January 24 and 25

Short+Sweet Dance Sydney

New Theatre, 542 King Street, Newtown

Details here. 

Wollongong choreographer Eva Crainean's latest work Girl Getting Bitter packs a strong social message about the role of women in a patriarchal society.

The 10-minute piece by Ms Crainean, artistic director of the Illawarra-based Dansatori dance company, will be performed at the Short+Sweet Dance festival in Sydney.

The two-week event features performance bites from local and interstate talent, with more than 40 original pieces and films divided into four companies, each performing twice.

Ms Crainean's piece will be performed by Dansatori members Georgina Sadolewski (Mangerton), Kate Marning (Thirroul), Hannah Preston (Otford) and Aris Ioannou-Marsh (Lake Heights), at the New Theatre Newtown on January 24 and 25.

Ms Crainean said Girl Getting Bitter was based on the femme fatale archetype using her sensuality to lure in and then overthrow the patriarchal system.

She believes the purpose of a performance should be to inform its audience, rather than just be entertaining.

"It's a very important social issue that I believe needs to be explored," she said.

"I am a feminist and this dance is about destroying the patriarchal system.

"It has an almost burlesque feel and is quite comical, but the message behind it is that men have screwed us over and it's time to give women a go."

The themes of Girl Getting Bitter would connect with the feminist and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, yet there was a wide-reaching social message for the general community, she said.

Short+Sweet Dance Sydney is a platform for emerging and professional choreographers to develop and showcase their work in a supportive environment.

The festival brings choreographers from a wide range of genres and experiences together to share and exchange ideas.

Ms Crainean has written, choreographed, directed and produced full-length and short-length dance/theatre works.

She has developed a contemporary dance style that is her own. It is highly physical, often with spiritual innuendo and confrontational social comments.

Last year, Ms Crainean wrote and performed a dance piece titled Mah-Hah-Bone (a place they call schizophrenia) with seven cast members from Dansatori.

The classically trained dancer played the lead role in Mah-Hah-Bone, a name inspired by a spiritual word for rising from the dead, at the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre.

In addition to running the Cringila-based dance school, Ms Crainean is regularly employed as a contemporary choreographer at the Mianyang Vocational Art School in China.

"I am passionate about bringing my choreography, storytelling and life perspective to the stage," she said.

Ms Crainean, who has been dancing for 30 years and choreographing for 15, opened Dansatori in 2010.

Girl Getting Bitter will form the basis of a longer dance production to be performed at the IPAC on March 28 and 29.