Nic Lyne & Sam Menzies
Nic Lyne grew up in the Northern Rivers and then travelled intensively in her 20’s and again with her young children. In 2012 she joined the Darwin Dance Collective and fell in love with the dance community, experimenting in contact improv, authentic movement and random Darwin festival amateur shows. She discovered conscious dance through a Dancing Freedom workshop in Costa Rica in 2015 and begun a deep healing journey and found spirit medicine she could return again and again. In 2017 she returned to Byron Shire with her family and couldn’t find anywhere to dance with her children as she often solo parents. Nic felt called to do the facilitator training for Dancing Freedom in Australia in 2018 to offer family conscious dance. As her kids got older, she began experimenting and over the past 2 years she held them in spectacular outside locations and in co-creation with others. They have urged her to do more…especially Sam, her co-creator for this event and so be it!
Nic brings a diverse range of beats from across the planet and different chapters in her life. Music instilled from doof days in Byron as a teenager, drum and base basement parties in London, Latin, funk, dancehall, reggae vibes of her days in the Caribbean, Indigenous and world music from her multicultural life in Darwin and of course spiritual/conscious music pouring in from life in Costa Rica and Byron.
Beyond dance Nic Lyne interests are diverse and multi-layered. She is in her 4th year of study with Shakti University completing 'Feminine Medicine Coaching’ TM with Devashi Shakti. She is currently offering 1:1 support for nervous system nourishment for women as part of her training. Nic is also a high school teacher at Shearwater Steiner School in Mullumbimby and runs a booking biz for an off-grid adventure lodge in the Solomon Islands. Before children, Nic worked in communications, translations & events for Oxfam Australia, Applied Learning Teacher and in Community Development for migrant & refugee youth in Melbourne. She is a lover of dance, community building, inspiring education, human rights, multiculturalism and travel adventures that don't cost the earth.
Nic hopes to give people an opportunity to takes some time out and connect deeply with themselves and their community whether they are individuals, single parents or families. It is also a deep longing for her to have children participate in ceremonial dance to witness adults in their joy and sorrow and keep their own fire alight with dance and live music as medicine for now and into the future.
Sam Menzies intimately weaves guitar, marimba, percussion, and voice in a dynamic dance, rich in soul, funk, Latin and jazz. His music career began in 1996 as a ‘one-man-band’ in streets of Germany. Over the past 25 years, Sam has played at numerous venues and festivals throughout Australia and Europe, where he has performed in various bands and solo. . He currently lives in Murwillumbah with his wife and family, where he performs and teaches music at High School. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Composition (Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW), and a Diploma of Education (Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA)
Before kids Sam held live music ecstatic dance journeys in Melbourne with other musicians and is READY to offer it here. He LOVES to dance and grew up watching his parents and other families dancing all the time at the Ashram where he grew up. He believes that it inspired his deep love of music, singing and dance. Sam has been part of a co-created annual community campout offering music and song to families and is ready to collaborate on this project offering his gifts and passion for dance.
Sam desires more adult play and wishes to offer the music, dance and opportunity for children to see their parents in PLAY with others and not just in the role of parent and to hopefully inspire them in the many ways a community dance event can.