Six burning questions for Larissa McGowan

March 10, 2013

1. The choreography in your latest contemporary dance production, Skeleton, has been described as ”bone-popping”. Was it difficult to find dancers who could do your cutting-edge dance moves?
It’s a hard thing to find the dancers that you want. You’ve got to really put your eyes out there and check who’s available and what they’re capable of. I had worked with two young Adelaide-based dancers (who are in the show) before, so I knew how they moved. Bringing in people who understood my process was a no-brainer for me.

2. What first got you interested in skeletons?
Coming from a sports background, I suppose I’ve always been really interested in the anatomy of the body. I’m interested in what the body can do, and how unique each body is.

3. You’re a regular choreographer on the TV show So You Think You Can Dance. What’s the difference between training dancers for a stage production and training for a TV show?
For the TV show, you get a limited amount of hours to actually work with the dancer. It’s really cramming in a lot of the understanding of who the person is and how they move in a limited period of time.

4. You have toured all around the world with Australian Dance Theatre. Do you have a favourite performance?
It’s more to do with the venues and the places I’ve been to, like the first time I actually performed in a really large city like New York, London or Paris. Each time you go back, you have the sense that so many other performers from around the world have done the same thing and it makes you feel really special, like you’re part of something.

5. What’s the worst injury you have sustained while dancing?
I’ve only really had things like toenails that have been ripped off. I’ve also been dropped out of a flip, and my knee blew up and swelled from doing too many knee spins – not huge injuries, but constant little things that come out of nowhere.

6. Is there a television show that has you hooked?
Yes, there is … Survivor. There’s something about the challenge of trying to do something that you normally wouldn’t do that I find really fascinating.

News by Hope Holmberg The Sunday Age (March 10, 2013)