SILENCE breaks the silence
Karul Projects will perform for the first time at the Pilbeam Theatre in September, with their latest work SILENCE.
Karul Projects is an emerging First Nations professional contemporary dance company based on Yugambeh Country, founded in 2017 by Thomas E.S. Kelly, Minjungbal-Yugambeh, Wiradjuri and Ni-Vanuatu, and Taree Sansbury, Kaurna, Narrunga and Ngarrindjerri.
SILENCE focuses on Australia being one of the only Commonwealth countries colonised by the British to not have a Treaty with the First Peoples of the Land.
The show explores a 250 year denial of ‘meaningful listening’ to First Nations people and the effect that this had had on the psyche of the people and the land.
“Through high intensity dance and live percussion, SILENCE pulls the unresolved conversations from under the rug and slams them back on the table,” Co-Artistic director Thomas E.S. Kelly said.
“SILENCE is about the conversations not being heard and the responses that are muted. Through the beating of a drum, bodies thrash through frequencies to uncover what lies in the silence,” he said.
“Karul Projects’ main aim is to tell stories of Indigenous knowledge and its relevance and responsibility in modern and future Australia’s identity,” he said.
“‘Karul’ is a Yugambeh word which means ‘everything’. The company is so named because Karul Projects to does everything it can to strengthen and empower the cultural knowledge of this land so future generations of any background can continue to learn from and enjoy Aboriginal Australia’s rich heritage,” he said.
“SILENCE is an entry point to the complex political environment we find ourselves in. It is a powerful contemporary dance performance featuring seven performers on a minimalist set with evocative lighting. The complex musical score, punctuated by dynamic live percussion from Jhindu-Pedro Lawrie, explores past, present, alternate realities and dreamscapes. The entire stage is slowly engulfed in dirt, representing the worldwide call for the return of Indigenous Lands,” Mr Kelly said.
“SILENCE breaks the silence.”
Age suitability: 12+
SILENCE is produced by BlakDance and this tour has received financial assistance from the Queensland Government through the Arts Queensland’s Touring Queensland Fund. The premiere production was co-commissioned by BlakDance, HOTA Home of the Arts, City of Gold Coast, Queensland Performing Arts Centre and Brisbane Festival, with support by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body and the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.
SILENCE is presented by Rockhampton Regional Council, and will be performed at the Pilbeam Theatre on Thursday 15 September at 7.30pm.
