2nd Toe and ‘The Lost Dance Project’

Next time you’re wandering down one of Melbourne’s beloved laneways, keep your eyes peeled. Can you find the secret password to an exciting new world?

By Rain Francis of Dance Informa.

The contemporary dance makers of the 2nd Toe Dance Collective are at it again. Their new experiment, The Lost Dance Project, is more than just a performance. Aiming to re-connect us with our city, with art and with each other, Lost Dance makes the most of our social media-driven society in a compelling and innovative way.

Head over to www.2ndtoe.com and take a look at the new website. Do it now – go on, I’ll wait.

Mysterious, no? Here are some clues. 2nd Toe has hidden seven paste-ups around the city of Melbourne. To gain entry to the show, you need to find a paste-up. Each artwork has its own unique code; take that and enter it on The Lost Dance Project website. You’ll then receive an exclusive invitation to the pilot performance, held in a secret location on Saturday, July 12.

I’m psyched just writing about this. It’s like a treasure hunt. And the best part? It’s absolutely free!

For more information and up-to-date clues, follow 2nd Toe at www.facebook.com/2ndtoe, Instagram #2ndtoe or Twitter @2ndtoe.

Since gaining much-needed funding from the Australia Council for the Arts, Arts Victoria, City of Melbourne and the Besen Foundation, the collective has been busy bringing its imaginative idea to life. Now at the pointy end of the development, the creators have spent 12 weeks executing their well-laid plans.

After spending time in the studio generating choreography for a short dance work, they hit the streets of Melbourne to engage in location rehearsals.

“These council-approved ‘lost’ spaces act as pop-up rehearsal venues,” says 2nd Toe Co-Founder Frankie Snowdon. “This allows both the general public to view small snippets of the work being brought to life, and for the existing studio material to be affected and adjusted to suit its new public locations.”

This project is a pilot version of a larger experiment. “We needed people to interact with the artworks and social media in order to find out whether it will work and what needs to change,” Snowdon explains.

The Lost Dance Project invites people to become part of something “much larger than their own experience.” Get involved with this unique experiment by searching for those hidden paste-ups in the city!

Photo: 2nd Toe posted this image to its Facebook page as a clue for The Lost Dance Project, saying “Clue #3: Byron is marking his Guerilla Territory and contemplating whether the victor should be a Badger Vs Hawk.” Photo courtesy of 2nd Toe.