Body as Country: Creative movement workshop

This two hour-long creative movement workshop facilitated by Mitch King and Tess Eckert invites participants of all ages to explore movements inspired by the elements that make up our inner and outer landscapes. This workshop will include guided visualisations and fun creative games and tasks using the elements of dance (space, shape/gesture, time, emotion, story) to explore the elements of water, earth, air, fire, and the animal body to reconnect through our bodies to country. Open to all ages and abilities. No prior dance experience needed. Children under 13 years old must be accompanied by a guardian. Please wear clothing that is comfortable to move in, a water bottle, a journal, an open mind and curious body!   

Tuesday 28 January 2025 

4.00pm - 6.00pm 

Event Space, Lismore Regional Gallery

11 Rural Street, Lismore

Free. Places are limited and registrations are essential.

Please get in touch with us at livinglabnr@scu.edu.au or on 02 6626 9188 if you have any accessibility requirements that you want to discuss with us.

Disclaimer: We may take photographs at this event for promotional purposes. Please let us know if you wish not to be photographed. 

About Mitch King

Mitch King, is a performing artist, creative producer, and a proud Yaegl & Widjabul Wia-bul man from the Bundjalung nation on the east coast of Australia. His main disciplines are music, theatre, and dance - he loves telling stories through sound, movement and film. 

About Tess Eckert

Tess Eckert is a Scape-artist, expressive arts activist, facilitator,and student of life. That is to say, she is fascinated by creatively exploring the relationship between our diverse inner and outer landscapes via contemporary dance, poetry, sound, and mixed-media. Tess utilises the language of dance/movement and somatic arts for community building, healing, and social justice. Eckert is a descendent of U.S. First Nation’s, German and Swedish ancestors. Having migrated to the Bundjalung Nation/Northern Rivers 12 years ago from the Rocky Mountains of North America, central to Eckert’s collaborations is an investigation of how to create a sense of belonging and connection to our inner and outer worlds, with the aim of opening up possibilities for healthier ways of being, relating and moving.

Tess is a co-founding member of The Third Space (formerly Flow Collective Studio) and The Third Collective in Lismore, NSW, which is an emerging dance artist-led initiative and studio whose purpose is to promote community well-being and creative ingenuity by connecting diverse people and artists from the region through the shared language of dance, creative expression and somatic practices. She holds a Masters of Social Work with a concentration in American Indian Studies from Washington University, St. Louis and a BA in interdisciplinary studies from the California Institute of Integral Studies. Eckert’s artistic practice is strongly informed by many years training in contemporary dance, contact improvisation, 5 rhythms, BodyWeather and community building. 

This workshop is part of Tracing the Past, Shaping the Future Exhibition. This exhibit contrasts the Bundjalung people's Country-centred worldview with today’s Eurocentric approaches, examining changes in our physical environment from pre-colonial times to now. Through the lens of plant communities, we invite you to reflect on how we can learn from the past to guide our stewardship of the land moving forward. 

5 Nov 24 — 6 Feb 25 

Tue-Thu, 1-4pm (closed from 20 Dec 2024, reopening Tue 14 Jan)

11 Woodlark St, Lismore

Find out more at https://www.llnr.com.au/tracing-the-past-shaping-the-future.