TALENTED Armidale youth will star in the premiere of a new Australian work alongside acclaimed Australian artists.
Rainbow Ridge Songlines, will premiere at 7.30pm on 11 October at the Armidale Showground.
“The performance is the result of a collaborative process between local young people and professional artists,” Narelle Jarry, project manager at Beyond Empathy said.
“A group of Armidale’s talented emerging artists have collaborated with established professional artists to create a new Australian work which will be performed for the first time ever this month.”
Beyond Empathy co-ordinated a series of workshops over the past 12 months that gave young people an opportunity to share their thoughts, issues and dreams for the future through storytelling, physical theatre, film, music and dance.
Through the process, workshop participants learned new skills from well-known hip-hop dancer Lamb, talented contemporary dancer Michael Leslie, award-winning singer songwriter Jess Ribeiro, Redfern Now actor Kirk Page, international performer and local guitarist Anthony Green and the internationally acclaimed master of song Radical Son.
“Each of these artists has achieved considerable success nationally,” Ms Jarry said.
“We are very grateful that they have been able to share their time and experience to be a part of Rainbow Ridge Songlines, inspire a new generation of talent and collaborate to create an amazing new Australian multimedia performance.”
Beyond Empathy uses art to influence change. This has been the philosophy behind Rainbow Ridge Songlines, as it was with the successful Silver City Songlines in 2012. The creative process undertaken in the development of Rainbow Ridge Songlines has allowed a group of young people an opportunity to not only learn new creative skills, but develop strong protective behaviours, build resilience and grow in confidence.
Audience members are invited to join Beyond Empathy and their cast and crew for the performance at 7.30pm on Friday 11 October. The show is free.
Rainbow Ridge Songlines is part of the Beyond Empathy Project ACCESS ALL AREAS – opening doors to community for young people in Armidale. Access all Areas has received NSW Government funding through the Office of Communities.
The Rainbow Ridge Songlines project was made possible by the Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund, which supports sustainable cultural development in regional, rural and remote Australia to give artists and community’s better access to opportunities to practice and experience the arts.
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.
