The Chronicles

Stephanie Lake Company was founded in 2014 by award-winning Stephanie Lake, a Canadian-born Tasmanian who is now based in Naarm/Melbourne. In the last 10 years, the group has taken their striking physical style to the world’s stages. Stephanie was resident choreographer of the Australian Ballet in 2024 and artist in residence for Semperoper Ballet in Dresden in 2025. Her company of dancers are athletic and reflect a refreshing mix of cultures and styles, each individual mesmerising as they energetically command the stage.

The Chronicles features 12 dancers – Max Burgess, Rachel Coulson, Tra Mi Dinh, Tyrel Dulvarie, Marni Green, Ashley McLellan, Darci O’Rouke, Harrison Ritchie-Jones, Robert Tinning, Georgia Van Gils, Kimball Wong and Jack Ziesing – backed by entrancing electro-rock by resident composer, Robin Fox (Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio), with credit to sound engineer, James Wilkinson, for a seamless soundtrack. The performance starts with a pulsating beat and an image of life emerging. The various vignettes that follow showcase an extraordinary range of styles, taking us through the life journey, with bodies moving in synchronised waves that were reminiscent of, but not in any way derivative of, the work of Hofesh Shechter, which also uses bodies of all shapes and sizes to create exciting and energising motion and shapes. I loved watching each of the individual performers work through a series of poetic moments, created by Stephanie to reflect life’s constant cycle.

The dancers were clothed in contemporary, urban style by costume designer, Harriet Oxley. Lighting by Bosco Shaw was particularly effective when the dancers were joined on stage by the wonderful Voices of Birralee, Brisbane-based community choir, who added an ethereal atmosphere, so apt to the birth/life/death watermark of the piece, in an environment of nature, designed by Charles Davis. One young singer was heard quietly saying ‘thank you’ to the dancers as the choir existed the stage. It was a beautiful moment reflecting the joyful atmosphere, as the choir had been incorporated into the stage movement, not merely an adjunct backdrop. A haunting rendition of Alphaville’s ‘Forever Young’ was performed by opera singer, Oliver Mann, a real gem in the mix of intriguing and life-affirming expressive human movement, which takes us from cradle to grave, but with moments of pure elation in between.

Beth Keehn

Find out more: www.brisbanefestival.com.au/events/the-chronicles

Photographs by Daniel Boud