‘Building momentum’ is said to be about taking the first small step and then staying in motion. Artistic Director of aptly named Momentum Dance Perth, Liz Cornish, chats with Ausdance WA about the company’s beginnings, their upcoming premiere of PENGUIN, and how continuing to move and challenge oneself creatively throughout a lifespan builds confidence, connection and joy.
2026 marks Momentum Dance Perth’s tenth anniversary – congratulations! What would you say is different now, compared to your first rehearsals back in August 2016?
A lot can happen in a decade… Our bodies have another 10 years on the clock, so various bits are more worn out. But we also have 10 years more experience on how to make both the creative process and the theatre performances a happy experience.
When we started, we didn’t know if it would be possible, whether our bodies and brains could handle the challenge and whether there would be an audience interested in seeing our work. Now we know that it is possible and that people are excited to see our accomplishments. I have a vested interest in our success… I would like Momentum to continue for at least another 30 years so that I can continue investigating movement possibilities to the bitter end!! The better that we set up our systems, the easier it will be to continue to flourish no matter who is steering the ship.
Barbara Adler, Cathy Antulov, and Fiona Hull
Can you share a little about what happens behind the scenes? What does being part of Momentum mean beyond the steps?
All our dancers are over 45 years old. They all have dance training in their history. We all just like moving and exploring ideas together, and we don’t want to let excessive miles on the clock deter us from that quest. Rehearsals happen most Sunday afternoons, thanks to generous sponsorship from the beautiful Chapel Space studio in North Perth. We do a warm-up class, then dive into the creation of a new dance. We try to remember what we did last week, and are happy to live in an age where our phones give us access to video footage from previous rehearsals. Dancers are encouraged to adapt the movement to suit their bodies. We find that it takes us longer to learn new sequences than it used to, however, it is still possible, and that we celebrate!
Momentum is a not-for-profit organisation, run by a committee drawn from the dancers and interested parties with skills we lack (finance and spreadsheets!) We are primarily self-funded. Dancers pay a fee to be involved in each project. This fee pays the choreographer and the rehearsal venue hire. If we want to hire a theatre or buy costumes or have lights or sets – we often set up a project funding page through the fantastic platform, the Australian Culture Fund. We are very lucky to have generous benefactors, without whom we would struggle to continue. For our 2026 season we are happy to be supported by HotHouse Company at All Saints’ College. HotHouse has a long history of supporting choreographers to create new work. We will be performing in the intimate Upper Theatre space at All Saints, and transforming it into an Antarctic landscape.
Fiona Hull and Caroline Stevenson
Your upcoming performance PENGUIN choreographed by Scott Ewen will be the first full-length work for the company, and the sixth major performance. Tell us about Scott’s process working with you all, and what we can expect from the show.
PENGUIN is going to be beautiful. Scott’s movement is so intricately woven together. Every movement he creates challenges you to find the connections within your own body and with the other dancers in the space. His work is very clear… and very complex. PENGUIN is inspired by the quiet poetry of social mimicry, the work reflects on how people adapt, support, and shape one another through moments of change, uncertainty, love, and loss.
Through powerful physicality and tender intimacy, PENGUIN reveals the subtle ways we seek belonging, learning to move together even while carrying vastly different inner worlds.
At its heart, PENGUIN is about survival in community, the instinct to gather close, to protect, to imitate, and ultimately to heal. As memories resurface and relationships evolve, the performers navigate a world where the body becomes both witness and storyteller.
Scott is such a kind and generous person to play with in the dance studio. He has a lot of experience working with different dance companies, teaching different groups of dancers and choreographing on all types of ensembles. He is thoughtful and patient in rehearsal, and he encourages us to push ourselves beyond our comfort zones. Rehearsals are full of intense concentration and lots of laughter. We also appreciate that his training as a nurse gives him a practical approach to problems that exist with older bodies.
One of the beautiful things about watching Momentum dancers is seeing so much lived history in their movement. As you enter your second decade as a group, is this history also now a collective thing?
Each project that we work through adds to our bank of knowledge and experience. Each physical, mental and emotional challenge that is thrown our way (and these seem to increase as we age) gives us better understanding of ourselves and others. It is wonderful to witness people discover new things at any age, but the delight of making a new neural connection or finding a new way of doing a movement is more intense if you have already been doing it for 60 years.
I hope that we can all grow to be kinder and more generous to ourselves and each other. I find the acceptance of oneself that comes with the accumulation of years is very liberating. I hope that we continue to find joy in dancing together.
PENGUIN, created by Scott Ewen, will be performed by Momentum Dance Perth from 15 – 19 July at the Upper Theatre at All Saints College. Click here to book now.
Images by Damien Doyle, courtesy of Momentum Dance Perth.
