Heritage, Lineage & Future
Through research and development, Heritage Lineage and Future drew upon the combined knowledge of residents and history of the SE region of NSW. Don Asker (Human Veins Dance Theatre), Colleen Meessmann nee Finneran (Wupertale Tanz Theatre), Delian Silvan (ADT, Leigh Warren dancers), Jane Mortiss (Human Veins Dance Theatre) who all have had extraordinary careers in art and culture and a strong connection with the local landscape. Their combined experience provided access to the processes of renowned choreographers nationally and internationally. Other esteemed colleagues included, Historian Mark McKenna, Composer David Hewitt and Documentary Photographer Paul Hopper. The outcomes utilised the skills of 'young professional dancers' who grew up in the region of the South East, an opportunity to complete a cycle connecting two generations of dancers through choreographic lineages and landscape and contribute to the artistic and cultural heritage of the area.
This project was supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW
This project was supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW
Stage one - sites, history & lineage
A process investigating dance practices, people and immersion into local history, landscape and experience. Haunted by a wandering line of ocean and estuary, the marks of the early settlers, my limited knowledge of history and the land through European eyes, we collected, recorded and physically mapped time and experience.
What is a place and how can we know it? Can we dance the outdoors - dance the smells of the ocean, feel like a tea tree forest as ancient as the ocean cliffs?
Through time and by experience of place a deep knowing an enlivened sense of belonging arises. So begins a dialogue with one’s locale - breathing in the space, sensing the architecture, absorbing into the living body.
Through time and by experience of place a deep knowing an enlivened sense of belonging arises. So begins a dialogue with one’s locale - breathing in the space, sensing the architecture, absorbing into the living body.
Stage two & three - development & public exchanges
Our personal histories about loss is a nostalgia that embraces us as we live and age.
When a performance is finished memory is embodied and carried within the dancer's being, still present.
When a performance is finished memory is embodied and carried within the dancer's being, still present.
images Paul Hopper, artists Jane Mortiss, Delia Silvan, Lee Pemberton, Leif Helland, Gabriella Green, Siobhan McKenna and Kyall Shanks
