Olivia Kingston you are an Australian ballet and contemporary dancer and now working for Limitless Dance Company and Sydney Dance Company. You participated as one of the dancers in the superb Australian/Irish music video The Ocean, directed by Sinéad McDevitt for award-winning artist Wallis Bird. The Ocean celebrates romantic lesbian love story that pays tribute to love over fear. How did you learn about the audition for the video and what was your role from the initial point onwards? I read that director had a different dance version from the one we watch on the video. Hi katarina! Yes I am a professional contemporary dancer in Sydney, NSW. I have previously worked with both SDC and LDC however I am dancing with Opera Australia in their upcoming show, “Faust”. Yes, I was a part of the love duet in “The Ocean” directed by the exquisite Sinead McDevitt. I remember my old friend, Yukino ( choreographer and my dance partner of “The Ocean”) messaging me out of the blue asking if I would be free to collaborate on this exciting new project. As an openly gay woman, I pounced at the opportunity to represent and provide visibility to both the LGBTQI+ community and beyond. Video premiered in December 2018 which coincided with the first anniversary of the legalization of marriage equality in Australia. It took quite a long time for Australian LGBTI community to get the equal rights to marry, how did you feel about that and do you see any change in people's attitudes towards LGBTI community in Australia since then? I was extremely disheartened to be told that I wouldn’t be able to marry the girl I love. I even remember receiving “vote no” flyers in the mail during the voting period which broke my heart. Our close neighbour, New Zealand legalised same sex marriage on 19th August, 2009, more than 10 years ago! I didn’t understand why Australia, as a seemingly progressive country was so far behind. Luckily, my partner and I live in the city of Sydney where there are people from all walks of live and the majority of people are open and accepting. Unfortunately I cannot generalise for other regions around Australia. Discrimination and violence against the LGBTIQ+ community is still very prevalent. Yes we are changing and growing to be more accepting but I think we still have a long way to go. Do you think sexual orientation of dancers is important when performing about homosexual love and is being part of the video also something that has a personal meaning for you or you are just an ardent LGBTI supporter? I believe its very important for an LGBTQI character to be played by either a person of the LGBTQI+ community or be an avid supporter. This music video has a special place in my heart. Yes, I am a lesbian women and I am so proud of what we have done with this video, providing visibility was our ultimate goal…as well as telling the love story between Wallis Bird and her partner, Tracey, of course! Do you wish there would be more dancing opportunities that celebrate for instance homosexual love? We don't see quite often dance performances with two female leads praising lesbian love. Do you think is this in any way connected to a much fewer lesbian dancers comparing to numerous gay dancers, as I recall from my youth modern dancing classes? Totally! Same sex love is so rare to find in art form. I struggled to find any film inspiration highlighting lesbian connectivity and love, apart from The L Word and a few other movies on netflix/internet! In my eyes dancing is a modality for personal and inclusive expression. I hope that will continue and evolve to be a safe place for younger generations to explore and express themselves. Besides dancing you are also a model and dance teacher. Can you tell us more about these activities. I saw you participated in Strand Arcade's AW'17 Fashion Video and read that you teach kids dancing and that your mother is a dance teacher too. Of course! I was a featured dancer in the Strand Arcade AW’17 Fashion Video. A collaboration between music artist Sloan Peterson and The Strand, highlighting many designers including Jac+Jack, Dion Lee etc. I have dabbled in modelling including the brands Schwartzkoph, Scanlan Theadore and Bassike. I am also a dance teacher at St Andrews Cathedral School, Town Hall and Elevate Performing Arts, Five Dock which I find very rewarding. I have recently returned from volunteering with my partner in Africa with a non for profit organisation helping Africans who have Albinism. Since the trip, it has inspired me to further train in nursing. Super exciting things ahead! I will continue to perform with Opera Australia and hopefully will be able to represent the LGBTQI+ community on stage and within the health sector. Do you think art should be progressive and portray certain values and attitudes (i.e. portraying more inclusive, diverse, equal, free, democratic relationships and world in which people's sexual orientation, origin, colour, status, beliefs won't matter much)? Of course and I hope to be a part of more in the future. Art is an outlet for many and I love to see what questions and issues it tackles in a thought provoking way. What is your biggest inspiration (dance or not dance career wise) and what are your plans for future projects? Music! Music is definitely my biggest inspiration. My girlfriend always jokes if I ever get dancers block, put on Enya… her songs always seem to help! I have a few plans for the future! Unfortunately I cannot disclose any information at this present time but definitely keep a look out! Katarina Majerhold
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