Afghan Performers for Hope - Dancing for hope, for peace and sharing the truth about their homeland was the reason behind forming the Afghan Performers for Hope a few years ago. All members are Afghan Australians who fled their country as children. >>details Afro-Cuban Drum & Dance captures the high impact and vibrant energy of Santeria, the primal trance-dance and drumming chant rituals of Havana’s back streets. Melbourne’s most charismatic Afro-Cuban and Latino performers dedicate the night to capturing Cuba’s deep country and carnivale traditions, in full costume. >>details Arte Kanela - Chari Saldana was the inaugural Arts Victoria Women Artists' Grant Recipient for the production of House of Bernarda Alba in 1998, at the Malthouse. In 2001 she secured funding from the Australia Council's Dance Fund for professional development in Madrid and Seville in 2001. >>details Chin Performance Group - Music and dance are the foundation of Chin culture, one of the seven national ethnic minority groups that make up Burma today. China music and dance express the thoughts and feelings of the Chin people, through voice, gesture and movement. The only instrument used in the dance is a traditional Chin drum. >>details Claire Naffah - Claire Naffah is a master performer and teacher of classical Middle Eastern dance regarded as perhaps Australia’s best exponent of many oriental dance forms originating in the Orient. Claire captivates her audiences with improvisations that are legendary for their beauty, imagination, and elegance. >>details The Congo Boys - The Congo Boys formed as a band in Kinshasa City, Democratic Republic of Congo, in early 1999. The Congo Boys joined together as one group featuring the best musicians and dancers from some of Congo’s most notable performing groups. All performers have toured extensively in Africa and throughout the world. >>details The Cook Islands Polynesian Dancers - High energy, speed and vibrancy are one of the spectacular aspects of Cook Islander drumming and dance culture. This contrasts with the more slower and circular traditional dance forms from neighboring Polynesian Islands such as Hawaii, Tahiti, Tonga and Samoa. >>details Jigzie Campbell - Storytelling played a significant role in Jigzie’s formative years in rural Jamaica and as a performer she is deeply committed to authentically presenting the richness of her cultural heritage. >>details KITA PERFORMING ARTS COMPANY - traditional and contemporary music and dance of
Maria is a highly respected entertainer and teacher in the Middle Eastern Music and Dance genre. She has been involved in the Australian World music and dance scene since 1991. She has a versatile and unique style of performing, and gives to you the Essence of Egyptian dance, Raqs Sharqi. >>details Marina Bistrin is a dance teacher and performer that teaches and explores the connections between many kinds of related dance including Silk-Road, Gypsy, Middle-Eastern dance, fusions and work with props such as fans, veils scarves and sticks. >>details Naree Vachananda was born in Bangkok and gained a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Chulalongkorn in 1991. She graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts in 1997 with a Bachelor of Dance. Since then she has expanded her experiences in movement to Butoh and Ideokinesis. >>details Ushanthini Sripathmanathan's Natyalayaa is an Indian Classical dance school which was established in 1990 in Melbourne, Victoria. The school specializes in teaching and promoting Indian Dance. It has also presented a variety of folk dance, dance dramas and special public performances, including SAKUNTHALA (The Ring of Recollection) 2004, GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS (2005) (Funded by Monash Arts Council and City of Boroondara), Rhythms of Games (2006), Tales of Women (2006) (Funded by City of Boroondara for next year). details Pontian Dancers - “You are to leave this place,” the officer shouted. “You will have three days to gather your things. You will take only what you can carry.” “Where are we to go?” an old man asked. “You are to leave this place,.. I am not here to answer your questions. Be ready when the soldiers come to take you away.” “But this is our home,…”, a woman cried as the officer and his men mounted their horses and trotted down the road toward Londone. >>details Shonah Honeyhill Sonko is renowned for her unique athletic Afro dancing style in ensembles such as Short Circuit, Wazuri, Colours of Pulse and ‘ZAZU’. >>details The Ethiopian Circus - The Ethiopian Circus is one of the most amazing and unique Circus groups in Australia. The group was originally established in Ethiopia and very soon achieved world wide fame. Over a short period it became a model for many other circus and performance groups throughout the world. >>details Yumi Umiumare - Born in Hyogo, Japan, Yumi is trained in classical ballet and modern dance and has a degree in Physical Education from Kobe University. Originally a member of the seminal Butoh Company DaiRakudakan in Tokyo, she came to Australia to perform at the Melbourne International Festival in 1991. Her unique Butoh Cabaret series, DasSHOKU Productions, features Yumi in Tokyo DasSHOKU Girl (winner of GreenRoom and Fringe Awards), at the Melbourne Fringe in 1999 and toured around Australia. DasSHOKU Cultivations!!, had a sell-out season in Osaka in 2003 and new work DasSHOKU Hora!! was premiered in Melbourne in November 2005. How could you even begin to understand? (collaboration with Tony Yap, Green Room Award 2001), in-compatibility (Melbourne International Festival 2003), INORI-in-visible (Toured Japan and Denmark) The Burlesque Hour (Sydney Opera House, Adelaide, Edinburgh Fringe festival 2004-2006).>>details Tony Yap - born in Malaysia, Yap is an accomplished dancer, director, choreographer and visual artist. As the founding Artistic director of Mixed Company in 1993 he has made a commitment to the exploration and creation of an individual dance theatre language that is informed by psycho-physical research, Asian shamanistic trance dance, Butoh, Voice and Visual design. Tony has received numerous nominations and awards including his solo work The Decay of the Angel which won him a GreenRoom Award for Best Male Dancer and Best Innovative New Form category for Dream and Icarus. He recently he returned to his place of birth to research into the Malaysian shamanistic trance practice for a solo piece, 'E1', which has attracted a wide interest and toured many countries. In 2008 E1 will feature at the Biwako Bienalle in Japan.>>details |