Twilight
Winner of 2016 Outstanding Achievement in Community Dance, Australian Dance Awards.
‘sensing sea, sky and earth through connection to place’
Conceived, directed and produced by Cheryl Stock for Dancenorths’s 30th anniversary, Twilight was a multi-site outdoor performance set in the tropical city of Townsville. Created for and with the community to celebrate its natural beauty and unique socio-cultural attributes, this large-scale promenade event took place across 14 sites involving 12 community groups; led by a team of professional artists and community project leaders working with 167 participants. Despite its scale, Twilight was in many ways an intimate event with each group interpreting their particular site through a scoring process that encouraged a sensory exploration of the performative possibilities of Twilight’s theme. The journey began with a sweeping view of the Coral Sea at dusk and ended with the backdrop of majestic Castle Hill bathed in moonlight. The audience moved with the performers through the winding pathways of the spectacular Jezzine Barracks in a guided ‘promenade’ event, allowing the audience to experience the poetry of the environment in new and surprising ways. An innovative highlight for was the mobile phone orchestra activated by the audience to accompany a section of the live music.
Twilight was realised by director Cheryl Stock and composer/musical director Ng Chor Guan, in collaboration with cultural engagement facilitator Susan Van den Ham, Dancenorth dancers and 12 community groups. Participants included:
Aboriginal women’s dance group Ngulumburu Boonyah
Torres Strait Islander dance and music group Erub Kara Jed
Kith and Kin, Endeavour and Cootharinga Disability Groups
Forever Young over 60s performers
Kirwan and Pimlico State High Schools dance students
Guest dancers Tegan Ollett and Shaughn Pegoraro
Teepee Parkour with bike trail performer Borys Zagrocki
Aquapella, a 65 strong a capella choir
Brass Ensemble of the Barrier Reef Orchestra
Wassa Rhythms of West Africa
Performances were held 1-3 October 2015, beginning at 6 pm with a duration of 75 minutes.
THE TWILIGHT TEAM
Director / Creative Producer Cheryl Stock AM
Musical Director/ Composer Ng Chor Guan
Coordinator / creative assistant Susan van den Ham
Lighting / production manager Andre Reynaud
Audio / production manager Nick Walker / Justin Ryan
Design Sabine Carter
Costumes Jenni Ansic
Technical crew Yoshie Kenny, Mark King
Coordination assistant Mariana Verdaasdonk
Production volunteers Josie Kearney, Madeleine Hillam, Callum Leech, Brendan O’Connor, Thomas Roach
Audience guide volunteers Ava Ball, Erin Brown, Helene Carter, Gai Copeman, Barbara Craven-Griffiths, Tony Fitzsimmons, Karyn Gregory, Allison Harris, Elise Henderson, Tiffany Hislop, Sandi Hook, Judy Hunter, Margaret Ince, Sophie List, Lesley Richards, Samantha Richards, Marion Rowley, Gerald Soworka.
TWILIGHT SITE PERFORMANCES
#1 Welcome to Country
We acknowledge Australian Aboriginal people of this nation, and the Wulgurukaba and Bindal peoples of this region, as the traditional custodians of the lands on which we perform. We pay our respects to ancestors and elders, past, present and future. We are committed to honouring Indigenous peoples' unique cultural and spiritual relationships to the land, waters and seas and their rich contribution to society.
Wulgurukaba Elder Virginia Wyles
#2 Origins Ngulumburu Boonyah Women’s Dance Group
#3 Ascending Twilight Kirwan State High School dance students
Choreography: Mason Kelly
Project Leader: Kylie Tillack
Dancers: Olivia Cartwright, Madison Craig, Emma Dorman, Abrielle Hill, Molly Hogben, Rebecca Hutchinson, Krystal Maeseele, Callysta Morris, Hanna Perkins, Courtney Purkis-Arthur, Emily Smith, Lauren Tierney
#4 Dusk Reverie Forever Young 60s +
Choreography: Jenni Large
Project leader: Susan van den Ham
Performers: Elva Bradshaw, Zuni Drake, Shirley McLennan, Patricia Reynolds
#5 Sensing the Sky
Choreography and performers: Tegan Ollett and Shaughn Pegoraro
#6 Dusk Dialogues Brass Ensemble from Barrier Reef Orchestra
Ensemble Leader:Andrew Ryder
Trumpets: Ben Fixter, Andrew Ryder
Horns: Sue Darrigan, Annie Doherty
Trombones: Mark Land, Lesley Crocker
Tuba: Andrew Hodginson
#7 Starlit Clients from Kith and Kin, Endeavour and Cootharinga Disability Groups
Choreography: Susan van den Ham
Project leader: Ann Burke
#8 Night Calls Brass Ensemble from Barrier Reef Orchestra
Recorder: Anneke Silver
#9 At the grotto Erub Kara Ged Dance Group
Singers: Jamahl Ross, Max Cedar, Celestino Ross Jnr
Dancers: Aidan Ross, Tajshon Santo, Tahkhem Santo
#10 Fleeting Pimlico State High School dance students
Choreography: Ashley Mclellan
Project leader: Stefanie Samuels
Dancers: Victoria Alexion, Patricia Dirks, Sarah Gorton, Eden Hinspeter, Melanie Laird, Payton Lee, Paris Pardon, Jarrah Scarsi
#11 Held in the Light Aquapella World Music Choir
Director: Beat Lehmann
#12 Surprise ‘sitings’ Teepee Parkour
Choreography: Harrison Hall
Performers: Rhys Kirk and Nathan Wood with Harrison Hall
Bike trials: Borys Zagrocki
Wassa Rhythms of West Africa
Group leader: Alex Salvador
Ian Brunskill, Matt Curnock, David Pavlichuk, Roger Thompson
#13 Concrete Grass Dancenorth
Choreographers / performers: Mason Kelly, Harrison Hall, Jenni Large, Ashley McLellan
#14 Dispersal
Twilight performers