# T H E P R E S S U R E
We have found ourselves drowning in a digital ocean, struggling to keep our head above water.
#ThePressure - Auckland Dance Company's 2015 sold out mid-year cabaret show, rose out of this realisation.
We are constantly on edge - time-poor - in a race against that "seen" badge. Consistently reminded that we need to Be More. More beautiful, more wealthy, more healthy, more present, more popular, more extroverted, better, stronger, more loved.
Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, constant emails and notifications.. we've all got them, constantly, phones in our hands 24/7. There's so much to keep track of.
We wanted to use art, music and expression to help us BE present. To Breathe. To disconnect with the digital and use our bodies. To get up and MOVE.
Expressing a choreography can be a cathartic experience for our performers... And for the audience, it can be a heart-wrenching, beautiful, and even enlightening one. Music is universal. And our premise is simple. We use music and dance as a tool to engage our audience on a deeper level, and create an open and interactive awareness for our growing and ever-hungry student base.
Our annual sold-out mid-year Cabaret Show featured songs and choreography which embodied different stories within #ThePressure theme, inspired in part by the personal stories of our cast and dancers. "Chandelier" by Sia, the title track "The Pressure" by Jhene Aiko, and Womanizer - an iconic Britney track - all created with the intention to transform the collective societal pressures that were weighing us all down, into art.
Each piece allowed our dancers to band together as a cast, and experience these stories together.. To know that we weren't alone in the fight.
And it also served as a timely reminder. A reminder to keep the digital onslaught at bay. To hold it at arm's length.
Reiterating that it is Us that is in control, not the other way round.
Each year ADC holds two annual shows for all of our students - beginners, professionals, and hobbyists alike. Join us, and become part of the movement.
