Ode to the Earth

Ode to the Earth 

Choreographed and performed by Grace White and Scotia Taylor

Join us for a showing of the new contemporary dance performance, 'Ode to the Earth'.

'Ode to the Earth’ is a dance of desire to clearly see and hear the pulse and vibration of life. Grace and Scotia dance through the mist of our numbness, asking what is the thread that guides us back to the truth? How can we remember the stories of the land as inextricably connected to our bodies? What makes our cells sing?

This project has been supported by Paddy Pallin. 

Date and Time
Saturday August 10, 7:00pm-8:00pm

Location
Wentworth Falls School of Arts (217-219 Great Western Hwy, Wentworth Falls NSW 2782)

About the Artists

Grace White

Grace is a contemporary dance artist who seeks to live through and spread messages from the heart. Grace's dance practice is deeply informed by an understanding of critical thinking. Grace is fascinated by how movement has the potential to incite social change and touch hearts, with particular interests in ecological philosophy, feminism and gender studies, and embracing life with an open heart. Grace’s solo dance work, Home is an Open Heart, was selected for the WAAPA X Bunbury Fringe Festival Graduate residency. Grace has collaborated with artists of all kinds, including, visual artists, actors, writers, animators, scenographers, and musicians; and she has most recently delved into the transdisciplinary practice of physical theatre and dance theatre. Key works Grace has performed in thus far, include Chants de Marriage by Meryl Tankard (2022, Perth), A Surrender to Small Humanness by Ben Wright (2023, Berlin), All Bodies Just One Body by Gina Tay Limpus (2022, Brisbane), and in Sydney’s VIVID Festival with Unite Play Perform (2023). Grace performed in the IndepenDANCE Project with Phluxus2 Dance Collective in 2020, 2021, and 2022, and choreographed therein in 2023. 

Scotia Taylor

Scotia is passionate about working in and with nature, the land, sky, water, and air, and being a part of caring for healthy land and community. She completed a Bachelor of Science (Major in Ocean and Coastal Sciences, Minor in Ecology and Conservation) at The University of Queensland, concluding in 2023. Scotia believes we are inexplicably connected and intertwined with these ecosystems, and understanding this is vital to caring for land, community, and our own bodies. She sees dance, movement, and creativity as integral parts of life, where stories can be told, beliefs can be challenged, and un-language-able things can be expressed. Scotia has performed in the IndepenDANCE project with Brisbane-based Phluxus2 Dance Collective in 2021 and 2022, in Anywhere Theatre Festival (Brisbane) 2022, performing ‘Winds of Wall Street’ directed by Kate Utting, in Brisbane Fringe Festival 2022, and performing ‘A love letter from frozen peas’ directed by Juno Toraiwa. Additionally, Scotia collaborated with Grace White, developing the work ‘Home is an Open Heart’ for Bunbury Fringe Festival. Scotia has participated in the following scientific research projects: a short research project on Heron Island looking at coral dwelling gobies, sediment analysis in the intertidal flats at Moreton Bay Research Centre and radio tracking Bettongs in Mildura.

Content Warnings
Sensitive and potentially triggering themes partaking to personal, environmental, and socio-political grief

Accessibility
The Wentworth Falls School of Arts Theatre is wheelchair accessible. 

Image Credit: Grace and Scotia (pictured). Photographed by Moby Preen.