In Never Been This Far Away From Home, choreographer/performer Martin del Amo embarks on a journey that charts his fascination with the unknown. Darkly humorous and often surreal, del Amo conjures a world of extraordinary imagery in which the exhilaration of leaving behind the familiar is contrasted with the terrifying yet tantalizing prospect of the new.

Set to a live electronic composition by Gail Priest, Never Been This Far Away From Home is a poignant and disarmingly funny exploration of instability and dislocation performed through the artist's unique fusion of dance and text. His stories are inspired by childhood fears, peculiar phenomenon or psychological states that take his audiences to uncanny, yet strangely familiar places.

Martin del Amo
Martin del Amo, originally from Germany, is a Sydney-based dance artist and movement trainer. As a performer, he mainly works solo but has also collaborated with numerous artists of various genres and styles both in Europe and Australia, including The de Quincey/Lynch Performance Union, Nikki Heywood, Sam James, Branch Nebula/Urban Theatre Projects, Julie-Anne Long and Gail Priest.

His last four solo works, Never Been This Far Away From Home (2007), Can't Hardly Breathe (2006), Under Attack (2005) and Unsealed (2004), were all presented at the Performance Space, receiving significant critical acclaim. The latter two works were chosen for the Breathing Space touring program, touring nationally (Unsealed - Perth, 2004) and internationally (Under Attack - UK, 2006).

In 2005, Martin was nominated for an Australian Dance Award as Best Male Dancer for his work in Under Attack. He also received nominations as Most Outstanding Dancer in Dance Australia's annual Critics' Survey three years running (2004, 2005 and 2006).

Last year, Martin showed work in Osaka and Matsuyama, Japan and at The Studio Sydney Opera House, as part of an exchange between Australian and Japanese independent dance artists. Returning to the UK in the second half of 2006, he conducted a research residency at Dance 4 in Nottingham, partly in exchange with live artists Richard Hancock and Traci Kelly. Martin also presented an evening of short works, Notes to Myself, Vol. 1, at Arnolfini in Bristol.


Contact:
Rosalind Richards
Dance Producer
Performance Space
PO Box 461
Newtown NSW 2042
Tel +61 2 8571 9104
Fax +61 2 8571 9118
Mob 0434 350 938
rosalindr@performancespace.com.au
performancespace.com.au