Inspired by a quote from US author Tom Wolfe who once called the modern city ‘a billion-footed beast’ – wild, bizarre and unpredictable - It’s a Jungle Out There puts the city at the heart of its exploration. It investigates it as an ever-changing organism, examining its anatomy, mapping it and relating the results to the body. The city is as much the choreographic source material for this work as it is its thematic target.

Physicalising the city’s all-pervasive disjointedness, It’s a Jungle Out There contrasts the rigidity of urban architecture and the formality of the street grid with the vibrancy and chaos that pulsates within it. Physical relentlessness caused by sensory over-stimulation alternates with personal stories of life in the city and moments of a gentle, poetic, even sensual nature.

The work is set to an experimental electronic sound score composed and played live by sound artist Gail Priest.

It's a Jungle Out There (preview) from Sam James on Vimeo.

The premiere season of It’s a Jungle Out There was produced by Campbelltown Arts Centre as part of their 2009 Contemporary Dance Program. Its development was supported by the Australia Council, the Australian Government’s arts funding and advisory body, the Department of Art, Sport and Recreation through Arts NSW, Performance Space, University of Sydney’s Department of Performance Studies and Ausdance NSW. The remount and tour of It’s a Jungle Out There is supported by the Australia Council and produced by Performing Lines.

Martin del Amo is supported by Managing and Producing Services NSW - a joint initiative supported by the Australia Council and Arts NSW.