Give Me a Microphone & Some Warm Bodies 2025

Give Me a Microphone and Some Warm Bodies is a reimagined program designed to nurture and support recently graduated artists. This initiative provides a structured mentorship within the CoExist community, guiding participants through the full process of creating a choreographic work - from initial concept to final performance. 

Selected artists worked over four months alongside the CoExist team to develop their choreographic skills. Their commitment, creative vulnerability, and openness to the process has culminated in an incredible performance season.

Give Me a Microphone & Some Warm Bodies 2025 Presents:

Oppy

Choreographed by Miki L Rolton | Performed by Bree Lyddieth, India Stewart-Williams, and Chloe Disauro | Sound Design by Tom Hobbins

Thin air, howling wind, shadows… the dust infiltrates everything in winter.

Searching wheels roamed the red dot in our sky for 5111 days as we give autonomy to metal and wires. Tracks in the ground leave behind whispers of adventure. We applaud. We weep. Our creation, sent with a death date, sacrificed for a cosmic frame of reference.

Our Opportunity, tucked under a blanket of red dust, still rests.

Fermata

Choreographed by Ashleigh Furniss | Performed by Iskha Meave, Francesca Grande, Mila Odea, Zahra Omar, Eilish Fry, and Tori Watanabi | Sound Design by Varuni Lila

Hold, pause.

Fermata explores the uncertainty of stillness and its duration. In this piece, the dancers delve into the anxiety of the unknown and the pressure they feel to move, to perform, to do something - anything. A Fermata, in music, signals a pause; taking the moment to slow down, breathe and reflect. During this rest, will you grasp onto what was, or will you become the composer of the life you want to lead?

Soft Belly in the Shell

Choreographed by Hannah Vella | Performed by Madeleine Moloney, Riley Okely, Brianna Lyddieth, and Ayva Duddington | Sound Design by Xavier Rako

Soft Belly in the Shell is a contemporary dance work inspired by hermit crabs. Performed by four dancers, it explores the space between protection and exposure, permanence and change. The movement follows bodies as they shift, grow and leave behind what no longer fits. Always seeking, never still.

Sediment

Choreographed by Amélie Logan | Performed by Opal Russell, Chiharu Valentino, Erin Taube, Minami Kurota, and Jake Ware | Costume Design by Lucy Mills

Sediment unfolds as a world of its own, an environment shaped by restless energy. Inspired by the hidden architectures of microorganisms and natural systems, it conjures a landscape where bodies move like living matter: layering, breaking apart, and reforming in endless cycles. The work traces how patterns emerge, dissolve, and reassemble into new structures, generating a continuous process of world-building. What emerges is an ecosystem alive, unstable and perpetually evolving.

Bind

Choreographed by Phoebe Allen & Emily Bourke | Performed by Hunter Mains, Lily Hinson, Phoebe Allen & Emily Bourke | Sound Design by Oscar Langford

An exploration of femininity as a force forming power, unity, fragility and vulnerability - forces that both bind and unsettle us. Studying the boundaries of femininity through universal bonds and collective division. An abstract work that captures the essence of a collective through physical, energetic, emotional and social influences.

Seaspell

Choreographed by Sam Lipkin | Performed by Kiara Neeves, Scarlett Nash & Greta Stewart

In Seaspell, the sirens represent feminine power, mixing attraction with danger. Their smooth, mesmerizing dances pull viewers into a trance, like the ocean's depths. Each movement is calculated and seductive, drawing men to their destruction. The dancers create a chaotic scene, like whirlpools of obsession, trapping both themselves and their victims. Yet, within their seductive dance, there is also a quiet, delicate grace, reflecting the calm before a storm. Their gentle movements hint at a hidden, subtle strength that is both peaceful and frightening. The sirens are more than just temptresses; they embody nature's most dangerous and beautiful forces, casting a spell that both captivates and destroys, leaving behind wonder and devastation.

Give Me a Mic 2025 has been proudly supported by Transit Dance & Creeping Cat. Thank you for everything - this project wouldn't be a reality without you.

Produced by Tenae Smith

Creative Direction by Byron Jay & Kristen Cafari

Videography by Alec Katsourakis

Photography by Alex Katsourakis & Avril Eatherley

Poster Design by Tenae Smith

Production & Lighting Design by Kristen Cafari