Show Notes
“There’s something really transcendent about dancing so badly that you break through that shell of having to take yourself seriously and you can just exist in your body in this really beautiful, joyful way.”
Whether you’re a Rock Eisteddfod reject or a retired dancer, there is joy and exhilaration to be found in unencumbered shimmying and shaking.
The all-ages, all-abilities Common People Dance Eisteddfod brings the moves, the laughs and the ‘80s and ‘90s bangers when the leotard-clad juggernaut returns to Brisbane Festival for its fourth blockbuster year.
“Common People Dance Eisteddfod’s main point of difference to a normal eisteddfod is the teams can cheat, they can bribe the judges, they can also sabotage the other teams.”
An antidote to the ‘No Lights, No Lycra’ dance movement, Common People Dance Eisteddfod is an exercise in brash dance moves, bold costumes, big performances and body positivity.
In this episode, Common People Dance Project co-founder, choreographer and theatre maker Neridah Waters is joined by dance devotees and sequinned warriors, Amanda Dell and Bryony Walters.
They speak with humour and heart about the power of the dance project to boost body confidence, self-expression and personal empowerment and how making a conscious decision to be brave and try something new can prove life-changing.
“I have seen people’s attitudes to their bodies change, I have seen what they wear in everyday life change because they are just proud of themselves and they are like, ‘look at me, I’m amazing’.”
On the eve of yet another over-the-top dance battle between amateur hot-steppers from the North, South, East and West of Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, the trio body roll and fist-pump their way through competition tactics, dirty tricks and the optimum ratio of props per dancer (spoiler alert: it’s three).
“As adults, we forget to play and have fun. In Australia, in dance and sport, you’re told by some teacher at some point you don’t have the right physique or the right body to be a dancer or a cricket player and it really crushes that teenager at that point and they never do it again in their life.”
Brisbane Festival returns to fill the city with three weeks of wonder, delight and celebration from 2 – 24 September 2022. For information and tickets, visit brisbanefestival.com.au
Beginners’ Call records on Turrbal and Yugerra country in Meanjin, Brisbane. Brisbane Festival recognises the integral role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples play in our creative, artistic and celebration spaces and pays respect to Elders past, present and emerging.
Podcast Curator: Louise Bezzina (Brisbane Festival)
Podcast Guests: Neridah Waters, Amanda Dell and Bryony Walters (Common People Dance Eisteddfod)
Podcast Host: Adam Brunes (Aruga)