^{Cover Image: IN.RESIDENCE: GATHERING.2 (2026), curated by Raewyn Hill. Image of NEVER LONELY NOW choreographed by Sam Coren, featuring Co3 Company Dancers. Photo by Emma Fishwick.}

Mesmerising and unprejudiced, Co3 Contemporary Dance Australia’s Gathering.2 at The Liberty Theatre is an  invitation to join a temporary cult of joy, playful sacrifice and virtuosic movement.  

For those uninitiated, Co3 is the flagship contemporary dance company here in  Boorloo,  with a long list of accolades from the Performing Arts WA Awards (PAWAA). Gathering.2 is the second edition of what is becoming an annual program and sits within Co3’s Pathways Program. Aimed at supporting the creation of new works by emerging and established West Australian choreographers.

This year, Artistic Director Raewyn Hill brings together the voices of Laura Boynes, Sam Coren, May Greenberg, and Shaun Johntson to develop a program of eclectic works bound by puppetry and theatrics. 

The first of the evening was Laura Boynes’ ON & ON. True to its title, the work explores the passage of time with its palindromic form and constant movement. The opening choreography of disembodied heads amongst bleachers is strangely grotesque while shifts in cohesion and timing kept movements fluid and engaging. Boynes has a keen ability to play with audience’s attention, which was only undercut by the slight confusion caused by the unclear requirements of where audiences could be during the work. Music by Callum O’Reilly and arranged by Tristan Parr, provided an electronic but organic soundtrack to the unfolding and rewinding of time. O’Reilly carries momentum through changing temporal direction and speed from which DJ ADEBOII seamlessly transitions on either side. 

The works of Gathering.2 are interwoven with something between a club and a flashmob as The Liberty Theatre turns into a dance floor; featuring DJ ADEBOII on the decks and street dancers led by Logan Ringshaw, the energy of the ‘Street Crew’ invited audience members of all ages and abilities to participate. This sense of community, participation and agency is the evenings greatest strength and had almost the entire audience dancing in-between each work. 

NEVER LONELY NOW brings a disturbingly beautiful display of ritual and death from the mind of choreographer Sam Coren. Built on a quote by Jaques Lecoq and featuring dancers in silicone animal masks, the sense of discomfort is punctuated by the moment the viewer realises they are being watched by an unwelcome voyeur. The use of live projection on the decrepit theatre wall was unsettling as it turned the room into a scene liken to The Blair Witch Project, toying with the dynamics of watcher vs watched. Dancer Luther Wilson stands out in their evocative performance of the rabbit for whom death comes. Embodying the innocence of a young kit against the driving score of Louis Frere-Harvey.  

DANCEAGOGE is the from dancer/choreographer May Greenberg. The work responds to the question “to witch, or bewitched?”. Greenberg’s versatility penetrates the work from the spell of the opening track composed by her and Felicity Groom to the intensity of the possession imbued in Vivaldi’s Winter. The ensemble displays intensity in the rapid and rigid choreography and creates a collective mind as they swarm around the stage to an eclectic mix of music.  

The finale, MAKE//BELIEVE resists the dark, pensive themes of the night and gives a lighted hearted take on the tales of lost monarchs and the performance of power. While containing some of the cartoonish features described by choreographer Shaun Johnston, the work reads uncannily like a romantic ballet set to Charles Gounod’s Funeral March of a Marionette. The on-stage struggles unfold like the battle scenes of The Nutcracker, as the dancers tussle over the crown like the mice fighting over Clara with athleticism and exaggeration.  

In a show of four unique works, Co3 manages to provide a model for infusing community and connection, bridging the gaps between style and ability while showcasing some of the best of WA’s local choreographers. Co3 is now in development of a new double bill by Raewyn Hill and Marion Motin which promises a bold but refined “fusion of artistic worlds.” 

Visit the Co3 Contemporary Dance Australia  website to find out more.