Written by Liam Ridolfi
So how did creative duo Vanessa Marian and Stephen Hunt create this profound portrait of Australian masculinity through dance?
Choreographed by Vanessa Marian and directed by her husband Stephen Hunt, ‘Yeah the Boys’ explores the unique world of Australian larrikinism through beautiful and delicate dance sequences. A poignant and profound meditation on masculinity, the film is both disconcertingly funny and emotionally resonant.
How did you find these pale Australian guys who danced so beautifully with such grace and nuance? How did that happen?
Vanessa Marian: “I’m a street dancer. They’re all just my buddies. I was really excited to work on this project because people don’t know how great the Australian dance scene is. This is… It’s not actually dancing, it’s more of a movement, but a non-dancer wouldn’t be able to handle those lifts and falls, that level of choreography and memory. I’m a larrikin and I know the world very well, but there was a lot of playing a character.
“A lot of the dancers that come out of the institutional dance world are the dancers that you see on screen, but I actually think the street dance scene in Australia is really bad and they’re the big leaders there. We literally… I picked five white guys out of the wide world. But here’s my long answer to how we cast them. They were just my buddies. I asked my dream team of dancers to develop something and try it out, and to my horror all six of them were down. And the reason it was so scary for me was probably one. I think a couple of people said yes and just thought I’d do the scraping for everyone. But they were all like, “Yes, we can win.” So I started to think that if things didn’t work out, I wouldn’t have any excuses. ”
Where did this idea to explore masculinity and its approach come from?
Vanessa Marian: “When I was given the development space in the studio, I thought, ‘Oh, it would be so easy to work with women and dancers and create fun little dance pieces.'” But… At the time, a friend of mine was writing a paper on Australian masculinity from a feminist perspective, and I was the dance developer, so she actually came over to record the data for the paper. In that first development, we both had a moment where we were like, “Wow, we have a really special moment here.” I think it could be more than just a riff. That’s where we got Stefan. ”
Stephen Hunt: “I saw the potential of telling a story that wasn’t just about movement, but actually, ‘What does a story look like with a beginning, middle, and end?'” For many men, words Not communicating and communicating physically is a very common method. So a lack of communication means you have to rely on reading between the lines. There’s the classic story of Afternoon Beer, but different dynamics can play out between an alpha male and his mate who is threatened with having a girlfriend and wants to keep the boys together. There is… Many men can relate to this or that person.
“I was thinking, ‘How do you introduce characters without using words when not only are there six people the same, but they’re in a hierarchy and there’s that dynamic at play? It was a big challenge to achieve that and see if it resonated with the audience.”
Vanessa: “We tried to put some words in there. We were going to have them say some things. When we were doing the sound design, we tried to get them to actually talk to each other. We thought about turning the volume up so we could hear the screaming, but that didn’t really work and we were like, “Wow, we have to go back to not saying anything.” But I really liked it. Basically, the only people who speak up are women. ”
Vanessa Marian (second from left) and Stephen Hunt (far right) on the set of Yeah the Boys. Photo by Leo Razak Haruna You’re in a relationship in that regard, but how did your separate artistic visions complement each other throughout the process?
Vanessa: “First of all, we’ve been together for so long that we’re basically the same people.
And we have very different lanes, so while I may have an idea on how to shoot, Stefan always steps in and has real expertise that goes beyond the cliché. I am. He just has that knowledge. This way, our parts don’t really intersect. But secondly, the reason I love this project as a movement director and choreographer is because dance is usually an afterthought in movies. They have cameras, beautiful sets, cool costumes, and even music for music video clips. And in many cases, they may even go ahead and cast. And when I show up that day, they say, “Can you tell me something?” And it’s like, “Well, they can’t move in those clothes.” The floor is too slippery. The references you gave me are useless for this style,’ and so on. So we start with dance and movement and everything, and then we have Stefan come in and bring the story in three acts and how it ends. . Then incorporate all the elements. ”
Stefan: “The camera was basically the seventh dancer. When I watched the dance piece, I thought, ‘How did the camera and filmmaking techniques really enhance the experience for the audience and capture the intensity of the fights and how drunk everyone was? What’s really great? It’s fun to apply that to dance instead of trying to retrofit it to other decisions. ”
