Wuyal - Sugarbag Man
Text
Nhulunbuy / Yirrkala/ Garramilla Darwin / Coomalie Region
Miku Performing Arts (Nhulunbuy/Yirrkala) and Tracks team up once again for a cross-cultural project with older adults in remote, rural and regional NT communities. Building on phase 1 of the development 'Dhangu Walu - In the Now,' the creative team use the themes of Wuyal (the ancestral Sugarbag Man) to develop shared choreography, dance, music and video stories as a way of generating engagement, sharing knowledge and connecting older adults.
This project is underpinned by months of dance classes and workshops with older adults and Elders in Nhulunbuy/Yirrkala, Darwin and Batchelor, building resilience through; connecting people, understanding culture as a valuable community resource, sharing knowledge and fostering a strong sense of place.
Embedded in this project is respectful two-way sharing and learning from the traditional stories of Wuyal - Sugarbag Man on the Gove Peninsula to the lived experience of life in a rural NT hamlet and a bustling regional city.
The physical act of coming together is key, primarily happening in each community through the dance classes/workshops and performances. It will also involve artists and cultural holders travelling between Nhulunbuy/Yirrkala, Batchelor and Darwin to share skills and knowledge, building a connection between people and place.
Artistic Team
David McMicken, Rachael Wallis, Banula Marika, Janet Munyarryun
Participants
Dancers in Nhulunbuy/Yirrkala, and The Grey Panthers in Darwin & Coomalie
Company Partners
Tracks Inc. is proudly sponsored by the Northern Territory Government.
Project Partner
Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal
Miku Performing Arts
Tracks 2023
Artistic Director: David McMicken
Associate Artistic Director: Jess Devereux
Creative Producer: Britt Guy
Production Manager: Duane Preston
Dance Animateurs: Kelly Beneforti and Steph Spillett
Administrator: Debbie Micairan
Bookkeeper: It Figures
Auditors: Brian Tucker Audit
Committee Members: Chairperson: Max Dewa Stretton. Treasurer: Glenn Bernardin. Ordinary Members: Andrea Wicking, David Taylor, Ken Conway, Lachlan Peattie, Rachael Wallis, Anna Lindsay, Venaska Cheliah. Ex-Officio: David McMicken
Public Fund Trustees: Maari Gray and Michael Grant
Company Partners
Tracks Inc. is proudly sponsored by the Northern Territory Government.