‘The Stars Descend’ – a vast trail of dance performances to inspire climate action and hope
Western Australian choreographer Annette Carmichael has brought together a team of 25 artists working across dance, sound, and design to create a vast and ambitious dance work called The Stars Descend.
The work is performed in five instalments, in five different sites, across a tract of land 1000km in length. It tells a new story about Australia’s climate emergency and the power of interconnected action to halt climate change from 17 March to 1 April 2023.
Choreographers joining the team include a number of exceptional First Nations artists. Janine Oxenham was most recently choreographer on Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company’s hit show, Panawathi Girl. Simon Stewart is a graduate of NAISDA and lecturer at WA Academy of Performing Arts. Rachael Colmer has performed in a number of Carmichael’s previous works while Torres Strait Islander dance artist Sonya Stephen rounds out the team with extensive experience in community consultation.
They are joined by renowned Australian choreographer, Chrissie Parrott AO, Australian Dance Award winner, Adelina Larsson Mendoza and former member of New Zealand’s Atamira Dance Company, Pare Randall. Russell Thorpe, a dancer with Co3 Contemporary Dance is also critical to the performance, joining Janine Oxenham as one of two soloists who perform as the ‘stars’, alongside large casts of community performers.
The community ensembles have been drawn from a diverse mix of regional people, including farmers, scientists, conservationists, nurses, and artists. The ultimate goal of the project is to highlight the significance of the protection and revegetation of a 1000km wildlife pathway called Gondwana Link, which stretches from Wooditjup (Margaret River) on the West Coast to Garlgula (Kalgoorlie) in WA’s interior.
“The Stars Descend tells a contemporary story that is inspired and informed by consultation with First Nations Elders, scientists, artists and ecological groups,” said Annette Carmichael.
“Stars are powerful symbols of hope, agency, and action. They represent ideas of deep time and the interconnectedness of people and the natural world. The aim of this project is to create extraordinary memories that will transform how people see and care for country.”
The project has been in development since 2020 and has resulted in the creation of a methodology for delivering arts projects called ‘Distributed 15’. It delivers on-the-job training and development for regional producers and artists, while also improving the well-being of regional communities through increased participation in creative activity.
Commencing on Friday 17 March 2023, each performance happens in a beautiful outdoor location that showcases the biodiversity of southern Western Australia.
The audience can watch a single chapter or travel for 16 days and witness all five instalments:
Fri 17 March, Chapter 1, Margaret River / Wooditjup
Sun 19 March, Chapter 2, Northcliffe
Fri 24 March, Chapter 3, Porongurup / Borongur
Sun 26 March, Chapter 4, Fitzgerald Biosphere
Sat 1 April, Chapter 5, Kalgoorlie / Karlkurla / Garlgula
For more information on The Stars Descend visit: www.heartlandjourneys.com.au/the-stars-descend and www.distributed15.com.au