Illawarra Dance Portraits
Illawarra Dance Portraits is a series of bite-sized videos that celebrate dance practice within the Illawarra / Shoalhaven region. From current professional performers / choreographers and ex-professionals to those that have never stepped foot inside a studio and much in between, these videos look at people for whom dance is a central part of life, and the places they inhabit.
Choreography by the dancers
These works were created on Tharawal and Yuin land. Proper Motion would like to pay respect to elders past, present and emerging, and thank them for their ongoing and unwavering commitment to the care of their country.
The creation of these videos was made possible by a Merrigong Theatre Company 2020 Reboot grant.
Emmanuele Bettari
“I saw these guys make their legs fly in Breakdance, and it was so different from anything I had seen. I was really little and this image of the legs flying really made me want to transform my body in that way. It was in my hometown, a little industrial city in Italy. Kind of like Wollongong. I started doing breakdancing on a Friday night.
I moved to go to university and did some hip hop classes. In drama school my movement teacher saw me improvise in class and she encouraged me to come to her school where I started doing some ballet and contemporary dance classes. I was about 23 or 24. My background is in theatre not dance. I don’t consider myself a dancer. But in the body through movement I feel I can express myself in a more honest and spontaneous way.
After studying I travelled through Europe and found that dance was an international language. I did workshops like Gaga and with different choreographers. Sometimes choreographers liked me because I don’t have training and my movement is more genuine, but then they’ll ask me to learn a long sequence of movement and that is hard for me. I learnt from a choreographer in Italy that it’s not about finding the right job or right audition or building a name for yourself, it’s about finding a sense of your practice. You know, wake up in the morning and just do your stuff, find your questions and trust what you do.
A friend was living here (The Outlook, a shared accommodation building in Austinmer) and I was looking for a place so I decided to move here. It’s an artistic community. Because I’m travelling, sometimes you forget how important it is to find the right people for you. It’s good to have experiences like working on a farm and doing fencing like I did, but you’re not with your people. The thing I really love about this place is that you can feel free to try stuff even if you really don’t know how to do it. You feel free to learn. And it’s close to the beach!”
Jessica Hewett
“I was a gymnast. A lot of gymnasts learn dancing as they go into the higher levels to develop their artistic ability. So I joined Thirroul Dance Academy where I did all my dance training up until I was around fifteen. Although I was succeeding more as a gymnast than a dancer I just loved dancing more. Because I did gymnastics from such a young age I’ve always had a muscular build. I think that’s helped me with my dance career though. When you’re little you don’t necessarily want to look fragile. You want to look strong and move in a big and expansive way.
I did workshops for three years with Austinmer Dance Theatre. When I was fifteen (director) Michelle Forte offered me an apprenticeship and I’ve been with the company ever since. I teach at Thirroul Dance Academy now and pass on my love of contemporary dance to other students. I feel very lucky that every opportunity I’ve been offered has been in the Illawarra.
I have moderate scoliosis which has become more severe as time has gone on. They said it had probably developed from doing gymnastics and training on one side as well as the constant impact on the spine. Other people have bigger problems in the world so I’ve just got to get on with things and adapt to it. When the love for dance is no longer greater than the pain, that’s probably when I’ll say maybe that’s enough now. I know that day will probably come and that’s why I’m looking at the choreographic path for the future.
I’ve lived on Buttenshaw Drive forever and our place backs right onto the bush. I could never live anywhere where there was no ocean and no bush. They’ve always been a part of where I live and who I am. When we were kids we’d take our backpacks, our food for the day and some toilet paper and say “see you mum!” Given the way the world is progressing with consumerism and climate change, having access to the bush is just so humbling and calming.”
Opal Russell
“I think I annoyed my parents too much as I would break the blinds and stuff by dancing in my room. I actually wanted to be a famous popstar but I didn’t have the voice for that so I did dancing.
I did the whole ballet thing and got a little bit too obsessive so took a break. At school I did a workshop with a contemporary (dance) artist and fell in love with movement that is free.
I really like making solo work, and designing the space and everything that surrounds the performance. I want to be able to build entire worlds.
This place is called Bombo quarry and when I had to return home because of COVID I would come down here to have a little sob and a little quiet movement meditation by the ocean.”
Bubblez
"I travelled overseas with my family to Vietnam and one of my close relative's friends took me out to a park jam and there were some local street kids just jamming out in the carpark. I was mesmerised. I was just like, "How do you do that!?" So then I came back to Australia and I was you-tubing, trying to find some dance moves.
I started late, and in High School some of my friends introduced me to some electronic dances like shuffling. One of my friends recommended I do a class. "I went to Brooke who's at Street Beatz Hip Hop Wollongong. I was in Port Kembla and she was in Balgownie so I trekked it over. I thought I was the coolest guy in the world. Big headphones, big baggy shirt, big baggy jeans. She looked at me and says, "I don't know if he's gonna last long". But I've never stopped since and it's just changed the way I've been.
In terms of pursuing it professionally, after a few years I knew it was just something I wanted to do. It was a lot of hard work but the opportunities slowly came. I was very much into that battle culture. I was enjoying that energy and just wanted to chase that feeling.
Globe Lane is relevant because it's actually one of the first places we came after training if we wanted to practice or prepare for a showcase because we didn't have access to any facilities. We all lived in different areas so this place was quite easy. There is a glass window down there and it was the only place we could see our reflection, so it was a sort of a meeting point. It's also a nice flat surface to dance on and it brings back a lot of memories."
Pete Worboys
“I might have been in sixth class. I went to my first disco. I had no idea what to expect or what to do. I just remember the DJ said, “Righto, for the next dance we’re going to give out a prize.” And I just went crazy. Then sure enough I won the prize.
When I was in my 20’s I started doing a lot of yoga. I really loved the strength that yoga gave me. I was also doing a bit of martial arts, and I was doing a lot of nature based, healing shamanic work. It all seemed to fit together into the dance. This notion of connection came through the dance. Not only did I feel the music, I felt my energy kept going into the earth, kept going into the sky, kept going around me, and kept going to the other people on the dance floor.
Eventually I went in the early 2000’s and took some contact improv classes in Newtown. That just took me to a whole other level with my visceral awareness around dance.
Overall, it’s about getting out of my head, getting into my body.
Not so much at the moment, but with my old job, dance was part of my morning routine. I’d get up, put the headphones on, do a bit of yoga, a bit of dancing. Only about twenty minutes. It’s not complicated. You have to let go of any outcome. It’s just dancing for dancing’s sake. There’s been no aspirations for it to be anything else really. These days it’s just here with the kids.
Gerroa is a place I go surfing. There are three breaks there. One thing I like about it is that you can have a fire. We often take the kids there. It’s never crowded, it’s never busy. It’s a regular.”
Aviva Sheb’a
“Mum knew dancing lessons would be really good for me, but I came from a very religious Jewish household and Dad was dead against it. When I was eight I had an asthma attack that nearly killed me. The doctor said to Mum, "If she survives this one you’re really going to have to do something." Physiotherapy had failed. Swimming lessons had failed. Mum put her foot down and said to Dad, “Well what do you want? Ballet, or a religious corpse.”
I turned eighteen in the thick of the Vietnam war, on tour as a flamenco dancer and, to my great embarrassment, a go-go dancer. Touring through this entire war zone was terribly traumatizing.
When I came back from Vietnam nobody would allow me to talk about anything. I didn’t even have the vocabulary for what I’d seen. I had all this stuff in me that had to come out somehow. I started combining my dance and singing techniques, like a partnership. That’s how Vocal Dance began. I’ve since taught it to thousands of others. In the time I was living in Amsterdam, between 1976 and 1985, I taught a lot of Vocal Dance. That’s where I coined the term.
Over thirty years later, in NSW, I was homeless, desperate, sick and malnourished. My teeth were falling apart. Physically and psychologically wrecked. Recently, I was talking to a woman about homelessness. She said, “Oh well it’s made you strong. It’s made you the woman you are.” I said, “No!! That’s absolutely wrong. It prevented me from being the woman I am. It made me ill. Physically, mentally, emotionally, financially. It’s being housed for ten years now, and having an easier life where I’m not constantly stressed about housing, not constantly looking for somewhere to live, where I know I can be myself. My creativity is coming back. I haven’t yet recovered from being homeless. If artists have made good work, and they’ve suffered, it’s not good because they’ve 'had to suffer'. They’ve suffered, yet they’ve still managed to make work. How much more wonderful might that work have been if they’d not suffered? I know what I’m doing now is so much better than anything I’ve done before, and that’s because I have a home.”
Ethan Green
“I started to dance when I was ten. I did ballet with Joanne Grace. We did the end of year concert here (Illawarra Performing Arts Centre). When I was twelve we went on a tour to Disneyland.
I danced with Dream Big Team. We did all different stuff like hip-hop and tap.
I started acting when I was in school. I did some school musicals. I started doing drama here and now I am in the Strangeways Ensemble with Anne-Louise Rentell (director). We did the show Trash Talk and rehearsed fight scenes. I was a comic relief guy.
I think I’d be really bored if I didn’t do dance or drama.
Being onstage is really good because I’m not so shy. I’m really the type of guy that loves to be on stage. It feels like living the dream.”
India Stewart
“My cousin was dancing at Joanne Grace School of Dance and I thought, I’d like to go and give that a try, as I always looked up to her. I made all of these really good friends and had all this passion for it. I just kept going. I guess I was just going through the motions and I didn’t really want to stop. I realised about five years ago that this is really what I want to do.
I struggled at at school because I wasn’t smart like other kids. I supposed that’s when I realised I could do dance full-time. School wasn’t for me.
We had (choreographer) Tim Podesta come when I was studying full-time dance. He invited me to come down to Wodonga where his company Projection Dance worked from. So I lived there for 2 1/2 years. We went to Africa to Ethiopia and did galas over there. I got to work with dancers from overseas, Wayne MacGregor’s dancers. It was a really great opportunity for me.
During COVID I’ve had to come back home. Back to my roots. Right now, on this rooftop you can see the mountain, the ocean and all the buildings of Wollongong city. This is just home for me. Whenever I’m away all I can think about is coming back here and going to the ocean and being on the coast. Even though we’re in the city there’s so many quiet places.”
Zoë Brown
“I grew up in Helensburgh. It is very homey. To be an artist is to not always be comfortable. I love learning new ideas and concepts. My teacher recommended I go to a workshop for the Victorian College of the Arts. The way the students moved was so inspiring. Like there was no limitations. It was such a beautiful environment. I felt like this was where I needed to be. This was a place I could grow as a woman and as an indigenous woman. I should be there now, but I am home because of COVID.
I started dancing classes to prepare for my year 7 audition for Wollongong High School of Performing Arts. Because I was a First Nations dancer I was very different. Especially at high school it felt really hard to be my own dancer. When you’re in a class with people with a crazy amount of talent with amazing legs and able to do tricks I thought how can I call myself a dancer? I put a lot of pressure on myself to be like everyone else. Katie from Thirroul Dance Academy has given me so much confidence to be myself. In my senior years I worked out that I would benefit most from being the best version of myself and not trying to be like everyone else. I have a lot of passion, dedication and commitment. VCA has also taught me that dance is more than just the visual aspect. You have to have the creative mindset, the passion and the willingness to be open minded.
I used to come here (Bald Hill) after school all the time. I think it’s important to engage with this kind of scenery because it really gives some warmth to your body. Allowing the wind to talk to you and caress you. It’s just a place of serenity”.
Helen Johnstone
“I’m pretty sure the story is I saw a picture of a ballerina in a magazine and told my mum I wanted to be like that. Now it’s developed into something I really want to do with my life.
Starting full-time dance studies here in Wollongong changed my life. I don’t think I’d be where I am without that level of training. After full-time I decided to go to the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds. I’m about to go into my second year of my Bachelor of Arts in contemporary dance. I just think it’s amazing I can get that level of qualification doing something I love so much.
COVID made me come home before my last term of first year, so that term was done through online learning. There were a couple of moments when I considered dropping out or deferring. I feel like those moments really solidified my purpose, that this is really what I want to do.
I definitely want to do more with contemporary dance and creating and choreographing movement, but I’d also like to explore things like musical theatre and other styles of dance.
This spot (Thirroul Beach) is where I always come to just breathe. reset and just be by myself.”
Viji Venkat, Rithika Yanamandram and Rohit Kumar Yanamandram
Viji: “My mum is a classical dancer, she does Bharatanatyam. My sister and I learnt from her. When I had children I hoped some inspiration would rub off on to them.
I’ve seen it all change over the years. What I do with my students at Bollywood Exclusive Dance School is expose them to the basics of classical training. I have young students my daughter’s age and for them I fuse the classical with more contemporary styles to keep it fun. Wollongong has a strong Indian community so I need to keep a balance between tradition and the modern. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn’t. Parents want children to learn the cultural values. Dancing is one of the ways we teach about our culture and tradition. So I’m trying to do this and also meet the children’s needs and desires. I have the classical background and my daughter brings the more contemporary values. We work as a team.”
Rithika: “When I was three my mum put me in Kazzajazz Modern Dance Studio. I do Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Contemporary, Lyrical, Hip Hop and Musial Theatre. I’ve done Broadway, Afro-jazz and Bollywood. I dance because it’s such a free way to express your emotions. It’s fun, it just makes me happy.”
Rohit: ”I like hip hop because it’s cool and you can get out your energy.”
Viji: “Stuart Park is a brilliant place for families. The beautiful scenery connects us to the land and sea. Wollongong was the first place I came when I left India. I lived in Sydney for a while but my mind was always here. We made a decision to move back to have a family. I just spread my wings in Wollongong and haven’t stopped flying.”.
Susan Kennedy
“When I was in fourth grade we moved to Canberra. I went to a little Catholic school and for PE Helen Cameron would do creative movement with us. That was where my absolute love of expressing myself physically began. It really is a happy place.
As an actor, again what I loved was theatre that was more movement based. I went and trained with Suzuki in Japan. I did corporeal mime and a lot of theatre sports because it was very physical. About six years ago I got together with some of the people I did the corporeal mime with and we started our little company Ellipsis Movement Theatre. Since then I’ve been much more proactive about exploring that (movement) side of my theatre work. Around about the same time I started doing aerial work which kind of ticks all the boxes for me.
We lived in Helensburgh for thirteen years which is the longest I’ve ever lived anywhere. We would come down here (Coledale Camping Reserve) and camp for the weekend. We had some momentous occasions here, like the time we got blown away in the middle of the night and had to drive home at three in the morning. My mum and dad would bring their caravan down. We had lots of birthdays here. My husband and I had our 40th birthdays here and our daughter had her 18th here in the club. We used to think it was a bit of a joke that we came here being so close. But now I’m back and I just look at the surroundings and think wow we were so lucky to have what felt like an absolute escape only twenty minutes from home. The sea and the escarpment are so close, and there’s a real sense of fitting, belonging and being protected by the environment.”
Lucy Angel
“I actually started dancing because I had a speech impediment when I was really young and my way of communicating would be through movement. For example my sister would be singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and I would be doing the hand actions. My mum took me to the doctor and he told her to put me into dancing. From there it just blossomed. As soon as I get into the studio and put music on I just lose myself.
My first serious move with regard to dancing was leaving school at fifteen to dance full-time at Joanne Grace School of Dance. I knew that this was what I needed to do to excel. Then I went to the Sarasota Ballet in Florida as a trainee. My experience there helped shape me into who I am now and thickened my skin a lot.
Towradgi Beach is where I like to run. I just love the feeling with your feet on the sand and the sound of the waves. I let go of all the bad stuff. It’s kind of special. We’re so lucky to live so close to places like this.”
Sophie
“I like to dance because I make friends, I learn how to twirl and it makes me happy. I started Ready Set Dance at Joanne Grace School of Dance. My favourites are Jazz and Ballet.
This place (Bellambi Lagoon) is special because it’s where we brought our dog Lola before she died.”
Jasmin Lassila
“My earliest memory of dance is doing a ballet class at age five. I think I was doing it because my friends were doing it. I remember “good toes and bad toes (laughs).
I did a lot of years of bellydance. It was something I kept coming back to. Every time I’d hear the music in class it felt like home.
I picked up martial arts and did Taekwondo for many years and got a black belt. Although I haven’t done a lot of dance classes continuously through my life, in martial arts there’s the learning of choreography and the improvisation in the sparring, the trusting in your body.
Later I did some dance therapy and that just opened up this space inside of me that I always had and always connected to, but suddenly I could own it more. I never asked anybody what my dancing looked like because it didn’t matter. If it felt beautiful it was. Although there is always a little part of you that hopes it looks good. To be able to move and trust my body was huge. Surrendering and going to a place that was so deep. It’s very special.
Gheera (Mount Keira) has always been special to my heart and has been part of many special times in my life. When I married my wife the mountain was sitting looking over us. Our daughter’s middle name is Keira for the mountain. I only learned about this place (Illawarra Rhododendron Gardens) in the last couple of years and couldn’t believe I didn’t know of it sooner!”
