Bollywood Awakening

Shifting gears, this season of Dead Singers Dance Society (DSDS) departs western pop culture and dives into the world of Bollywood. In this four week course you will learn an achievable Bollywood routine that you can bust out with your friends, at parties or in the kitchen.

Some of you will remember the last dance number of our 2018 sell-out show 'In Your Blood' - a giant feel-good Bollywood-esque number. The duo who choreographed, Madeleine Brown and Venaska Cheliah are teaming up again to create DSDS Bollywood Awakening. An added plus is that they are being joined by Ricky Borg and Jenelle Saunders, long-standing Tracks alumni and all round rock stars.

Don’t miss this, it's going to be so much fun!

Course will be held at Tracks Dance Studio. 
Class sizes are restricted - the same DSDS class (just offered twice!) so that we can spread out and be extra specially Covid-safe.

Monday 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th August 2020

Class 1) 5:45-6:45pm

Class 2) 7:00-8:00pm

BOOK HERE

We caught up with the team to talk Bollywood...

Maddy says “Bollywood Dance is so vibrant and energetic, it always brings a smile to my face when I watch/dance/teach it”. As a commercially trained dancer living and working in Darwin, Maddy explained her connection to Bollywood dance: “I lived in India for 6 months in 2017. I was based in Mumbai, and travelled frequently throughout the rest of the country with a prestigious Dance Company. I learnt from some of the best Indian Choreographers, Dancers and Stars. I've danced for the Indian Premier League, in music videos and Blockbuster Bollywood movies such as 'A Gentleman' and 'VIP 2'." 

Venaska Cheliah has a background in Bharatanatyam traditional Indian dance and has been performing in Tracks shows since 2011. This year she stepped up as Tracks youngest ever Chair! She told us about the dearly departed singers who have inspired this installment of DSDS. “Both Sridevi and Rishi Kapoor are Bollywood icons. Sridevi definitely fueled a fair few crushes and my uncle was one of those in love with her. She has been in many indian movies both in North India and South India.” 

Ricky Borg is a long-time Tracks alumni and told us “What I love about Bollywood is that it’s so over the top! Tracks' Bollywood Awakening is a fabulous community project, which includes anybody who wants to give dance a go.”

Bollywood Awakening Creative Team

Creative Director: Jessica Devereux

Project Producer and Co-teacher: Jenelle Saunders

Choreographers and Co-teachers: Madeleine Brown, Venaska Cheliah and Ricky Borg

 

Our incredible administrator is leaving the NT. They’ll be big shoes to fill but we’re confident we can find a team player with great people skills, ability to collaborate and someone who is well organised, energised, efficient and ready to join our company. It could be you!

Apply Now

Your new role

As Administrator you are the first point of contact to Tracks and a key player in enabling action across the company. Working part-time you are a people person with a proven ability to adapt and work collaboratively to provide critical administrative and marketing assistance.

Your new company

Tracks is the premier dance company of the Northern Territory with a thirty-year legacy of creating radically local, site and people specific work. We actively celebrate People; our stories, truth and diverse heritage; Place; Darwin with the desert of Central Australia to the south and the tropic of South East Asia to the north and Spirit; the vitality of our culture enriched by traditional and contemporary life.

We are a values-based not-for-profit organisation, with a core staff of seven and an office and a dance studio in Darwin city. Learn more about Tracks.

Your responsibilities

Financial 

As Administrator you'll manage banking, floats and petty cash for the company, as well as preparing invoices, entering data into MYOB and reconciling accounts. We also have two online platforms for selling tickets to our events and classes, which you'll maintain and report to management.

Marketing and Promotion 

You'll work closely with the Company Director to implement the Marketing schedule, plan social media content, distribute e-news and report on feedback for data collection, Board reporting and funding reports. The Administrator manages all merchandise for the company to ensure there is enough stock for classes and performances.

General

As the first point of contact to the company, you'll distribute information to the public, manage studio bookings, collect and distribute mail and upkeep general office organisation. You'll be required to efficiently run and minute a weekly staff meeting, arrange travel for core staff and proofread documents when needed.

Company records and archiving

With over 30 years of history (and growing) you'll maintain our company database, assets register and scrapbook all copies of advertisements, media releases, programs and other related materials. The Administrator works collaboratively to ensure Policies and Procedures are up to date and our Tracks website is updated regularly with new information.

Production  

Managing our Tracks box office, you'll source, engage and brief volunteer Front-of-House staff for all performances and events whilst recording audience information for reporting.

What you’ll need to succeed

Demonstrate your ability:

• To work independently, meet deadlines and achieve outcomes. 
• To be efficient, have solid organisational and time management skills 
• In computer literacy (Mac environment) and agility in learning new software programs.

Highly desirable skills:

• High level of social media skills
• Knowledge of MYOB accounting
• Competent at data entry and management

Desirable experiences:

• Experience in working with indigenous and multicultural communities
• Experience in the small not-for-profit community and/or art sector
• Front of House or customer service experience

Tracks runs an Apple Mac office. The Administrator uses many online creative and social platforms, including cloud filing on Google Drive.

Conditions

This is a part time role of 24 hrs per week with a remuneration of $41,184 per annum plus 9.5% superannuation. 

The position is entitled to 4 weeks annual leave (pro rata) and additional paid leave over office shut down period between Christmas/New Year. Occasional evening and weekend work are required during performance seasons. Time off in lieu will be applicable for work out of standard hours.

How to apply

1. Email a ONE page CV to Company Director, Adelaide Wood

2. Complete this form to answer the selection criteria

3. If we think you’re the right person for us, we’ll get in touch to request referee details.

Application timeline

Closing date and time:  
Monday 15 June 2020 at 5pm

Interviews - Friday 19 June & Monday 22 June
Notification - Wednesday 24 June
Position begins - Thursday 9 July

Apply Now

The Tracks Team

Over many Milpirri's and many trips to Lajamanu, we've had many incredible Dance Animateurs join the Tracks team to choreograph Milpirri, travel to Lajamanu for projects and inspire the next Animateurs to take the reigns.

'Creative elasticity and freedom were offered within our dance facilitation roles' - Jenelle Saunders

Past & Present Milpirri Dance Animateurs:

David McMicken, Tim Newth, Nick Power, Jessica (Rosewarne) Goldburg, Jenelle Saunders, Caleb Japanangka Patrick, Jess Devereux, Kelly Beneforti, Aaron Lim, Jordan Bretherton and Madeleine Brown
 

As part of our 2020 #rememberingforward campaign we sent out some questions to some of our past & present animateurs to get a deeper insight into their roles at Tracks and in the community of Lajamanu during the lockdown period of COVID-19.

What did it take to be a Milpirri dance animateur?

Nick - Alot of energy, patience and belief

Jess D - Collaboration, good humour, and a willingness to facilitate dance in new ways, plus the ability to nurture and listen to others, and yourself.

Kelly - I think it takes a whole lot of guts, curiosity, perseverance, enthusiasm and a commitment to being whole-heartedly present in Lajamanu while you are there. This last part might sound obvious, but it can be very challenging at times to truly surrender to a place that feels so vastly different from your own. But it's in those moments that the best stuff happens! It also takes vulnerability - accepting that sometimes you are out of your depth, or you don't know the answer, or that there are elements of cultural and social life in Lajamanu that are not yours to understand.

Jess G - Patience and understanding. Being able to adapt.

How did you first get involved in Milpirri?

Kelly - My first experience of Milpirri was in 2009. I was taking a year off from Uni and had been involved in a few Tracks projects, such as the Festival show that year. I got this inkling that there was something else going on at Tracks that I didn't know about, like a special doorway that I hadn't walked through yet. I asked if I could be part of it, and the Company gave me a spare spot on the charter flight to Lajamanu to see the performance. It was like a kaleidoscope exploded in front of me; everything was so new and intense and challenged a lot about how I had experienced dance up until that point.

Was there anything you learnt from being involved in Milpirri that you carry with you today in your arts practice?

Jenelle - Yes, I think I have carried those qualities we were able to practise in a cross-cultural context into a wide range of other work and arts projects. They are transferable skills required I think for most environments when engaging with many people at a time.

Nick - So much. Milpirri is one of the single biggest influences in my path forward as an independent choreographer. Getting an insight into Walpiri culture, seeing the traditional dances and hearing the songs made me start to question my own dance and the culture and community connected to it. Inspired by this line of thinking I took it into my own work, creating performances that are grounded in hip hop cultural tradition but are performed in a contemporary context.  

Jess D - Yes. Slowness. Always. Going slow through the world is good and Warlpiri culture really taught me that. Speak to the land and the land will speak back. Listening is key. Time spent sitting and listening to the Yawalyu women sing and dance comes to mind. Plus working alongside Nick Power, I learned a lot from from his teaching style. He led by example (dancing and throwing down!) plus his skills in communicating and inspiring the kids, his wise words and choreographic clarity. And a strong friendship with Darwin-based dancer Jenelle Saunders, who I worked closely with in Lajamanu during Milpirri, 2009.

Aaron - It taught me that dance can mean different things to different people and different cultures. I try to take that into account whenever I teach or collaborate with other dancers.

What are the unique elements of working in Lajamanu, that differ from other work you’ve done in schools?

Jordan - The kids are hyper active and always interested in dance, including cool break dancing tricks and backflips. So some of the teaching has to be fully broken down in order for the kids to get the choreography, but once they got it, they will never stop showing off what sick moves they have just learnt.

Any stand out Milpirri moments that you would like to share?

Nick - The first time I threw down a power-move set for a school workshop at the Arts Centre. The noise was incredible, I'd never had a reaction to my dancing like that, people were running around screaming. After, everyone lined up ready to learn.

Kelly - I don't know if I can pinpoint that exactly. One of my favourite moments during Milpirri is when the Witi Poles burn (this has happened in 2 or 3 of the Milpirri's I've worked on), and all the kids go wild and race through the poles while the burning leaves fall to the ground. It always happens at the end, and it seems to encapsulate the combination of ecstasy, relief, and sadness that I feel at the end of the performance. The sadness comes from the knowledge that I will be leaving Lajamanu in the coming days and won't return for many, many months.

Aaron - Making the video clips with the kids who I got to know over 3 years was one of the most fun times I've ever had in community. I just remember laughing a lot over the silly things we came up with.

Jenelle - The transformation from rehearsal mode to full out performance, when everyone was on the court outside ready to roll (kapow!). The uplift, the pride, the joy, the energy was palpable and super satisfying after a lot of hard work, sweat and input. Aesthetically, the lighting of the lanterns and the firing of the banner symbol was very memorable.

Fast forward to social isolation restrictions in 2020... how has it been working in the Tracks Studio compared to the Lajamanu School?

Kelly - Maddy, Jordan and I have had an amazing time together working in the studio, and with the music team, Monkey Marc and Mantra. Of course, it is very different without the energy of the Lajamanu school kids - they bring lots of laughter and joy, but they also challenge our teaching skills to their limits! We have had a lot more space for developing our choreographic ideas in a collaborative way, so it's felt really supportive. I'm excited to see that translate across to the kids when we eventually get down there.

Being your first Milpirri, what are you most excited about it?

Madeleine - The feeling I will have on the night, knowing that this show is more than what is seen on stage, it has a much greater and deeper sense of purpose and belonging that involves the whole community.

Explore Further

Lajamanu / Milpirri Home Page

Iconic Tracks Works

Eras of Youth Dance

Full list of Milpirri/Lajamanu performances and projects

A really important part of the Milpirri performance is the music. It captures the themes and stories of each year, knowledge of the elders and voices of the community while providing the beats for the youth dancers. In April/May 2020 our Milpirri music wizards Marc Peckham (aka Monkey Marc) and Rob Tremlett (aka Mantra) are teaming up to develop the soundtrack for Milpirri Yinapaka.

Not even Covid-19 restrictions can slow down this duo. Bridging distance and culture with technology; phone calls, virtual meetings and hours of creativity, the magic is flying between Melbourne, Lajamanu and Darwin (more than 4000 km) as the soundtrack is taking shape. We can't wait to hear the finished creation.

Tracks asked Marc & Rob more about their role in the making and producing of the Milpirri Soundtracks:

Pre the disruptions of COVID-19, what were you working on as an artist?
Monkey: Pre Covid 19 I was working on a full length solo album with 21 Jamaican artists and myself. I was also recording and mastering Mantra's new album (which is awesome) plus I had been involved in documenting indigenous stories in the Collingwood/Fitzroy area for an interactive multimedia App due for release next year.

How did you get involved in making the Milpirri soundtrack?
Monkey: I had heard about Milpirri through my previous work in Lajamanu with the Mt Theo/Wydac Organisations. I was doing workshops both in Lajamanu, Nyrippi and Yuendumu plus was working with Steve Patrick on some of those projects. After I found out about Milpirri and Tracks through Steve, I knew I had to get involved somehow. Luckily for me I caught up with Tim and David in Lajamanu whilst I was on another project out there many years ago and I guess the rest is history.

Mantra: I had been working with Monkey Marc for a number of years and had always been interested in the work he was doing in remote communities. When he was given the opportunity to work on the Milpirri soundtrack in 2014, he put me forward as someone he would like to collaborate with and I jumped at the chance.

What are the unique elements of working on the Milpirri soundtrack - i.e. how is it different to your other musical work?...or is it different?
Mantra: We work with elders within Lajamanu to help to tell traditional dreaming stories in a new way. We are so lucky to gain such detailed insights into these rich, deep and culturally significant stories. We then work alongside members of the community to ensure the stories are being told in a respectful and accurate way, in-line with their original meaning.

Highlight of working on the Milpirri soundtrack?
Mantra: Learning so much about Warlpiri culture and tradition, and the incredible storytelling which is so integral to it.

Monkey: Hmmm. So many highlights. I think the recording I did of Jerry Jungala and the music I wrote for it for the intro to the 2016 Milpirri was a really unique moment and a passionate call out for Warlipirri people young and old. I felt blessed to have caught that recording and was very moved by Jerry's sentiment in it. As far as dancers go I have to say that any of the songs and dances for the really little kids is always a highlight for me. So many smiles...

Lowlights of working on the Milpirri soundtrack?
Mantra: I wouldn't say there are any lowlights. But there are challenges for sure. It can be quite an emotional time, living amongst the community and seeing some of the issues people living there are facing on a daily basis. The divides between white and indigenous Australians are starkly visible, which can be confronting. As challenging as this can be, I'm extremely grateful for what it has taught me, and the opportunity to work alongside this incredible community.

Monkey: Working with Rob aka Mantra... ha.. just kidding!!! There are no lowlights. I just have to shout out to my musical collaborator Mantra who is the best guy to have on the job. Such a great asset to the team. Top shelf material.

Do you have a favourite Milpirri soundtrack and why?

Mantra: I love them all but if I had to pick a favourite it would be Milpirri 2016. This was my second time working on the soundtrack and by this time I had a better understanding of Lajamanu and the mob there. We had built strong relationships with a number of people there, so there was a greater sense of trust in what we were doing, both from the community and ourselves. This led to a deeper sense of confidence and understanding which I think is present in the recordings we made.

 

An Outing of Dance videos

Tracks Dance Company is delighted to be part of the 2020 virtual Nightcliff Seabreeze Festival. Jess Devereux and Kelly Beneforti (Tracks Dance Animateurs) have curated a selection of dance films to binge on from the comfort of your home! Featuring some much-loved local dancers, sites and sounds. Scroll down to uncover the films. Enjoy!

To Sand, 2012

From the lush gardens at Frog’s Hollow, to the shallows and sands at Mindil Beach. This film, as part of the 2012 Choreographic Program unfolds to reveal creatures, moving in banyan trees, on the lawns and around the garden. Each performer designed their own fashion from the Tracks costume room. Drawing on visual trickery, using mirrors and reflected light, this film will take you visually from sunrise to sunset, and inward expression to outward energy! The amazing dancers featured are listed on the Vimeo link once you click through.

Big Dance - Darwin CBD, 2018

Filmed from many fascinating perspectives of the West Lane Carpark in Darwin’s CBD, this version of Big Dance was performed by Tracks Dance Company, made up of a wonderful mass group of young local dance artists, Casuarina Senior College and Darwin High School participants, and the Grey Panthers. Specially mounted for International Dance Day 2018. Big Dance began in the UK and has spread internationally to involve entire global communities, encouraging fun through dance. Choreography by Australian dance artists Frances Rings and Craig Barry.

Aquarium, 2014 

Like fish moving with ease through water, so do the human dancing forms in this film… in and around the incredible venue that is the Aquarium at the Territory Wildlife Park, Berry Springs. With a curious and evocative use of double exposure video and moody backlighting, this dance film by Zoe Scoglio and Jess Devereux is sparkly, shadowy and experimental, with cameos by local fish, turtles and crocs! How precious nature is! Let this film wash over you like a wave, and perhaps inspire some reflection on humankind's relationship to the natural world. As part of the 2014 Choreographic Program, the amazing dancers featured in this video are listed on the Vimeo link once you click through.

Gökotta and a collection of small things, 2019

Gökotta is a Swedish word, which means “to rise at dawn in order to go out and listen to the birds sing” Here is some beautiful documentation footage of a dance experiment choreographed by Seabreeze heros Anokai Susi and Bryn Wackett, performed by Maari Gray, Sheila Rose and CJ Fraser Bell in the 2019 Choreographic Program. Nature mends broken hearts, cluttered minds and troubled souls. An experiment with nature. An immersion, a replacement and a journey.

Explore more videos from the Tracks 30 year archive.
All Tracks works

Company Partners

Tracks Inc is assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body; and is proudly sponsored by the Northern Territory Government.

Tracks 2020

Artistic Co-Directors: David McMicken and Tim Newth
Company Director: Adelaide Wood
Administrator: Jessica Mellor
Production Manager: Duane Preston
Dance Animateurs: Kelly Beneforti and Jess Devereux
Bookkeeper: It Figures

Committee Members: Venaska Cheliah (Chairperson), Andrea Wicking (Vice Chairperson), Glenn Bernardin (Treasurer), David Taylor, Michael Grant, Ken Conway, Max Dewa Stretton, Rachael Wallis. David McMicken, Tim Newth, Adelaide Wood (Ex-Officio Members)

Public Fund Trustees: Maari Gray, Will Crawford and Lachlan Peattie

Patron: Her Honour the Honourable Vicki O’Halloran AM, Administrator of the Northern Territory