A Belloo, Taikoz, first nations artists, good company arts & rpac collaboration

SAND

An original new performance work with First Nations storytelling from Terangeree (Minjerribah/Stradbroke Island)

SAND fuses the stunning Japanese Taiko drumming and musicality of Taikoz (Sydney) with intricate projection from globally acclaimed Good Company Arts (New Zealand) and Belloo’s award-winning fluid storytelling.

Renowned for their ability to seamlessly blend global narratives with local wisdom, Belloo have drawn inspiration from Japan and the rich narratives of Quandamooka Country, guided by local Elder Uncle Norman Enoch, to take audiences on an epic poetic journey right to the heart of Straddie.

Incorporating a dynamic ensemble of live and digital performers, SAND is a breathtaking and spectacular production, defying convention and igniting the senses in a celebration of coming home and the inherent beauty of our natural world.

SAND explores our planet’s shifting sands and oceans and is an ode to the natural world, exploring the elemental forces of nature and celebrating the beauty of impermanence.

Come closer to the sand’s ebb and flow
and you’ll see each grain is different
Belonged once to something proud and separate
now joined together
matter that can be poured from hand to hand
No countries
no borders
no animal mineral vegetable
just sand  

With the work’s emphasis on landscape and environment, SAND features sophisticated intercultural elements and uniquely blended art forms, in an original poetic work built with a sensitivity to regional place.

Gallery

  • Duration: 75 minutes, no interval

    Content warning: This production includes loud noises, strobe and haze.

    Recommended age: 8+

  • Quandamooka Elder, Cultural Consultant & Storyteller Uncle Norman Enoch
    Co-Directors Caroline Dunphy & Mitch King
    Words Katherine Lyall-Watson
    Dramaturg Wesley Enoch
    Composer Ian Cleworth
    Art Projection Daniel Belton & Good Company Arts
    Lighting Designer David Walters
    Costume Designer Sharka Bosakova
    Taikoz Performers Ian Cleworth, Anton Lock, Kerryn Joyce & Ryuji Hamada
    Live Performers Waangenga Blanco & Hsin-Ju Ely
    Video Performer Kirk Page
    Videographer Shaun Charles
    Scenography consultant Kathryn Kelly & Sandra Gattenhof
    Associate Producer & Community Engagement Emily Coleman
    Production Manager Geoff Squires
    Stage Manager Liam Caneris

    Production trailer and cultural awareness training video by Vanessa van Dalsen, Vivid Visual Co.

    Production images by Cinnamon Smith.

  • World Premiere Performance 21 June 2024 | Redland Performing Arts Centre | Brisbane, Australia

  • This project has been supported by the Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund – an Australian Government initiative.

    SAND was developed with support by Queensland Performing Arts Centre and Redland Performing Arts Centre.

    Redland Performing Arts Centre supported the premiere production on Quandamooka land.  

Audience Reactions Are In

“a creative meditation on the shifting nature of events on the second largest sand island in the world: Minjerriba/North Stradbroke” — Cr Paul Bishop

“Anchored in place and deep time, danced, played, spoken and designed with such integrity” — Lucinda Shaw

Making SAND - cultural awareness training

On the first day of SAND rehearsals, the team travelled to Stradbroke Island (Terangeri/Minjerribah) for cultural awareness training with Uncle Norman Enoch (Gindiculture) and a welcome feast hosted by Wesley Enoch.