Workroom Program. Grace is currently a core teaching artist with renowned contemporary dance company, Australasian Dance Collective.
Joel is currently working with Shaun Parker & Company as a Performer, Project Coordinator and Tour Manager.
He has toured extensively across Australia and internationally in KING, Happy as Larry, Trolleys, Hover, The Box, Axle & Spin. Joel completed a Master of Dance at the VCA in 2017 and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance) at QUT in 2010. His Masters explored the process of creating and crafting contemporary dance theatre through his SITCOMS task-based improvisation practice.
Joel has performed, choreographed or taught across Australia for Tasdance, UTAS, DevizeCo, Brand X, Lyric Opera, Phluxus2Dance Collective, QL2 and more.
Josh Freedman is a mover and maker, working between dance and performance art. Having trained at Rambert School, Josh danced briefly in Europe, before returning to Australia in 2021. As a freelance artist, Josh has worked with Christopher Bruce, Thick&Tight, London Fashion Week, Raghav Handa, Box of Birds, and Sue Healey, among others.
Josh also performs as nightlife alter ego ‘Jiggy’, in club, festival, theatre, and gallery spaces across east coast Australia. Josh is passionate about blending queer performance lineages with established dance and theatre forms, aiming to foster silliness and absurdity, as a collaborator and in his own work.
Samuel Beazley is a Māori creative, who resides in Sydney, Australia. His endeavours exist primarily in Hip Hop based dance and culture, movement, teaching, remedial massage and music.
Sam graduated from Wesley institute with a bachelor of the arts in dance and has since continued his training in all genres. Sams current focus for training resides in Hip Hop focused styles such as Hip Hop, Popping. From 2014 to the present day, Sam has worked closely with Shaun Parker and company on numerous shows including KING, Trolleys, Found objects and Hover.
Sam also continues to work as a freelance dancer with Dance Makers Collective and Marrugeku. By combining all aspects of his creative life, Sam aspires to make art until he can no longer.
Sam is a freelance contemporary dancer who is currently based between Sydney/Eora and Melbourne/Naarm. He has worked professionally on a range of dance, art and film projects including ‘When Do I Breathe?’ by Lauren Brincat and Charmene Yap, 'Colossus’ and ‘Soliloquy’ with Stephanie Lake Company and the SOH’s 50th Anniversary film ‘Play It Safe’ choreographed by Lucy Guerin and directed by Kim Gehrig.
Sam graduated from Sydney Dance Company’s PPY in 2023, where he collaborated and performed works by dance artists, Jenni Large, Gabrielle Nankivell, Rafael Bonachela, Alejandro Rolandi & Lee-Anne Litton, Melanie Lane, Tobiah BoothRemers and Miranda Wheen.
Sam uses his dance practice to unearth his personality, liberation and investigate identity/background.
From Sydney, Siobhan is a multi-disciplinary independent artist specialising in Contemporary Dance.
She trained full-time with Sydney Dance Company (2019-2021) graduating with an Advanced Diploma in Elite Dance as well as graduating from NIDA (National Institute of the Dramatic Arts) with a Diploma in Musical Theatre (2020).
In 2021, Siobhan performed works by Rafael Bonachela, Gabrielle Nankivell, James Vu Anh Pham and Omer Backley-Astrachan. Since then, Siobhan has worked with Sydney Dance Company as an Associate Artist and Teaching Artist. Siobhan has since collaborated and performed with various contemporary dance groups including Sydney Choreographic Ensemble, Catapult Choreographic Hub in Newcastle as part of NewAnnual Festival and a company dancer with NewOldNow founded by Davide Giovanni. She performed with The Australian Ballet’s Alice in Wonderland by Christopher Wheeldon. Siobhan is currently an Associate company member with Australasian Dance Collective in Brisbane, performing in 'HALCYON' by Jack Lister In 2023. She regularly collaborates with dance and filmmaker Sue Healey for Sydney Festival and is a 2023 recipient of the ACTIVATE residency program in collaboration with Catapult Choreographic Hub.
She has appeared throughout the ABC Television series SIGNIFICANT OTHERS as a dancer and actor working with Danielle Micich, Artistic Director of Force Majeure Company. Siobhan is a recipient of the 2024 Ian Potter Cultural Grant supporting the development of Australian artists, partaking in European professional workshops and performance projects.
Tara Hodge (Te Aitanga a Māhaki, Ngāti-Whare) is an Indigenous artist from Aotearoa, New Zealand. Raised in Tauranga’s vibrant street dance scene, she honed her skills through performance, competing, and teaching. Tara furthered her expertise at Auckland Unitec, focusing on contemporary dance.
Now in the early stages of her professional career, she is dedicated to refining her improvisation and free-styling techniques while exploring cultural and social practices. Her current goal is to continue learning and traveling globally to experience diverse cultures and enrich her artistic practice.