It Is Written

It's not too often that artists get inspired by grammar. So linguists and other dictionary-huggers will be jazzed to find out that Future Perfect, a show by choreographer Jo Lloyd, was partly inspired by just that. When Lloyd first heard of the grammatical tense future perfect, she was intrigued. It's the one that describes events that will happen before some point in the future (eg, 'by tomorrow afternoon the world will have ended'). As Lloyd points out, using it is kind of like imagining yourself in the future looking backwards. “It's a bit contradictory. It makes my head get a bit giddy if I over-think it,” she laughs.

Interested in how we conceptualise the future, Lloyd set about creating a work that explores circumstance, transitions and the unknown. She worked closely with the show's five dancers in devising it, discussing imagined other worlds and remembering past impressions of the future. The resulting work draws on some big ideas about what's to come; from global warming and scientific progress to the discovery of other planets, but also includes some unexpected references – like a bit that Lloyd explains was inspired by an episode of Monkey Magic, where the characters think they have arrived in the future. “I've always had an interest in perspectives of circumstance and your perception of what's coming, or your perception of what's been,” she says.

Working collaboratively comes naturally to Lloyd. “I like to actually be physically generating movement with the dancers,” she says, “passing on movement and getting them engaged in that process. They can contribute as well and I can shape it from there.” It's a style of working that's highly physical. “[People can be] astounded that dancers come in and start making; unlike in theatre where usually there is a script already prepared. A dancer is often coming back to the instrument: the body.”

This is the second run that the show has had in Melbourne; it opened in 2011 to rapturous reviews, and all five of the original performers will be returning for the reprise. It's being restaged as part of Dance Massive, Melbourne's biennial dance festival, which launched in 2009. Lloyd – who trained at the VCA and has worked with companies including Chunky Move – sees the festival as part of a general trend towards contemporary dance becoming more recognised. Audience attitudes are changing, she says. “I'm really glad people are becoming more open to [contemporary dance]. I think they now come to the performances not feeling like they need to have a synopsis, or there needs to be a narrative... I think people are becoming more open to [asking]: 'What is it?'”

The blurb for the show describes the five protagonists as “abandoning the uncertainties of the present for a future that is already written”. It's statement that Lloyd intends with a certain irony. “None of us really know [what the future will be],” she says. “A lot of people feel reassured when they think they know what the future is. Or they have a belief that they follow through their daily life, and that makes them feel more secure in some ways.” Future Perfect challenges that. “The piece for me is about becoming comfortable with the unknown.”