UNDRGRND brings foreign, electric culture to Australian dance

UNDRGRND brings foreign, electric culture to Australian dance

If you like anything steamy and sticky, mixed with a dash of seductive sweat, you will love UNDRGRND. If you are a festival-goer or perhaps a party animal, you will love UNDRGRND.

UNDRGRND is the ultimate dance event of the year fusing performance and party. Brought by the creative team of Transit Dance and Energetiks, the hottest dance troupes from around Victoria flock together to produce a non-competitive night of funky vibes at one of Melbourne’s most prestigious nightclubs.

Host Karen from Finance. Photo: supplied.

The crowd is compacted in the biggest hall of Trak nightclub in Toorak where roaring screams can be heard from the entrance. The MC for the event is a popular drag queen who goes by the name ‘Karen from Finance,’ giving a hilarious yet sensual flair to the evening. Master choreographer Yvette Lee opens the show with a commercial song and dance medley, featuring a magnitude of backup male and female dancers and a lead female singer. Explosions of smoke, falling confetti and dazzling lights make this opening number a showstopper. It definitely feels like you are watching an opening act before the major pop-star comes on stage—the vibe among the crowd is electric as phones fly into the air to record the action.

UNDRGRND mixing performance and party. Photo: supplied.

In a glimmering fashion, the acts spanning from commercial to contemporary echo the Trak arena. The best dancers and choreographers take to the stage with a hunger for dance. There is no distasteful banter, just pure lust for the art form. No show goes without its close-call costume malfunctions, but everything in production runs like clockwork at UNDRGRND. Creators Paul Malek, Chris Curran, and Jayden Hicks certainly have experience in putting on a faultless show.

The view from the back of the arena at Trak nightclub. Photo: supplied.

It is clear the line up of choreographers from fresh-faced to experienced have all put in the effort to achieve some highly awe-inspiring acts. The lineup including Freya List, Jordan Charles Herbert, Casey Chellew, Dominique Cowden, Daniel Jaber, Nadia Tornese and the directors of Scimm Dance Company, Hybrid Dance Company, Lion Heart Dance Company among so many others prove that this event is definitely a prestigious one, despite how much of a party it may be.

UNDRGRND. Photo: supplied.

Not only is UNDRGRND a place for choreographers to showcase their works, but it is also a platform for financial opportunity. Energetiks is proud to present a $2000 grant for an individual or company looking to gain a bit of extra funding for a dance show or dance event. Keep your eyes peeled on UNDRGRND’s social media to find out more.

Male dancers take the stage of Trak nightclub. Photo: supplied.

The night may have looked like one giant music video from the screens, but UNDRGRND certainly came alive and stepped into a new dimension. It brought a culture that does not exist in Australian dance; a culture that is LA inspired, filled with inspiration and empowerment. Our small dance industry proved we have the capacity and talent to do anything.