MUD guest curator Lily Potger on taking dance beyond the (canonical) stage
Posted on: Thu 16 Dec 2021
From training in contemporary and classical dance at Rambert in London to co-founding community platform FLESHSOUP in Adelaide, Lily Potger’s practice is forever “redefining itself”.
Having performed in various notable productions including Curdled Glass which they co-created with Archie White, Vessels of Affliction by Anthony Matsena and S/WORDS by Lewis Major, Lily continues to advocate for young and emerging artists to be included within dance institutions in Adelaide.
Their practice is informed by their work in the underground dance scenes in London and the freelance industries in Perth and Adelaide – but it was their entry into dance through classical ballet that first set them on the path to breaking down hierarchies imposed by formal dance institutions.
Experiencing those hierarchical systems that are present, especially in classical ballet, really sort of steered me towards this anti-authority view on dance.
Lily Potger
In a move to bypass the gatekeepers, Lily has developed a local community-focussed platform FLESHSOUP with co-founder Andrew Barnes to provide a space “for young freelancers in Adelaide to create, share and seek alternative avenues of performing, beyond traditional funding routes”.
Taking work and creating it for a specific site has really allowed us to open up the pathways for dancers – and for audiences to be able to view dance.
Lily Potger
You can catch Lily perform tonight with musical accompaniment from Stuart Patterson at this month’s MUD event, which they also curated.
They speak to us about FLESHSOUP, their MUD performance and their upcoming 2022 productions for Fringe and beyond.
Image supplied
Produced by Anisha Pillarisetty
