Travelling Pathways: A choreographic journey with loss, grief and hope

Abstract

This photographic essay outlines the choreographic journey to develop "Pathway", a creative response to place, to the environment, to landscapes of the heart on the south-east coast of New South Wales. Prompted initially by the opportunity to participate in the Bundian Way Arts Exchange, the dance was also a response to loss and grief as a result of Black Summer. The essay also explores a sense of belonging to place and connecting to Country as a non-Indigenous Australia. The improvisational process ultimately drew on stories shared through the arts exchange and from friends affected by Black Summer, my own long term connection to the south coast, and additional research. I also sought to sense the living intelligence of Country; to mindfully centre place as the source material of perception and dialogue through movement. In creating 'Pathway’ I was fortunate to travel lines of connectedness, to people and place, both recent and longer term that nurtured hope and renewal. Show more