Surprise performance bouncing into Brunswick Heads

PEOPLE are being encouraged to grab their picnic blankets and head to the river at Brunswick Heads this weekend to enjoy a playful performance featuring synchronised swimmers bouncing on brightly coloured space hoppers.

The display, supported by Byron Shire Council’s Creative Public Spaces grant, proved a hit when it was performed earlier this month and will return at low tide this Sunday, January 18 at 5pm.

Choreographer Kelly O’Meara from Hoppers Bounce Dance said the work is inspired by childhood joy and the thrill of bouncing, incorporating beach games and choreography that celebrates the female body and a connection to place.

She was also drawn to the natural amphitheatre created by the river between the bridges, which offers a unique “theatre in the round”.

 

“People can enjoy from all sides – the footbridge, the traffic bridge and both the riverbanks,” she said.

“The low tide provides an interesting stage as we perform on an exposed sand bar.”

“I am doing this project of joy to make people smile and feel in the moment. Let us revisit the happiness of growing up.

“I look towards the frivolity of childhood to brighten our moods.

“Older people will be nostalgic about their childhood games; younger people will be intrigued.”

 

O’Meara, who is also a Pilates instructor, said her cousin in Lismore had a Space Hopper back in the 1970s and she loved it and I always wanted one.

“About six years ago I was doing Pilates in my studio on a big exercise ball and started dancing around and playing on the ball,” she said. “So, this inspiration led to a few pieces that I choreographed on these silly big bright orange Space Hoppers. They are just so friendly and fun! But it does require some core strength too.”

She said the choreography reflects growing up in the local coastal community.

“We mimic the experiences of the easy river lifestyle for humans and other wildlife,” she said.

“We play with yabby pumps and buckets at low tide, we paddle and swim.

“We play cricket and games on the sand; we mimic the cormorants that air their wings on the sand bar.

“My creation explores our culture with joy and nostalgia.”