Entering through a bunker-like entrance of the usually airy Sidney Myer Music Bowl, one felt almost like a trespasser to the hum of activity in anticipation of U>N>I>T>E>D, a boundary-pushing contemporary dance performance by the well-regarded home-grown company, Chunky Move.
The cool, industrial set-up emanated the stylishness of a fashion runway, and indeed, U>N>I>T>E>D‘s streetwear-inspired costumes would make even the fashion gurus of Naarm/Melbourne jealous – kudos to Bali-based label Future Loundry.
But many would have gone for the main draw of the performance, where each of the six dancers were armoured with prosthetic limbs, almost mantis-like, which they appeared to effortlessly manoeuvre, activate and attach onto each other throughout the show. Ashley McLellan, Melissa Pham, David Prakash, Samakshi Sidhu, Robert Alejandro Tinning and Jayden Wall executed their routine with mind-blowing accuracy – with hardware on soft flesh, the stakes were undoubtedly high.
Accompanied by Javanese trance-inspired beats (Gabber Modus Operandi), U>N>I>T>E>D painted myriad images in my mind, from a celebratory street parade in bustling Denpasar (home to the Ogoh Ogoh Parade and the musical band’s founding city) to an epic galactic battle in the belly of a spaceship.
The choreography incorporated a range of street dance influences, while those familiar with Anthony Hamilton’s choreographed routines would have immediately recognised signature sequences and flow of movement, nonetheless seamlessly integrated into this futuristic saga.
A cornerstone formation, dubbed ‘The Dragon’, had the dancers connected single-file. In the rippling neon light, it was an impressive beast to behold – the pride and product of ambitions beyond the capabilities of our biological bodies.
Read: Dance review: Bunyi Bunyi Bumi, Bunjil Place, Asia TOPA 2025
It was surprising that none of the gadgets were ‘autonomous’, instead relying on human interaction, as the dancers pushed them back and forth on the stage rig, adding and subtracting each modular tentacle into new formations, until all but two had shed back down to their human skins.
The question was, would they rejoin the human race?
U>N>I>T>E>D
Artistic Direction and Choreography:Â Antony Hamilton
Sound Design and Composition:Â Gabber Modus Operandi
Costume Design:Â Future Loundry
Exoskeleton Design and Fabrication:Â Creature Technology Co.
Lighting Design:Â Benjamin Cisterne
Performers and Choreography:Â Ashley McLellan, Melissa Pham, David Prakash, Samakshi Sidhu, Robert Alejandro Tinning, Jayden Wall
Understudy:Â Madeleine Bowman
Stage, Set Design, Fabrication and Art Finishing:Â Ashley Buchanan and Antony Hamilton
Dramaturg:Â Melanie Lane
Concept Art:Â Peter Gregory
Production Manager:Â Ashley Buchanan
Production Coordinator:Â Olivia Walker
Stage Manager: Zsuzsa Gaynor Mihaly
Rehearsal Director:Â Rachel Coulson
Sound Consultant: Byron Scullin
Sound Engineer:Â Ethan Hunter
Lighting Programmer and Operator:Â Chris Payne
Executive Director/co-CEO:Â Kristy Ayre
Senior Producer:Â Kristina Arnott
U>N>I>T>E>D was performed from 27 February to 2 March at Sidney Myer Music Bowl as part of Asia TOPA 2025.
