The Stars Descend
Five towns, Five teams of artists, Five chapters, One story…
Five towns, Five teams of artists, Five chapters, One story …
Wooditchup (Margaret River)
Northcliffe
Borongur (Porongurup)
Fitzgerald Biosphere (Ravensthorpe)
Karlkurla / Garlgula (Kalgoorlie)
Illustrations by Michelle Frantom
The Stars Descend is a vast trail of contemporary dance performances, aimed at transforming how people see and care for our country. Inspired by eco-restoration efforts across the Gondwana Link, it will showcase the importance of climate action and restoring health to the land, and convey hope to audiences. The Stars Descend story unfolds over five regional locations from 17 March – 1 April, 2023.
Each location is a chapter in the story that has been co-created by some of Western Australia’s most impressive artists working with local community members.
Performances will take place in spectacular outdoor settings to celebrate the rich biodiversity and ongoing restoration along the Gondwana Link’s 1000 kilometre ecological pathway.
We’re using stars as a powerful symbol of hope, agency, and action. Stars represent ideas of deep time and the interconnectedness of people and the natural world.
The Stars Descend:
Performance Schedule in 2023
Fri 17 March Chapter 1, Margaret River / Wooditjup SOLD OUT
Sun 19 March Chapter 2, Northcliffe
Fri 24 March Chapter 3, Porongurup / Borongur SOLD OUT
Sun 26 March Chapter 4, Fitzgerald Biosphere (Ravensthorpe)
Sat 1 April Chapter 5, Kalgoorlie / Karlkurla / Garlgula
The Stars Descend: Travel itineraries and general enquiries
Travel itineraries:
Click the links below to follow Gondwana Link’s suggested self-drive travel itineraries in this Heartland Journeys website. The itineraries trace The Stars Descend dance performances across the 1000 km of the Gondwana Link, highlighting places to visit and eco- and Indigenous tour experiences. Please care for Country during your travels.
Annette Carmichael Projects has produced a complementary PDF-format TheStarsDescend-Travel-Itinerary-PDF, with further useful information, including a wide range of places to visit, tour businesses, visitor centres and the dances themselves.
For general enquiries about The Stars Descend, contact Annette Carmichael Projects by email: hello@distributed15.com.au
For further information about the dance chapters, visit Annette Carmichael Projects:
The Stars Descend
Chapter 1 – Margaret River / Wooditjup
Chapter 2 – Northcliffe
Chapter 3 – Porongurup / Borongur
Chapter 4 – Fitzgerald Biosphere
Chapter 5 – Kalgoorlie / Karlkurla / Garlgula
The Stars Descend: Gondwana Link’s Eco-restoration Tag-along Tour is here!
On Saturday 25 March 2023, Gondwana Link is offering a rare opportunity on an all day tour to visit and experience three key conservation and eco-restoration properties in the Fitz-Stirling section of the Gondwana Link. Gondwana Link’s CEO Keith Bradby OAM will lead the tour, and property owners/land managers Eddy and Donna Wajon, Goreng Elder Eugene Eades and Bush Heritage’s Alex Hams, along with restoration ecologist Justin Jonson, will share their wonderful knowledge and experience.
The tour takes place in between The Stars Descend Porongurup dance on Friday 24 March and the Fitzgerald Biosphere (Ravensthorpe) dance on Sunday 26 March.
Sorry – the tour is now SOLD OUT – continue to the ticketing page to add your name to the waitlist in case of a cancellation.
About The Stars Descend
The Stars Descend is a vast trail of contemporary dance performances, aimed at transforming how people see and care for our country. Inspired by eco-restoration efforts across the Gondwana Link, it will showcase the importance of climate action and restoring health to the land, and convey hope to audiences. The Stars Descend story unfolds over five regional locations from 17 March – 1 April, 2023.
Each location is a chapter in the story that has been co-created by some of Western Australia’s most impressive artists working with local community members.
Performances will take place in spectacular outdoor settings to celebrate the rich biodiversity and ongoing restoration along the Gondwana Link’s 1000 kilometre ecological pathway.
We’re using stars as a powerful symbol of hope, agency, and action. Stars represent ideas of deep time and the interconnectedness of people and the natural world.
Annette Carmichael projects, July 2022. Image: Nic Duncan
Five communities…
Each chapter takes place in a regional location situated along the Gondwana Link, from Margaret River to Kalgoorlie. Audiences will experience the splendour of some of south-western Australia’s most significant ecological areas – the Southern Forests, Stirling and Porongurup Ranges, Fitzgerald Biosphere and the Great Western Woodlands.
The Stars Descend team will deliver five visually stunning, immersive experiences of movement and sound through a well planned experience for audience members in Margaret River, Northcliffe, Porongurup, Fitzgerald Biosphere (near Ravensthorpe), and Kalgoorlie.
Experientially…
People can engage with The Stars Descend in a number of ways:
- As a workshop participant
- As a self-drive visitor, travelling across the Gondwana Link on a 16-day odyssey to watch all five performances, or
- As a visitor and audience member of the stand-alone chapters in single locations.
Self-drive visitors undertaking the 16-day odyssey will be provided with rich information about places to visit and stories to listen to along the journey. Audience members booking for one or some of the performances will also have access to information about local places to visit.
Audiences will be able to book tickets for individual chapters and remain connected to all five dance chapters and locations through shared visual imagery and digital content.
The Stars Descend workshop. Image: Nic Duncan
Gondwana Link’s Amanda Keesing and Keith Bradby with Annette Carmichael, celebrating the start of The Stars Descend project in 2021. Image: Lauren McKenzie
Gondwana Link’s role…
Through Heartland Journeys and other efforts, Gondwana Link is delighted to partner with Annette Carmichael Projects to help reveal the extraordinary world of the Gondwana Link to audiences.
By travelling with us through the 1000+ km of Heartland Journeys, audience members will experience forests, mallee and heathlands, and the world’s largest temperate woodland.
There’s intricacy and richness in these landscapes: tiny honey possums that pollinate flowers, malleefowl that make compost in nesting mounds, marsupials working as soil engineers and mycorrhizal fungi with vast underground networks of mycelium that feed minerals and nutrients to plants (and get sugar in return!).
We look forward to sharing all this with you as The Stars Descend!
Click on the photos to see the gallery …
Mikey Chapter 1 The Stars Descend, Image: Christopher Young
Mikey Chapter 1 The Stars Descend, Image: Christopher Young
Adelina Larsson leading rehearsal, Chapter 1 The Stars Descend, Image: Christopher Young
Adelina Larsson leading rehearsal, Chapter 1 The Stars Descend, Image: Christopher Young
Choreopgrapher Sonya Stephen leads rehearsals for The Stars Descend, Porongurup by Annette Carmichael Projects, Photo by Nic Duncan-029
Choreopgrapher Sonya Stephen leads rehearsals for The Stars Descend, Porongurup by Annette Carmichael Projects. Image: Nic Duncan
The men of The Stars Descend, Porongurup by Annette Carmichael Projects, Photo by Nic Duncan-067
The men of The Stars Descend, Porongurup by Annette Carmichael Projects. Image: Nic Duncan
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The Stars Descend rehearsals. Image: Nic Duncan
The cast of Chapter 1, The Stars Descend in rehearsal, Margaret River. Image: Christopher Young
The cast of Chapter 1, The Stars Descend in rehearsal, Margaret River. Image: Christopher Young
Community cast and artists for Community in rehear…e Carmichael Projects. Image: Nic Duncan
Community cast and artists for Community in rehear…e Carmichael Projects. Image: Nic Duncan
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The Stars Descend rehearsals. Image: Nic Duncan
Community in rehearsal for The Stars Descend, Porongurup by Annette Carmichael Projects, Photo by Nic Duncan-022
Community in rehearsal for The Stars Descend, Porongurup by Annette Carmichael Projects, Image: Nic Duncan
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Distributed 15 Thread Three. Image: Nic Duncan
In rehearsal Chapter 1 The Stars Descend, Margaret River – Annette Carmichael Projects Image: Christopher Young
In rehearsal Chapter 1 The Stars Descend, Margaret River – Annette Carmichael Projects Image: Christopher Young
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Anthony Coxeter – Distributed 15 Thread Three. Image: Nic Duncan
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Distributed 15 Thread Three. Image: Nic Duncan
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Distributed 15 Thread Three. Image: Nic Duncan
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Annette Carmichael, Distributed 15 Thread Three. Image: Nic Duncan
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Annette Carmichael Projects, July 2022. Image: Nic Duncan
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The Stars Descend Rehearsals. Image: Nic Duncan
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The Stars Descend rehearsals. Image: Nic Duncan
Community in rehearsal for The Stars Descend, Porongurup by Annette Carmichael Projects, Photo by Nic Duncan-019
Community in rehearsal for The Stars Descend, Porongurup by Annette Carmichael Projects. Image: Nic Duncan
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Distributed 15 Thread Three. Image: Nic Duncan
Janine Oxenham In rehearsal Chapter 1 The Stars Descend, Margaret River – Annette Carmichael Projects Image: Christopher Young
Janine Oxenham In rehearsal Chapter 1 The Stars Descend, Margaret River – Annette Carmichael Projects Image: Christopher Young
In rehearsal Chapter 1 The Stars Descend, Margaret River – Annette Carmichael Projects Image: Christopher Young
In rehearsal Chapter 1 The Stars Descend, Margaret River – Annette Carmichael Projects Image: Christopher Young
In rehearsal Chapter 1 The Stars Descend, Annette Carmichael Projects Image: Christopher Young
In rehearsal Chapter 1 The Stars Descend, Margaret River – Annette Carmichael Projects Image: Christopher Young
The Stars Descend project is supported by:
And supported locally by:
The Stars Descend project is supported by:
And supported locally by:
To donate to Gondwana Link’s work of connecting people and nature
through eco-restoration and conservation, please click here
Don’t forget to check out our stories of the wonderful people and nature across the Gondwana Link
To donate to Gondwana Link’s
work of connecting people and
nature through eco-restoration
and conservation, please
click here
Don’t forget to check out
our stories of the wonderful
people and nature across the
Gondwana Link