‘Emptying The Bucket’ wins Best Dance at Melbourne Fringe Awards

Created by Melbourne/Berlin-based choreographer Nebahat Erpolat, Emptying The Bucket presented its Australian premiere on September 28-October 1 at the Meat Market, as part of the 2016 Melbourne Fringe Festival. A few days later, the Festival announced the winning artists for the 2016 Melbourne Fringe Awards, with Emptying The Bucket receiving the Best Dance Award.

The Melbourne Fringe Awards acknowledge the quality, professionalism and diversity of work produced in each year’s festival. Ten awards are handed out across the Fringe categories of Performance, Comedy, Music, Live Art, Dance, Circus, Cabaret, Visual Arts and Kids.

Emptying The Bucket is a multi-layered dance piece that explores the questions around how we see and feel love in our contemporary society and how one can express these connections and ideas through live-art and dance.

Erpolat stated, “To win the Best Dance Award category is a huge achievement and a wonderful recognition for the work, its cast and crew. So many incredible artists presented work in this yearʼs Fringe program, and itʼs an honour to walk away with a Fringe Award. We are excited to see the work continue to develop and delighted to have the support from the Melbourne Fringe Festival and its mentors.”

Erpolat is an independent choreographer and performer known for creating daring experimental works that pull together various mediums like dance, live art, video and photography. Since graduating from the Victorian Collage of the Arts with a Post-Graduate Diploma in Dance Animateuring, Erpolat has developed her practice both physically and theoretically, drawing on themes from her cultural background in contemporary issues, gender studies and her knowledge of Somatic Psychotherapy. Learn more about her at www.nebahaterpolat.com.

Photo courtesy of Stephanie Pirrie.