Dance / ECDysis, Elizabeth Cameron Dalman and Friends. At the Courtyard Studio until October 26. Reviewed by MICHELLE POTTER.

ECDysis celebrates Elizabeth Cameron Dalman’s decades of dance creation and performance.

Dalman founded Adelaide-based Australian Dance Theatre (ADT) 60 years ago. She directed the company for 10 years before moving elsewhere. She is now based at Weereewa (Lake George) where she established Mirramu Dance Company (MDC). 

The works on the ECDysis program were performed by members of Dalman’s company along with colleagues from Taiwan. The program was diverse and comprised not only choreographed works but also film clips from across Dalman’s career.

There were also words of introduction spoken before each dance work, given sometimes by Dalman, sometimes by Vivienne Rogis, currently assistant director of MDC. 

The dance aspect of the program began with Welcome Dance, created in 2025 by Dalman. It was relatively simple choreographically, but was a charming introduction to what followed and quite moving given that, despite having been dancing for decades, Dalman has lost little of her stage presence.

The first half of the program focused on early works made for ADT in the 1960s and 1970s. Especially engrossing were excerpts from This Train, created in 1965 and danced to songs by Peter, Paul and Mary. 

It demonstrated the basic elements of Dalman’s choreography, which have stayed with her but which she has developed over the years: beautifully shaped and placed arms, movement that is carried through the whole body, and the exceptional projection of an emotional response to movement. The dancer that stood out for me in demonstrating those elements was Miranda Wheen, although everyone involved in This Train gave a moving demonstration of Dalman’s early approach. 

After interval the program focused largely on the years Dalman has spent at Weereewa, and the development of her connections with Taiwanese dancers. This second section included not only works created by Dalman but also some by her colleagues including Vivienne Rogis, Miranda Wheen and Peng Hsiao-yin (Grace). 

A standout item on the second half was Broken Umbrella from a longer work, Tango Lament, and was made in 2008 by Miranda Wheen. Danced in large part by Wheen with what was indeed a very broken umbrella, it was created in response to the closure of a university dance program. Wheen’s choreography had moments of fast-paced movement juxtaposed with slower sections and her dancing was technically outstanding and conveyed a great involvement with the topic.

Throughout the program it was particularly interesting to see some of the aspects of life and culture that have inspired Dalman’s work. Homage to Botticelli from 1969 was inspired by a visit to Florence and Dalman made a surprising link between the Renaissance era of Botticelli and aspects of life in the 1960s. 

Silk from 2002, danced to music by Andreas Dalman, was inspired by the creation of silken fabric from its beginnings to its use as a fashion item. It had an outstanding performance from Christopher Chu (as a silkworm?). Refugee from 2018, performed by Amanda Tutalo and Fu-rong Chen, examined difficulties, including death, faced by those fleeing certain cultures.

ECDysis closed with a new work, Family Tree, and the evening was an exceptional example of creativity and cross-cultural connections.