Lucy Guerin Inc and University of Melbourne Arts and Culture (UMAC) proudly announce PIECES 2025, a bold showcase of brand-new contemporary dance works by three of the country’s most innovative choreographers: Jenni Large, Jo Lloyd, and Siobhan McKenna. Presented as a triple bill, the works will premiere at UMAC in a strictly limited season from November 28 – 30.
Hush, choreographed by Siobhan McKenna, explores the rhythm and tone of respiration and the surprising potential it holds for communication. Using the voice as a tool to push the body beyond its physical edges, the work brings the inside out, making the quiet loud.
Post hoc, meaning “after this” or “after the event,” considers anticipation and suspense. Referencing filmic devices and their translation to live performance, Jo Lloyd’s Post hoc utilises extremes to reveal the labour and commitment required to resist disconnect.
Cyclic, vengeful and incomplete, Revenge Tape unfolds as a sharp and cacophonous trance, where venomous lips spew chords of profanity. In Lip, choreographed by Jenni Large, two performers, tongues mutually undulating, are swallowed by their own fixation. In this world, the body becomes a weapon, and revenge is a complicated game.
Now entering its 20th year, PIECES marks its second year as a large-scale collaboration with UMAC, following its landmark expansion in 2024.
Established by Lucy Guerin in 2005 as Pieces for Small Spaces, the program was created to give choreographers a platform to experiment and take creative risks. Over two decades, it has grown into one of Australia’s most anticipated annual dance events, celebrated for fostering new ideas and showcasing the depth and breadth of contemporary performance.
Commissioned by UMAC and LGI and curated by acclaimed choreographer Lucy Guerin, each artist has been hand-picked to present a 20-minute performance. Together, these works create a rare opportunity for audiences to experience three distinctive choreographic voices in one compelling evening of dance.
Lucy Guerin said, “From humble beginnings in a small room above a parking garage, Lucy Guerin Inc could never could have imagined the impact and longevity of PIECES. Many of the most daring and celebrated choreographic voices in Australia have tested their early ideas in this program and we are thrilled to be in our second year of partnership with University of Melbourne Arts and Culture (UMAC) in the fabulous Union Theatre. Every year for 20 years I have eagerly anticipated PIECES and I can’t wait for this milestone season to unfold.”
Tickets are on sale now at www.umac.melbourne or by way of Ticketmaster.
