Being an “outsider” usually bears associations of being excluded, of not belonging, and of not feeling very good about it. But the experience of being an outsider can also be incredibly meaningful, humbling, and even exhilarating, as I discovered through attending Gapu Ŋupan at the Asia TOPA festival 2025. A weaving together of Yolŋu songlinesContinue reading “Gapu Ŋupan”
Category Archives: Dance
[Take Over!] We’ve Been Here Before
Govind Pillai and Raina Peterson (Karma Dance) have been working on a new show, We’ve Been Here Before, a work that explores themes of isolation and pandemic life, approaching them through metaphors and traditional-contemporary expressions of Indian classical dance. A preview into the development of this work was live streamed as part of Take Over!Continue reading “[Take Over!] We’ve Been Here Before”
[Take Over!] Giraru Galing Ganhagirri
Melbourne-based artist and choreographer Joel Bray, a proud Wiradjuri man, is in the process of creating a new work: Giraru Galing Ganhagirri (which translates to The Wind Will Bring The Rain in the Wiradjuri language). In this work, he uses film as a medium to explore the meditative themes of country, cycles of nature, andContinue reading “[Take Over!] Giraru Galing Ganhagirri”
Samsara
A dancer (Hu Shenyuan) takes centre stage, his lithe body guided by an atmospheric soundscape into movements of breathtaking fluidity. His limbs and torso are delicately lit, allowing our eyes to soak in the full impact of his movements, isolating different parts of his body from one moment to the next. At the end ofContinue reading “Samsara”
Rehearsal for Death
Rehearsal for Death is a captivating dance/physical theatre work by Rebekah Stuart and Sophie Thompson. It is an abstract work, a series of vignettes capturing various experiences of death, grief and impermanence, in the context of life, joy and the infinite loop of repeating cyclical patterns. For a work with so little text/speech, it offersContinue reading “Rehearsal for Death”
Jaya Berged 