TRUTHCLUB
Darebin Arts Centre
In a nightclub in a (not-so-distant) future, there is only one place to decipher society and get to the truth. Enter TRUTHCLUB, where dance is an antidote to fake news.
As part of Melbourne Fringe Festival, Darebin Arts Speakeasy presents TRUTHCLUB from 8 – 10 October at Darebin Arts Centre.
TRUTHCLUB is a new home built to shake off systemic false beliefs. Led from the lived experiences of young people of colour, TRUTHCLUB playfully takes the frustrations of Australian prejudices, shakes them up and serves them on the rocks.
Led by award-winning choreographer Jonathan Homsey and marking the performance debut of a periodic collective called the untitled likeminded dancers of colour, TRUTHCLUB honours street and cultural dance in a safe haven to speak the truth, address collective experiences and transmute it onto the dancefloor in a cathartic celebration.
A cross between performance art and a 2008 risqué music video, Homsey and the collective dance to an epic soundtrack ranging from techno to Tamil violin by local artists: Yeo, Stevzar, Pookie, Oscar Key Sung, Kuya Neil, Khya, Nerftiti LaNegra & Bhairavi Raman.
The collective the untitled likeminded dancers of colour is an evolving collective of 10 members who are passionate about expanding the definition of contemporary dance to include Street dance in Australia.
Members include dance community leaders from Wurundjeri, Boon Wurrung and Gadigal countries who bring decades of varied experience including back-up dancers and choreographers for artists like Ngaiire, Thelma Plum, George Maple, Guy Sebastian and former Australian Hip Hop Champions with their respective dance crews.
The collective was assembled by Green Room Award winning choreographer and curator Jonathan Homsey – a Cantonese born, American community leader (now living on Wurundjeri country) who specialises in platforming Street and Queer dance forms to cultivate empowerment for sexually and ethnically diverse young people.
“Truthclub is a work about the truth our bodies hold and the validity of our practice as Street and Queer dancers. Our bodies deserve to be on stages. All forms of dance are artistically excellent. We know our truth starts in our body and from there we can deal with the systemic frustrations and injustices. Truthclub is proud to be one of the first commissioned street dance works in recent years. I hope it is a trend for more of these dances on our government-funded stages” – Jonathan Homsey
“Truthclub is an offering to a world where our bodies and our truth share centre stage away from a colonial gaze. Even if the truth makes us angry or upset, we can anchor in our bodies and fight back, one dance move at a time.” – Jonathan Homsey
