In a city as busy as Melbourne it can be impossible to find time to work out, let alone enrich your life with art. But what if you could do both at once? Enter New York-based choreographer Monica Bill Barnes, who is bringing her boundary-defying dance company to Melbourne for The Gallery Workout, a 50-minute, heartrate-raising morning tour of the National Gallery of Victoria, and gallery and backstage areas at the Arts Centre Melbourne. You'll follow dancers around the buildings and do a simple cardio workout to a pumping soundtrack of disco hits – played from a boombox strapped to one of your escorts – while learning just a little about the works on display
Monica Bill Barnes & Company is a contemporary dance company that "brings dance where it does not belong". The workout was created for New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it was performed 100 times last year. In keeping with the lush surrounds, the dancers wear sequinned gowns and sneakers while you're invited to don whatever makes you feel comfortable.
The Gallery Workout is each Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning from July 14 to August 18, and participants will be met at Arts Centre's Smorgon Plaza. It's in Melbourne as part of MEL&NYC, a program bringing some of New York City's most popular and innovative cultural institutions to Melbourne.