Radio Strainer by Alys Longley and Jeffrey Holdaway, is simultaneously an installation at Window gallery and a series of performances in the theatre space of the Kenneth Myers Centre; the documentation of choreographic tasks, states and structures. An inquiry into the relativity of communication, the work focuses on everyday messages and transmissions filtered through various media formats pervasive in an urban setting. The array of varied forms of broadcasting (whether visual, aural or linguistic) are re-interpreted in an individual capacity. This embodiment of language, perceived in the urban milieu, has been rendered by Longley and Holdaway into a body of work involving text, drawing and video response, by way of dance improvisation and choreographic structures. From here, the media has been mapped into movement. The somatic response of two despondent dancers suspended by a National Radio dialogue between Kim Hill and Michael Hill, frames the work in an essentially New Zealand context. The incorporation of spoken Japanese and Italian, in addition to Maori, moves the piece beyond the suburban demographic of National Radio, to a meditation about transnational communication and the liminal space that lies between translation and comprehension. In situ at Window gallery, Radio Strainer speaks to the transitory nature of the space as a student thoroughfare and the multilingual environ of Window's diverse audience.

With: choreographer/writer Alys Longley, sound and stage designer Jeffrey Holdaway and dancers Val Smith, Sarah Foster-Sproull and Christina Houghton.

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Dr Alys Longley is a Lecturer in Dance Studies at The University of Auckland. Her creative work includes choreography and performance writing including poetry and artist books. Her dance work has an interdisciplinary focus and is often concerned with site and community. She is also interested in issues around inclusive dance practice and education.

Jeffrey Holdaway's work includes location recording, mixing and sound design for documentary, feature and short film. He has directed music video, dance films and designed sculptural sound installation for several leading NZ artists. He has also taught workshops in recording and video production as a technician at Elam School of Fine Arts and the School of Music at the University of Auckland.