FOR Anni Davey, artistry is everything.
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That might sound silly for the Flying Fruit Fly Circus’ new artistic director, but when it comes to circus, that word can take on a slightly different meaning.
Boasting a lengthy and award-winning history in theatre and circus, Ms Davey said it was the undefined nature of circus that drew her to it.
“When I grew up there wasn’t anything like contemporary circus,” she said.
“Circus Oz was about 10 years old when I first joined, it was still very new.
“This new idea of what circus could be and what it might become was still in its infancy – the Fruities were emerging at that time as well.
“It was a really exciting time, it was also about theatre with an Australian vernacular.”
Originally trained as an actor, Ms Davey joined Circus Oz in the 80s where she developed her skills as an aerialist.
As soon as she saw Oz she knew immediately that it was what she wanted to do.
Her time there stoked the creative fires, and in the two decades to follow, Ms Davey has been prolific in the performing arts community.
She was involved in the formation of Club Swing and Crying in Public Places in the 1990s, while her directing practice also took off.
She has won nine Green Room awards for cabaret, including two for best director, and a Helpmann Award for best cabaret artist in 2014.
Ms Davey has also directed a number of Circus Oz shows, including TwentySixteen, the US tour of Straight Up, Model Citizens and Stacks On.
“Circus has been my passion because I think it’s really inclusive, it’s really exciting because everything is still so new,” she said.
“Even 40 years on, as an art form we’re still pushing boundaries nobody has pushed before.
“We don’t have a set vocabulary in the way dance does, we’re still making that up.”
In the Fruit Flies, Ms Davey said she was hoping to instil that sense of creativity and artistic daring more than anything else.
“This is the next generation of performers,” she said.
“I'm really excited to be here at this stage of my career.
“These performers care a lot about the skills, there's an obsessive quality in the acquisition and mastery of this skills in circus.
“But, I think, the point is to get in front of the audience and talk about what it is to be a part of this work, part of this new society.
“We have to propose that there are problems out there, and possibly pose some solutions to this problems.”
Davey will be performing at the Hothouse Theatre's Galah Bar event next Friday night. Tickets are $10.