Held annually over three weeks in Adelaide in spring, the OzAsia Festival showcases Australia’s leading contemporary arts festival engaging with Asia. The extensive program includes theatre, dance, music, visual arts, literature, food and cultural events from countries such as Japan, Korea, China, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Denmark, India, Indonesia, Iran, Latvia, Malaysia, Singapore, Syria, the United States, Israel, Thailand, the United Kingdom, France, The Philippines and Australia.
Included in this year's program are two fascinating dance offerings: Gudirr Gudirr and The Long Walk.
Guddirr Gudirr is a solo by Dalisa Pigram, a Yawuru and Bardi woman with Malay and Filipino heritage based in Broome. The solo is named after a small bird that warns that the tide is turning. It is described as "equal parts hesitant, restless, resilient and angry", and "a warning to a community facing massive industrialisation on traditional lands, loss of language, and major gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous wellbeing". Belgian choreographer Koen Augustijnen and Aboriginal artist Vernon Ah Kee are among the collaborators. The four performances will be held at the Space Theatre.
The Long Walk is a drone recording, to be streamed in a one-off presentation at the Space Theatre. It is inspired by the more than 6000 Chinese who, avoiding the Chinese Immigrant Act of the 1850s that restricted their entry to Australia, landed in South Australia and made the over 400 kilometre trek to the goldfields of Victoria. Performed by Australia-Asian dancers Kimball Wong and Julian Renlong Wong, Healey’s new work reveals split-second decision-making between drone pilot, director, musician and performer as they perform on Robe's rugged, yet beautiful coastline.
The screening will be paired with Healey's Weerewa on October 23 at 4pm.
For the full program, go here.