For her latest work, award-winning dancer and choreographer Charmene Yap took inspiration from a decades-old social experiment. In the 1970s, researcher Dr Alexander Schauss found that a particular shade of bubblegum pink has a calming effect. He convinced a correctional facility in Seattle to paint their prison cells in the hue – and observed a reduction in hostile behaviour among those confined in the pink-walled rooms. Reading about that research prompted Yap to create Drunk Tank Pink, which explores how we are affected by cues from the world around us, without realising it.
Yap is preparing to unveil Drunk Tank Pink next week as part of the Sydney Dance Company’s 2022 New Breed season. As a new mum returning to work, getting the production ready over these past months has been “intense, exciting, exhausting, challenging and inspiring all at the same time”.
