James Batchelor is a choreographer and performer from Ngunnawal Country (Canberra, Australia), working internationally. His artistic practice spans movement research and performance creation, international touring and teaching. His recent work includes An Evening-length Performance which premiered at Tanz im August (Sophiensaele) and toured to Tanzhaus nrw (Düsseldorf), Theatre de Vanves (Paris) and December Dance (Brugge) in 2021. His solo work Hyperspace was part of the Aerowaves platform in 2019 and has since been presented over 50 times in Europe and Australia.

Shortcuts to Familiar Places is personal performance about the body as a site of historic and choreographic inscription. In a fascinating excavation of Australian modern dance history, James Batchelor has been tracing a lineage through his childhood dance teacher Ruth Osborne to the modern dance pioneer Gertrud Bodenwieser. Bodenwieser came to Australia as a refugee from Vienna during WW2, inspiring generations with her visionary approach to dance education and choreography. In a solo and two duets, James Batchelor explores new artistic ways to embrace the complexity of self-expression in contemporary times – while echoing the free spirit of the expressive dance (Ausdruckstanz) era.