Let’s Get It Strait
Let’s Get it Strait was a creative fusion led by Tasdance and the communities of Flinders, King and Cape Barren Islands that resulted in a programme of evocative performance experiences.
This project gave young people (and other artists) living on the three Bass Strait Islands a remarkable opportunity to gain skills in contemporary dance, new media and theatre production through a series of workshops.
King Island
14 March
Flinders Island
28 March
Participants of all ages from the three island communities brought together an exciting cultural synthesis of sound, movement and music extravaganzas.
There were two spectacular and unique site specific outdoor performances, one at Stockyard Park overlooking Currie Harbour, King Island and the other in the shadow of Mount Strezlecki at the Flinders Island Sports Club, in Whitemark.
Although these islands are all located in the windy channel of Bass Strait, they are in fact wildly divergent in landscape, people and lifestyle. The two performances were a sensory evocation of the islands and as such, served to highlight and celebrate this diversity.
In order to unite the islands and the performances, the professional Tasdance ensemble performed Beth Shelton’s She Oak Sings, as part of both shows. First created in 1987, She Oak Sings evokes the emotive sound of the gentle wind in the trees by using ingenious whirlies created by Sarah Hopkins. Performing alongside the Tasdance ensemble were community members and school students, supported by a lone dairy cow and a mutton bird called Edna.
Let’s Get it Strait was artistically co-ordinated and choreographed by Emma Porteus and Gavin Clarke, and also involves the following artists:
Visual Artist: Sarah Howell
Media Artist: Martyn Coutts
Composer/Sound Artists: Jon Hizzard & Carl Fidler
Aboriginal Dance Artists: Jeanette Fabila, Desley Roberts & Albert David
