While it’s widely agreed that nothing is sacred these days, death is still a taboo subject for
many people; however, a new dance and sound performance from Tasmania’s Mature
Artists Dance Experience (MADE) in collaboration with Hobart’s Hospice volunteers may
be a less confronting way to approach this important topic.
Titled Family: a dance and sound performance about dying and living, the work has been
choreographed by 2011 Churchill Recipient and Artistic Director of MADE Glen Murray.
“FAMILY has been created from the premise that death is an essential element of life, and
that a community in fear and denial of death is a community in fear and denial of life,” he
said.
“More than anything, we want people to feel empowered and informed by this work.
“We hope to contribute to more open conversations in our community about death and
dying.”
In addition to the dance performance, Family: a dance and sound performance about
dying and living also incorporates a walk-through sound component of recorded
conversations with people who are preparing for death. The recordings
are empowering stories that have informed the creation of the dance work.
Family: a dance and sound performance about dying and living will be performed at
Hobart’s City Hall from the 26th through 29th of July, with tickets available from the
Theatre Royal Box Office and via phone: (03) 6233 2299.
Professor Michael Ashby, Director of Palliative Care for the Southern Area Health
Service and Royal Hobart Hospital will be providing an address following the
performance on Friday 27 July.
Patrons are advised that some of the stories within the sound component of Family: a
dance and sound performance about dying and living contains voices of people who
have died.
The Dance Project is a statewide initiative of the Australia Council for the Arts and Tasmanian
Regional Arts, creating three contemporary dance projects within Tasmania. ‘Family’ is the third
and final performance component of The Dance Project.
The Dance Project
