New dancers arrive...

This is your first time working with Restless and you've been at Bundanon for 24 hours now. How has your experience been so far?

Elizabeth Ryan:
There's some sense of feeling overwhelmed. There's a lot of information to take in, a lot of concepts being floated around and a lot of new people and new experiences to work with. Not only am I experiencing the wonder that is Budnanon for the first time, it has felt a little bit like my first day at school. All that expectancy and trepidation that you feel in a new job has been hovering around.

I feel very at home in some ways. The dancers immediately welcomed me into their space with no hesitation. Everyone is so dedicated to the creative process, but there is also a lot of silliness and laughter which suits me very well.

Miranda Wheen:
Its been a very happy one. Its been a little bit of staying quite, watching and staying present. Its been great to start off in the studio and get to know everyone as moving bodies. Everyone is incredibly friendly, inclusive and hard working and I feel really excited about the next two weeks. The natural environment is beautiful and peaceful - it inspires concentration, creativity and thinking about how the outside environment relates to the studio environment. The social environment is hip, happening and super fun, and the studio environment feels lively, energetic and full of things to come.

In terms of working with the new Touring Company, have your expectations been met today?

Elizabeth Ryan:
Yeah absolutely. I've arrived without too many preconceived ideas, so I haven't brought a lot of expectations with me. I remain open to the experience of what it means to work with Restless. I really didn't know what to expect. I've been doing a lot of observing today rather than jumping into assuming that I might be dealing with things in the right way. It feels more appropriate that I observe for a bit whilst remaining available and supportive. There's a lot to learn by taking a step back and absorbing the different personalities and different approaches to different situations in and out of the studio.

Miranda Wheen:
I guess I didnt have too many expectations. Having not worked with Restless before I didn't know what the process was like, so I wanted to come with a fresh mind. My one expectation was that the project would be interesting and challenging and that I would have a lot to learn from the company and after 24 hours I feel that that expectation will certainly be met. I think I have an important responsibility as a new member of the company to watch and learn. I need to first find out how the ensemble operates practically and creatively and then discover where my role might be within that.

Dean led the company through a series of scores today. How was that for you?

Elizabeth Ryan:
I loved the experienced. Having worked with Dean previously within different workshops settings and creative developments, I was very excited to experience these particular movement scores with the Restless dancers in the amazing Bundanon space. Immediately I found my imagination was triggered through watching and experiencing these scores in relation to the work Dean envisages creating with Restless. The imaginative potential and the freedom I felt in my body in relation to the other dancers I'm working with was very satisfying. It felt good.

Miranda Wheen:
It was really exciting for me, being quite familiar with a lot of Dean's scores, to revisit them in such a different context with a diverse group of dancers and a new group of bodies. It was great to rethink Dean's scores and their incredible possibilities for movement and choreography. What I realised about the scores (Sinking & Rising and Paralysis & Carry) is that they are more about finding possibilities than placing restrictions on movement. This project is about adaption and transformation - transforming not only movement but the way we work together.

These scores are a truely unifying device because every dancer's response is the right one.