A Northern Territory youth theatre competition held in 1988 brought together the creative skills of Tim Newth and Sarah Calver – a visual artist and a dancer. Equipped with little more than a swag, a few basic props, and some very poor Warlpiri language skills, Tim, Sarah, and a small team of artists set out along the Tanami Track. The destination was to perform the Lajamanu school’s winning entry Manangkarawardingki Malju in their remote desert community, 940 kilometres south-west of Darwin.

Rather than being phased by the challenges of distance, lack of resources, a dousing in red dust, and a script written partially in Warlpiri, Tim and Sarah returned to Darwin inspired by the potential of the Northern Territory’s rich cultural landscape and the eagerness of Territorians, both ‘whitefella’ and ‘blackfella’ alike, to share their stories. Here lay the first ‘tracks’ of a unique journey.

The journey wound its way further into 1988 with Dance Feast, a sumptuous spread of dance performances. With a strut, a wink and the odd gammy knee the Grey Panthers (a women’s dance group, ages 50+) stepped onto the stage for the first time and made audiences aware that, just like dessert, they’d saved the best till last in this meal called life.

When David McMicken stepped off the plane from Melbourne at Darwin airport in 1991 he was overwhelmed by the sense of having arrived ‘home’. Like many others who now call themselves ‘Territorians’, David’s holiday has never ended. His connection to this land brought himself into collaboration with Tim and Sarah. Now with the addition of a new voice, the journey toward a uniquely Northern Territorian performing arts company continued.

A typical Dry Season weekend in early 1990’s Darwin would see locals pondering over the latest ‘Croc’ headline in the NT News, while slurping a laksa from the markets and planning an afternoon enjoying one of many cultural festivals or performances. Tropical days would be punctuated with the staccato rapping of the Filipino Tinikling, the whoop and cry of South Pacific Islander dancers, plate smashing and foot stomping of traditional Greek celebrations, the gong and fireworks of the Chinese Chung Wah Society, or the mesmerising drum rhythms of Papua New Guinea.

David was the Community Dance Officer at Brown’s Mart Community Arts and, naturally with Darwin’s cultural makeup, many dance projects and collaborations with local cultural groups followed. David’s early introduction to Betchay Mondragon, a cultural activist, led to his first collaboration with the Filipino community through the dance group Kulay Lupa. Over the next 20 years Betchay would continue her close relationship with Tracks, opening a path for other cultural advisors to follow.

In 1997 Tracks ventured on a trip into Northern Territory culture and found themselves covered in 4WD - Sweat, Dust and Romance. Here was an extraordinary dance performance drawing together professional and community dancers in a show of skill, wit and diversity that celebrated what it was to be local.

"A cast of old ladies, footballers and four wheel drives – a performance event that is, to say the least, unusual." Debra Jopson, The Sydney Morning Herald

"Remarkable sense of community." Ron Banks, The West Australian

"Highlight of the Festival." Joyce Morgan, The Age

The rest of the country sat up and took notice as Tracks' performance of 4WD, bush-bashed its way from the local community onto the Australian cultural map. The company’s reputation was established.

Darwin has always been seen as ‘young’, and having been bombed in the 1940’s and almost blown off the map by Cyclone Tracy in 1974, it reinvented itself with energy and gusto. Building a relationship with the Territory’s youth had long been a priority for Tracks when Betchay challenged the company as to the lack of mainstream engagement with young members from her community.

Tracks knew that multicultural youth were not afraid of performing, they were wary of a ‘Western’ system in which they felt uncomfortable. Adopting a new language for speaking about ‘dance’ led to Ignite, the first Tracks mainstream youth performance in 2002. A cast of emerging dancers, representing many different cultural backgrounds, explored life as they experienced it, from living in two or more cultures, to family conflicts, to sex, drugs and … hip hop.

After 20 years, Tracks continues the journey, guided by the friendships it has made and the spirit of the land on which it is based. Today the community of Lajamanu welcomes Tracks as family, young dancers take their place in national dance institutions and pursue professional dance careers, cultural dance groups come together to share their stories and create new ones, and the Grey Panthers continue to bring their own brand of wisdom, mischief and mayhem to the Tracks office every Friday morning!