Not so temperate. 

In this episode, we meet Phillip Adams, the Artistic Director of Phillip Adams BalletLab, a Melbourne contemporary dance company that’s made a huge impact on arts and culture in Australia over the last twenty years. 

Phillip quit drinking at the ripe age of 21 when he realised that alcohol didn’t agree with him. The loss of control and the anxiety just wasn’t worth it, and while he doesn’t think about it that often, this choice has allowed him to be incredibly focused on his career. 

A reaction to the consumption of alcohol has had threads throughout his creative work from very early on. When Phillip was a young boy he was hit by a drunk driver. This inspired his first major work in 1999, called Crash, which investigated the body in trauma. 

And interestingly, his company is now located in a hall that was built by one of the influential temperance movements, the Emerald Hill Total Abstinence Society. This rich history and architecture inspire his work today. 

In our chat, we dig into Phillip’s story as a highly conscious non-drinker, his creative work, and a little bit of the history too. It’s a great one.

Phillip’s links:

https://www.balletlab.com/phillip-adams 
https://www.temperancehall.com.au/