It’s been a long time between (post-show) drinks in a theatre for ADC thanks to COVID.

Australasian Dance Collective's AftermathAustralasian Dance Collective’s Aftermath. Photo © David Kelly

Last night Brisbane’s contemporary dance community was pinching itself at being able to see our flagship ensemble back on a formal stage after nearly 15 months, as well as getting to celebrate that afterwards with an opening night function. We know how lucky we are here; there’s nothing like hardship to forge a new perspective of gratitude.

ADC was just days from premiering THREE last year when the lights went out on live performance, but that setback provided the creative fuel for the fierce reclamation of its rightful place in the theatre that is Aftermath. (THREE will now debut in May.)

The hour-long choreographic collaboration between artistic director Amy Hollingsworth and company artist Jack Lister, propelled by Danny Harley’s epic live sound mix, grabs you by the throat and never lets go. It consciously loosens its grip slightly in sections, but the intensity of Aftermath’s force field is unrelenting.

AftermathAustralasian Dance Collective’s Aftermath. Photo © David Kelly

In response to Harley’s driving beats –...