North of Centre - Co-presented with Darwin Festival
Text
The Playhouse, Darwin Entertainment Centre
11 - 13 Aug 2020
Darwin Festival
Stepping onto The Playhouse stage at Darwin Entertainment Centre, the audience was immersed in three brand-new dynamic dance works.
North of Centre brought together the energies of Northern Territory dance – from the deserts of Central Australia to the south, to the tropics of South East Asia to the north. In three short works; a solo, duet, and trio, dancers explored their connection with this place and their understanding of its diverse people.
In 2021 North of Centre was remounted for SPRING.LOADED.DANCE in Alice Springs - read more
Creative Team
Concept: Darwin Festival
Artistic Producers: David McMicken and Tim Newth
Lighting Designer: Nathan Da Cunha
Intertwine
Choreography: Jess Devereux in collaboration with Kelly Beneforti
Performer: Kelly Beneforti
Music: James Mangohig
Costume: Ann Gibb
Tridatu
Concept, choreography and performance: Desak Putu Warti and Jocelyn Tribe
Sound design: I Made Budalasia
DANCE (a short homage)
Concept, choreography and performance: Madeleine Krenek, Ashleigh Musk and Frankie Snowdon
Sound design: Darcy Davis
Lighting, set and costume design: Madeleine Krenek, Ashleigh Musk and Frankie Snowdon
Scenario
Intertwine
The incremental unfolding of this solo dance work by Tracks Dance Company plays with proximity, pervading senses and persistence. The intimacy of a single body performing against a vast space of human construction harnesses the forces of the natural world, fuelling a quiet ferocity, and leaving imperceptible traces of constant change and cyclical occurrences.
Tridatu
Tri means three and Datu means power. Tridatu is the name of the three threaded red/black/white bracelet that Balinese wear to encourage healing and protect against negative forces. This piece has been named after Tridatu as it has been created via the collaboration of three artists: Desak Putu Warti (founder of Darwin’s renowned Balinese dance troupe Tunas Mekar Cultural Collective), I Made Budalasia, and Jocelyn Tribe. It explores three stages of cultural learning through a student/mentor relationship: intention, action and integration. Set to an Indonesian electronic and instrumental score by I Made Budalasia (Tutup Mulut), this duet features contemporary movement and music influenced by traditional Balinese culture on modern day Larrakia country.
DANCE (a short homage)
Central Australia’s GUTS Dance perform a playful, collective experience where entertainment and experimentation unite in a live shaping of the contract between performers and audience. Created together, the dance celebrates what can be achieved when responsibility is shared, ending in a dynamic, spectacular celebration of collective action and the energy of live performance.
Production Personnel
Darwin Festival Production Coordinator - Darwin Entertainment Centre: Mark Holman
Lighting operator: Tomm Lydiard
Audio operators: Danny Christie and Peter Colautti
Duty Technician and mechanist: Iona Francis
Mechanist and Rigger: Neil Macknight
Thank You
Matt Cornell and Lana Howitt
Company Partners
Tracks Inc is assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body; and is proudly sponsored by the Northern Territory Government.
Project Partners
Darwin Festival
Tracks 2020
Artistic Co-Directors: David McMicken and Tim Newth
Company Director: Adelaide Wood
Administrator: Jessica Mellor / Jo Shearn
Production Manager: Duane Preston
Dance Animateurs: Kelly Beneforti and Jess Devereux
Bookkeeper: It Figures
Committee Members: Venaska Cheliah (Chairperson), Andrea Wicking (Vice Chairperson), Glenn Bernardin (Treasurer), David Taylor, Michael Grant, Ken Conway, Max Dewa Stretton, Rachael Wallis. David McMicken, Tim Newth, Adelaide Wood (Ex-Officio Members)
Public Fund Trustees: Maari Gray, Will Crawford and Lachlan Peattie
Patron: Her Honour the Honourable Vicki O’Halloran AM, Administrator of the Northern Territory
Photos
Videos
Explore Further
Guts Dance - Central Australia
Responses
“North of Centre was the highlight for me from the Darwin Festival. The diversity of performers and dance styles made it a true celebration of the skilled people that call the Northern Territory ‘home’.” Liz Rogers
"Always such a blessing to watch [Putu's] precision and beautiful and specific way of moving ... To have that lovely and intriguing play between [Putu] and Jocelyn and that thoughtful story sharing of a feeling from her was really special and also refreshing." Bryn Wackett
“I love it. The variety, the intimacy of the space, the nuances. So engaging, a range of emotions elicited.” Mary Anne Butler
"[The] body in the space was dynamic and pulsating and caught in between and rupturing in between and echoed from the floor to the ceiling and beamed us into [the] space...to watch pristine clean precision technique and excellence in a beautiful space executed with some reverence was...awesome." Kyle Walmsely
“Centre pieces were completely mesmerising and attention controlling ...loved the lighting, the magic of sitting on the stage, the intimacy despite pandemic transmission control measures. Left with smile on face and in my heart.” Tara Schmidt
"[The] beautifully fluid movement...was mesmerising and I felt so lucky to be able to experience the subtleties of [the] movement choices within the score...there were these specific recognisable moments of decided upon choreography and then these wonderful moments of surprise." Bryn Wackett
“I think the variety of the solo, duet and trio pieces were balancing. An intimate dance sampler? The stage space and the way it was used and set up - it was a refreshing way as an audience to be in that space too. They all set their own tone and own pathways but created a linked overall atmosphere and story via the idea of being a part of the cultural terrain of the NT. The non-threatening audience shaping in the guts piece.” Jenelle Saunders