After travelling almost 2,800 kilometres over land and water, young dancers from GUTS Dance’s Brave Bodies company in Mparntwe/Alice Springs arrived in Launceston to join forces with Stompin Youth Dance Company.
Since April, these two groups - 18 Stompers from lutruwita/Tasmania and 10 Brave Bodies from central Australia - have been collaborating from afar through letters, videos, polaroid photos and Zoom calls. Choreographing from two places at once, they met face to face for the first time.
Aged between 12 and 25, each dancer brought their voice, lived experiences and courage to Inveresk for a new major work. The result was strangers make the world together - a powerful, youth-led dance performance about distance, care, and the brave act of connection.
Guided by internationally renowned artists Ash Musk (choreography), Liesel Zink (dramaturgy), Anna Whitaker (sound) and Jenny Hector (lighting design), with emerging leadership from Nathan Pitchford, Toni Lord and Brave Bodies dancer rep Jasmine McGinness, the work was built entirely by the voices, bodies and perspectives of the dancers. It explored what it means to grow up in regional places, often isolated but reaching for one another in friendship and creativity.
Between 25 – 29 September, audiences were invited on a roving journey through The Shed, University of Tasmania’s newest building at Inveresk, after following the bridge over laykilla / North Esk River.
As a performance which interacted with the place and its people, Stompin dancers used their surrounding environment to create a series of meaningful moments capturing the struggles of loneliness and isolation for young people. The sound, lighting and choreography told this powerful story, in and around the audience and with each other.
Performers Freyja and Michayla said The Stompers loved the opportunity to perform in the Shed and surrounding areas.
“It was a beautiful location that really brought our theme together and provided an awesome setting for a show with various tempos, movement and sound” Michayla said.
"Strangers make the world together created a safe space to be yourself and take time to connect with the humans and the environment that surrounded us. It was a beautiful experience for all the team. We truly made the most of the world we created together" Freyja said.
Rachel Moore, Producer at Stompin said that the dancers really gave each performance their everything.
''These young artists thrive on the opportunity to respond to locations in the process of developing a dance work. As a performance site, The Shed presented the dancers and creative team with endless inspiration for embodied expression. It was truly exciting to activate this space with youthful movement and lean into the thoughtful design. The Stompers and Brave Bodies threw themselves into each show and had a powerful performance season as a result”.
Professor Natalie Brown, Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University shared a sense of pride around partnering with Stompin.
“Being able to bring the community together for incredible creative events like this is exactly why we have our new campus at Inveresk. The Stompin team made an incredible connection between place and people, an experience we’ll always remember” Professor Brown said.
Images: Bruce Moyle (UTAS) / Gabriel Comerford (Stompin)
