When Isadora Duncan was once asked what one of her performances meant, she famously answered, "if I could tell you that, I wouldn't have to dance it."  Contemporay dance is complicated, it's expressive, it's passionate and it's powerful.  I once heard contemperary dance compared to capers, with its bold and intense flavors, you either love it or hate it. When used inappropriately it can leave a bad taste in the mouth. However when used correctly, it can take a night from the bland to the spectacular.

My job has given me the opportunity to taste some of the best contemporary dance that Australia has to offer. Already this year we've seen a brilliant performance from the Sydney Dance Company, and Canberra audiences will soon have the opportunity to go on a journey through the ages with Bangarra's FIRE: A RETROSPECTIVE. Young former Canberran, Daniel Riley Mckinley, joined the group at the end of 2006 and Fire will be his third time performing as a member in Canberra. Daniel has already achieved a great deal in his young life, having danced for Quantum Leap (the youth dance group that trains some of Canberra's most promising dancers) before joining Bangarra's Fire.

I had the chance to interview Daniel this week, to ask him a few questions about his latest project.

I asked Daniel about how familiar he was with Bangarra before joining the group. "I only found out about Bangarra in 2001 when I saw the company perform The Dreaming at the Canberra Theatre. I was enthralled and amazed at the performance and felt so inspired and connected to the culture that was being performed up on stage." This first taste of the magic of Bangarra set Daniel on the path to joining its ranks. "I wanted to join the company as a dancer from that very first performance. I wanted to learn about my culture, work with Stephen and learn traditional dance from all corners of Australia. Luckily Stephen asked me to join at the end of 2006."

The Stephen that Daniel refers to is Stephen Page, the artistic force behind Bangarra. Stephen has taken Bangarra from its relatively humble origins to a contemporary dance group of international standing. I asked Daniel what it was like to work with someone of that stature. "Stephen was the main reason I wanted to join Bangarra. He is great fun to work for and with. He's 60% business, 40% fun and such an inspiring boss to have. Although I don't really feel like he's our boss. He gets along with all of us so well, sometimes he just feels like another dancer. What he has achieved in his career to date is remarkable, considering he has been artistic director for 18 years. That in itself is such an accomplishment. I think the biggest things I have learnt from him are to have patience in the rehearsal room when creating; if you give it time, space and energy, it will turn out how you imagined, sometimes even better than you imagined. The second thing would be the level of respect and understanding he has for our culture and history. I have the utmost respect for him, as an artistic director, a choreographer and a person."

I asked Daniel to single out a highlight from his time spent with Bangarra so far. "Too many to choose from! My first opening night at the Sydney Opera House was pretty special. Also performing at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York and sharing the stage with The Australian Ballet in Paris last year. My most recent highlight would have to be our ten day visit to North East Arnhem Land earlier this year. Stephen has taken so much inspiration for many of his shows from the land, the culture, the people and the stories up there, and it was amazing to spend that time within the community and become part of their extended family. It is such a special part of Australia and the community was so beautiful and welcoming to all of us. Even us lighter skinned ones!"

With their heavy touring around the world, I wondered if there was a difference in how audiences reacted to the performances. "It is different yes. Local audiences will always love Bangarra because they are so proud of what the company does, has done and what it stands for. They also feel a connectedness to it, being Australian and telling Indigenous Australian stories. To share our culture that we are immersed in here with 'strangers' from different cultures, land and countries is special. It feels amazing to share our culture that we are so proud of with outsiders. The international audiences I have performed for were in awe after the shows, I think they find it amazing that we can put our culture up on stage and represent it the way we do with such enthusiasm, respect and beautiful, professional results. "

This new production is a work which aims to celebrate all that Bangarra has achieved in the last 20 years. "Fire is a retrospective, so audiences can expect to experience the past 20 years on stage. The way Stephen has put it together is fast and exciting, and it keeps moving. No time to dwell too long on the past, before you know it we are moving on. The audience might even catch their favourite section from a past Bangarra show. Another first for Bangarra is the use of projection, it's used as another story telling tool and helps bring audiences flashes and images of the past 20 years, so they can reconnect with the past company and then connect with the current company on stage."

I tried to get Daniel to give me some pointers on how to sell this show, and contemporary dance more generally, to a new audience. "I think contemporary dance is sometimes an easier way into the dance scene for audiences. A lot of people get bored quickly at the ballet (myself included), contemporary dance can be shorter, more confronting, more to the point, more exciting and make more of an impact. There's not one style either which is the beauty of it, anything goes."

Fire: A Retrospective is on for two nights only, from Friday November 20 to 21. Call 6275 2700 for bookings.

Vital LMTD, part of the Street Theatre's Made in Canberra season, is a challenging piece - not the least because cross-arts can't be viewed in the same way as a piece of theatre. Or a piece of art. Or a music performance.   Vital LMTD was made up of all these things and more, and although Last Man To Die's intention was clearly expressed ("This is not a play") the audience still tried to understand it as a piece of theatre. Perhaps this is simply due to a lack of awareness about the cross-arts form. Or because it was performed in a theatre.   Vital LMTD explored ideas of life, death, science and creation using percussion, looped music, projected images, and of course, performers/ creators Hanna Cormick, Benjamin Forster and Charles Martin. Cormick leads the show as actor/science experiment, and while the men seem slightly less confident as 'actors' they revel in their disciplines of visual art and music.   Without narrative in a traditional sense, Vital LMTD surges toward climaxes and slows to lulls, but it's a challenging form. There is at times a gap between what the audience takes away and what the artists intended. That said, the technology is astounding, the show leaves you with plenty to think about, and the hybrid form is exciting, if not completely accessible.   I'm looking forward to what Last Man to Die will come up with next.

Australia's "three wise kings of musical satire" have only gotten geekier. Melbourne comedy act Tripod, have taken their musical parody shows and added a touch of magic, Dungeons and Dragons-style.  One leg of the 'pod, Steven 'Gatesy' Gates paces around his bedroom whilst he entertains this writer.

Tripod have been working hard on Dungeons & Dragons: The Opera, which they will eventually take overseas. "We actually couldn't call it Dungeons and Dragons because believe it or not, Oprah owns the name. We emailed them, but they haven't replied." When that show about dragons heads to the states, a law suit will not be invited.

 D&D is of course a "serious" game - so a lot of research time has been necessary to write the story and create characters for the show. "Yes, of course. We had 'research' sessions. We played it one night and got a little too in to it. Just picture Yon on the floor being attacked by a dragon," Gatesy says.

The three have always been noted as geeks at heart but with D&D, Scott Edgar (Scod) is the biggest geek of all. "The show pretty much follows and explores Scod's life, from grade 5... and up," says Gatesy - who hasn't always been too confident with his D&D skills. "I tried to play it when I was in school, but all the statistics just freaked me out." The show's biggest challenge will be "staying true to the role play, as well as keeping it entertaining."

Sadly, they will not be taking D&D out of  Melbourne.  There will be no mythical beasts to slay here, no potions...  Instead Canberra are invited to join Yon, Scod and Gatesy on a Tripod adventure as a part of their Bottom Right-Hand Corner of Australia Tour.  "Get ready to expect 100% pure un-watered down Tripod. 3 guys and a microphone. It won't be the normal type of audience but one where the audience can be passive."

The show should make you laugh, cry and maybe wet yourself a little. "It will also be a place to find out whether you and your partner are meant to be," if, at the Tripod show, "you are laughing your guts out, and they just don't get it," says Gatesy. "Dump them. It's not going to work. If you both hate it, then there you go. You know you're meant to be but you're still stupid."

Canberra has only so far met Tripod through the television and radio. "I don't think we've ever played [live] in Canberra before," says Gatesy softly, before yelling down the line: "So don't let us down Canberra or else!" 

Having just re-checked his tour date, his voice goes gooey.

"Love you Cairns. Oops. I meant Canberra."

Tripod will play two shows on November 12 and 13, at the Playhouse Theatre, CTC. Bookings phone 6275 2700.

Charles Ross is an inspiration to manic, role-playing children in living rooms everywhere. He describes his One Man Star Wars Trilogy as a "mime extravaganza" similar to a "child freaking out, playing in the schoolground". It conjures up quite an image of our lonely hero on stage - frenetically spinning this way and that, bringing to life his imaginary friends (and ours) through voice and gesticulation alone. No props, no costumes - child's play.

But it's more than just some geeky thespian who loves the sound of his own voice...as a Lightsaber. Or at least this is what I try to stress to Ross - that this is a massive deal in terms of the translation of three of the most well-loved films ever - but he's disarming in modest reply: "this has been shits and giggles in a lot of ways". Yes, he feels he's "part of something bigger", "sauce to the goose" (figure that one out). But he admits "it's nothing short of a fluky miracle that it even happened." Adding: "If I'd set out with the intention of doing what has occurred, I'm not sure it would have gone as well as if it organically unfolded".

OK, so I'd gone a bit overboard with the whole 'it's the most important thing since the films were made' angle. I guess I'm just another fanatic. But I take heart that I'm lost in the ranks of the many more pathetic that come before me. Ross has been in close contact with a few of these Lucas Lovers - a scary thought when one has received an electronic fore-telling of doom. Ross recalls it's warning with a flourish: "The fact that I do this for a living, is evidence of the coming of the apocalypse". Nothing short of universal destruction - that's how important this is!! "I didn't think the end of the world would work out so well for me! ... Me and The Four Dork-men of the Apocalypse." Ross isn't afraid, he's got his Wookie impersonation to save him from any would-be aggressors. Or wait, "I'm not gonna get rolled by a bunch of geeks, I don't think. Perhaps I'll get ripped on the internet, but that's about it."

As swift and adept as Ross' wit is, he can't reenact every scene of a six hour epic. Ross says he relies on "the power of other people's imagination to fill in the blanks...There's a huge leap between the audience and myself." Some scenes he'll do, some he won't, and he'll change it up to keep it interesting from night to night (1200 shows and counting). If you're a Star Wars fan, you know you need to see this show. If you're not, and you're hoping to follow the plot somehow...This is not the theatrical interpretation you're looking for.

Ross brings his epic one man show to The Playhouse on Saturday November 14. There's two shows, one at 3pm and 7.30pm. Call 6275 2700 for bookings.