Private View – A window into the creatives’ lives

Private View is a voyeuristic glimpse into the worlds of the performers as they search for love, express their secret desires, feel the ache of heartbreak and the cheeky first touches of a relationship, all with a healthy dash of naughtiness. Having a physical or intellectual disability doesn’t change your sexuality and your desire to express it. Yet, the subject of people with intellectual disability having romantic dreams and sexual desires is still taboo.

Private View is the creation of Restless Dance Theatre, Australia’s leading creator of dance theatre by dancers with and without disability. Restless Dance Theatre brings artists with diverse minds, bodies and imaginations together to create contemporary dance theatre from everyday lived experiences.

The conceptualisation of Private View started with discussions around sexuality, love, flirtation and relationships. Given the intensity of some of the themes explored by Private View, Restless Dance Theatre brought an intimacy coach on board to work with dancers. The performers are key to the works success and played a major role in development. Michelle Ryan, Artistic Director of Restless Dance Theatre explains, “The dancer’s voice is important in the creation of the work. Their responses to questions and tasks are woven into the scenes which enables the performers to give honest and authentic performances. It is quite a gift for the audiences.” Part of the genesis of the work was the window into dancers’ private spaces made inevitable by COVID Zoom calls. Roz Hervey, Creative Producer and Dramaturg was inspired by questions of how much we reveal of ourselves and the line between our private and public lives.

Michelle Ryan invites people to see Private View and come away feeling hopeful. She describes her ideal audience member as, “someone who wants to experience art which is outside a traditional theatre experience. Someone who wants to think, feel and engage with work and the talented, diverse performers. People who love dance, theatre and live music and those who love sophisticated art that entertains.”