7 Dances for 7 People by Trà Mi Dinh presented by Darebin Arts Speakeasy and FUSE Festival.

Award-winning choreographer Trà Mi Dinh premieres a mesmerising new work inspired by one of humanity’s oldest and most mysterious obsessions: the number 7.

Fresh from acclaimed commissions with Sydney Dance Company and Lucy Guerin Inc, Trà Mi Dinh creates choreography that bends our perception of time, rhythm and expectation. Her latest work, 7 Dances for 7 People, brings together 7 of Naarm’s most exceptional dancers in a hypnotic ritual of precision, endurance and devotion.

Immersed in an otherworldly and mysterious atmosphere, audiences witness a work that unfolds like a ritual. Complex and precise movement builds through patterns and repetition, gradually reaching a heightened state of sensation and transcendence. Composer Tilman Robinson, known for his ambient, maximalist electro-acoustic music, imbues the sonic world with an entrancing and commanding score, experimenting with a 7/8 time signature – an asymmetrical rhythm that creates a distinctive framework for choreographic exploration. Rachel Lee’s lighting design fluidly reveals and conceals bodies that transform and dissolve, refracting the light from Geoffrey Watson’s illuminating costume design.

Across cultures and throughout history, the number seven has symbolised perfection and totality. 7 is seen as the union of the spiritual (3) and the physical (4), offering a compelling lens through which to consider the act of dancing. Possessed by this equation and driven by the cultural mythology surrounding the number, 7 Dances for 7 People transforms numerical obsession into movement. The work explores the elusive yet prevailing impact and meanings of this number and its iterations in rhythm, repetition and symbolism. Dinh has a very personal affinity for the number 7. In addition to its being her favorite number, she grew up in a Buddhist household in which the number 7 held particular significance due to its auspicious nature.