Sunday bathing at UN beach

Sunday bathing at UN Beach and our last day together in Dili, East Timor.

Jules...?

...it is important to be able to laugh at oneself.

Boxing Day

Joy of Christmas

It is a light, where there may be darkness or doubt

and once again I begin to believe and trust in new beginnings.

To those I love,

I wish you a joyous and loving Christmas. 

Christmas Day Celebrations

Home

It takes a lot of living to make a house a home

It doesn’t make any difference how rich you get to be

How much your chairs and tables cost, how great your luxury

It isn’t home to you though it be the palace of a king,

Until somehow your soul is wrapped round everything.

A poem written by Edgar Guest

Understanding why

In stillness comes unexpected clarity. When my mind is still, I reflect upon beautiful memories, experiences and my love story which began in Florence, because it was a time in my life when I felt immensely joyous, connected to someone and hopeful.

It has taken me a long time to relinquish my emotions, faith and commitment. To unravel my (re)actions and to understand why I decided to decline his proposal on Elwood beach in Summer 2008, and in the back of my mind, I have kept replaying this pivotal moment because I wanted to understand, to forgive myself, to accept and finally to move forward. 

What I now understand is that I was trying to be true to him and to myself. I didn't lie. I did not play a game. I didn't say yes just because we loved one another and this seemed like a viable option. I declined, because I believed that we could not share an enduring future together. 

That moment on Elwood beach was our destiny point. I/we just didn't realise it at the time.

When we walk, one foot is in the past, whilst one is in the future. Clarity also occurs when we live life, one day at a time. 

Sunday in Dili

After a lazy Sunday morning sleep in, I paused my coffee brew so I could Skype-call the Girls. We had planned to chat all together once they had completed their weekly Swim Squad session at the Aquatic Centre in Albert Park. We had just established a reliable connection and I was giving them a tour of Wisteria Lane (our accommodation in Dili, Beach Garden Hotel), when a colleague walked past me and notified me that a Mass Casualty Exercise had been called. When we receive a call-out, we have less than 30 minutes to arrive at the base and so whilst I was excited to attend my first exercise at the base, it was a shame about the timing and I felt bad when I had to abruptly end our call, without even saying good-bye properly. Sorry babes. Hopefully we can chat again together next week.

The Mass Casualty Exercises are always interesting and dynamic. After a few hours at the base and a formal debrief; a few of us stopped off at a restaurant on our way home to have coffee and breakfast - and made the most of the disruption to our lazy Sunday morning plans.

It is now mid afternoon, and I have just returned home after having a fabulous deep body massage, exfoliation and mud wrap at Lorosae. A local Timorese establishment in Dili that is serene, relaxing and clean. Last week I had a deep massage and hot stone treatment, which was as wonderful. Both treatments have been wonderful and allowed me to relax, restore and day-dream. I also love their signature gesture of warm lemongrass tea sweetened with honey and sugar. 

Now I'm at home, listening to Norah Jones while I reflect, capture and record some impressions of Dili. The clouds out side look ominous. We have been hoping for rain and the first sound of thunder just began rumbling.

Understanding the history of East Timor

Dili was settled about 1520 by the Portuguese, who made it the capital of Portuguese Timor in 1769. It was proclaimed a city in January 1864. During World War II, Portugal and its colonies remained neutral, but the Allies saw East Timor as a potential target for Japanese invasion, and Australian and Dutch forces briefly occupied the island in 1941. In the night of the 19 February 1942, the Japanese attacked with a force of around 20,000 men, and occupied Dili before spreading out across the rest of the colony. On 26 September 1945, control of the island was officially returned to Portugal by the Japanese.

East Timor unilaterally declared independence from Portugal on 28 November 1975. However, nine days later, on 7 December, Indonesian forces invaded Dili. On 17 July 1976, Indonesia annexed East Timor, which it designated the 27th province of Indonesia, Timor Timur, with Dili as its capital. A guerrilla war ensued from 1975 to 1999 between Indonesian and pro-independence forces, during which tens of thousands of East Timorse and some foreign civilians were killed. Media coverage of the 1991 Dili Massacre helped revitalise international support for the East Timorese independence movement.

In 1999, East Timor was placed under UN supervision and on 20 May 2002, Dili became the capital of the newly independent Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. In May 2006, fighting and rioting sparked by conflict between elements of the military caused significant damage to the city and led to foreign military intervention to restore order and Aspen medical was established in Dili at this time, to support the Australian Army.

Children of Dili

Dili National Hospital

Cristo Rei, Dili

This morning, after our daily sunrise walk to the Cristo Rei of Dili a 27 meter tall statue of Jesus situated on top of a globe at the east end of the peninsula in Dili (one of the main tourist attractions in East Timor, claimed to be the second tallest statue of its kind in the world and was a gift from the Indonesian Government),  a quick bite to eat and a shower Dr Paul and I attended the Friday medical round at the Guido Valadares National Hospital, formerly the Dili National Hospital. In 2011 it was recorded as having 260 beds, with secondary and tertiary healthcare services.

The structure and surrounds of the hospital appeared similar to other third world hospitals which I have seen in Honiara, Solomon Islands and Nuku'lofa, Tonga. Additionally, while I didn't have the opportunity to speak to many staff members, I imagine that their are also parallels in levels of professional education, clinical skills and available resources. 

The Timorese men, women and children I saw had a range of clinical conditions, including medical, oncology, surgical, trauma, and burns. Some had chronic conditions like alcoholism, hypothyroidism and previous surgical amputations. Apparently mental health issues are not diagnosed or if suspected are death with more traditional methods.

The  medical round was chaired by a Senior Medical Consultant, facilitated by an Australian Dr, and attended by a team of Registrars and junior doctors. Their was a even distribution of female and male doctors. No nurses attended the medical round. The consultation occurred around the patients bed and in front of other patients and their families. The patients and their families did not engage in any discussions, were rarely assessed or addressed and not encouraged to ask any questions. The staff rarely touched the patients except to remove a dressing or expose a wound. Clinical reasoning and education of the Registrars was minimal. The attitude of the Senior Medical Consultant (Timorese) made a lasting impression. He appeared extremely affluent, was well groomed, spoke Portuguese, English and Timorese. He was also unassumingly arrogant, aggressive towards the Registrars, and appeared to lack any genuine compassion or humanity.

I was grateful for the opportunity to attend the medical round and the opportunity to look into the faces of these people and their families; and I was left with the impression of how much the Timorese people have (and continue to) suffered. I thought about our Australian health care system, the multi disciplinary approach to evaluating and addressing the physical, psychological and anticipatory needs of patients, and our resources. I thought about how much I value a nurturing professional approach, the use of touch, eye contact, a smile, the exchange of information etc. I would willingly volunteer to work within these conditions to help and care for these people, but I know that it is not about making a difference, changing/improving a system; it is about long term sustainability and commitment. And I know that at this point in my life, I can not make that sort of commitment. All I could do was look into their eyes and hopefully through my genuine smile and empathy, convey a sense of my humanity and compassion for them.

Twelve Days to Christmas

As the twelve days to Christmas begins, my thoughts turn to family and close friends. 

Even though this year, there will be no made-with-love cards, midnight mass & carols, Christmas celebrations with friends, nurturing family traditions, and the annual Summer escape to the coast with my Belle's; for me Christmas still signifies a time to hope and trust in new beginnings. 

Happy Christmas

With love to you & your families. 

x

Arte Moris

Attended Arte Moris, Dili's contemporary art gallery. The buildign was originally a UN hospital and despite the uneven flooring, broken tiles, windows and plastered ceiling the art work on display by local art students illustrated a variety of techniques (mixed media, sculpture using old tyres and baskets, oil painting on local woven fabric, etchings, life drawings), and genres. Some artworks were expressive and whimsical, and many expressed the ongoing tragedy of life in East Timor.

People & their stories - Week Two

According to Stephen Fry, "our stories are what makes us human," and yet my experiences here, sometimes make me believe that people fear 'speaking their truth, listening completely to the words expressed by another individual and using language to experience the world'.

The colleagues that I am sharing my experiences with in Dili are at times complex to understand, yet fundamentally basic. They are nomadic in mind and spirit and even if that is how I too appear, I don't believe that I am like this. Rather I seek adventure to experience like's challenges; to better understand humanity and myself; and to maintain inspiration and balance. I may seem like I am constantly in flight and motion like a butterfly, but at my core I am content, hopeful and anchored to a place and people.

I suppose at times, I am perplexed by what I perceive as a 'service to oneself', the elusiveness of trust and honesty, and a fierce sense of entitlement. My reactions are also compounded by the fact that conversations are generally fixed on auto-play (i.e. where have you been? what have you eaten? who have you seen? etc etc). The majority of people are not interested in discussing cultural events, their passions or ideas and while I am comfortable with 'going-with-the-flow', I just wish that I could experience some sort of genuine human connection.

This is a recurring issue for me and it is time I accept that inspiration and energy comes from many unexpected things and rather than feel disillusioned, I should continue to cherish that moment at the end of each day, when I position myself at one of the restaurant balconies which overlook the sea, to drink Timorese coffee, absorb the colourful and fascinating landscape of Dili and day dream...

Timorese Christmas Party

Some of the beautiful Timorese children at the Aspen Medical Christmas Party at the Timor Lodge.

 

  

Surgeon Paul as Santa.

Jules, as James Bond (?)

Aspen Medical Timorese workers and their families.

BomBali

The horrific attacks of October 12th 2002 are best remembered by the Balinese in one simple phrase: "BomBali". The movie "BomBali" is told by survivors, the family and friends of those who were killed, and by the bombers themselves.

http://youtu.be/7yzexI1XQ5k

Life in Dili - Week One

Jules, at Beach Garden abode, Dili.

This photograph was taken a few days ago, whilst I was sitting in my house at Beach Gardens, Dili trying to cull the myriad of photos from my Scholarship in Milan in June/July. Behind me is a photo montage of inspirational images (i.e. dream board of travel, food, fashion and interior design images) which was beautifully constructed by a former occupant. These ensembles are throughout the house and make the rooms look really appealing and somewhat whimsical.

Although I'm still settling in current experiences could be summarized as.. the weather is not as humid and stifling as I had imagined; personal freedom and independence has to be curtailed to ensure safety and well being; colleagues are as varied in personalities as they are in their motives for begin here; expect the unexpected; the Timorese people are petite and largely under nourished; human life in Dili is not sacred; beach views and sunsets can be magical; education sessions and trauma training at the base has been brilliant; evenings out magical; and each day is a new day with new perspectives and opportunities to earn and discover more about myself and the world.

Today was rather glorious. A colleague and I had the day off, so after some time by the pool this morning, we wet for a 1.5hr hot stone massage and then went down to the beach for lunch. We sat under the shade of a palm tree, shuffling fine white sand with our toes as we looked out to sea and the low tide, while cattle grazed on the shoreline nearby. Then after returning home, we went to the pool and lounged about for a while before an afternoon siesta.

Its now 10pm and after a night at the local 'Art House' cinema to see BomBali, coffee and desert, its time for bed.

Good night.

Pearls

While perusing the internet in the search for some creative inspiration tonight, I find the following pearl from Doorways Traveler.

butterfly beach. august 2010.

http://www.doorwaystraveler.com

i find myself alone now more than ever before in my life. sometimes it is lonely. sometimes i want to rant and scream and call everyone i know at once. sometimes there just isn’t much to say. sometimes i have to force myself out the door. or to my altar. sometimes the time goes so quickly that i am shocked, like how the right conversation can carry on effortlessly through the sleep hours. i take long showers and i let the water scald my back as i watch the rivulets on the tile change directions with the touch of my fingertip. i follow the moth as it sacrifices life for the light, over and over again. i get lost in books and i think a lot. and then i try to move beyond the thoughts. once i even ran fast circles around my yard in the late starlight, tripping on oak roots as my bare feet became numb from the cold muddy grass. mostly, i just toss myself into the waves: the hot tears, the euphoria, the hollow expanses, the hummingbird flutters, the new, and the aged. there is accuracy in all of it. stillness, even. as if there is no place else to be.

Going with the flow

Dili, East Timor

Safe arrival in Dili, East Timor.

After a 4.30am rise, and a 6.30am departure from Darwin, I arrived in Dili early this morning and was driven from the Airport to the Army/ Medic base to meet my colleagues (a lot of familiar faces from Honiara, Solomon Islands), and complete an orientation process.

A short while ago I arrived at my home base the Beach Resort Hotel, to settle in and unpack. The room is very deluxe and I have internet access so I will be able to regularly skype, blog, and email... I am feeling relaxed, well prepared and looking forward to working/living here, but with another deadline due this Friday; I am also aware that I need to stay focused for a few more days.

Right now though ... everything can wait. As I'm really in need of a hot shower, a cup of tea and bed!

Until later...

x

East Timor

Carefully packed into my travel bag, are some beautiful Christmas trimmings to bring light, love and delight to my world in East Timor. Tomorrow afternoon, I am departing for Darwin and on Wednesday morning I will be departing at dawn for East Timor, to undertake another 6 week deployment contract for Aspen medical.

In preparation, tonight I savoured one last cycle along the bay at twilight.

The wind on my face and stillness in the air, made me feel calm and still. And with the formidable pace and unrelenting juggling act of commitments behind me, I found myself smiling at the elderly Greek fisherman who looked forlorn as he gathered his rods and empty bucket as we exchanged a few words. Like music, the sea seduces us in different ways. For this gentleman it is about tending the green waters and waiting piano piano for the staccato at the end of his line, while for me it's the crescendo of the next wave and the way the sea allows me to explore distant horizons, and then welcomes me home at the end of my so journ. 

Despite the constant challenging pace, it has been a rich, inspiring and fulfilling year and I have experienced great joy in realising how much can be achieved things align...

x

Mum & Dad's 50th Anniversary

Mum & Dad would have celebrated their Golden 50th Wedding Anniversary today and to celebrate I took Mum to attend one of history's greatest operatic love story's Madame Butterfly, followed by celebratory drinks at dusk and dinner at Sake at Southbank.

How beautiful to love someone for fifty years and to truly cherish the person you married and the wedding wows you exchanged to one another.... to keep your promise to be true to them in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health and to love them and honour them all the days of your life.

A Glimpse

Two glimpses in two days. A sparkle from your eyes and a promise...

 ...and then there was the production of Glimpse at forty-five downstairs, Flinders Lane, CBD.

Allora & Calzadilla

For the 26th Kaldor Art project, internationally renowned artistic duo Jennifer Allora  (1974 Pennsylvania, USA) and Guillermo Calzadilla (1971, Havana Cuba), present Stop, Repair , Prepare: Variations on 'Od to Joy' for a Prepared Piano.

The artist duo have produced experimental and interdisciplinary body of work combining performance, sculpture, video and sound. Throughout their diverse past works, they have often explored the histories and meanings implicit in the culture that surrounds us 0- from architecture and objects to music and bodily movement - reconfiguring and recontextualising these elements to create their poetic artworks

This music-art installation was first exhibited at Has der Kunst in Munich in 2008 and has since been presented at MOMA in New York (2010).

Stop, Repair, Prepare creates a relationship between the sculpture, the piano player and the piece of music. The artists have cut a large hole from the centre of a Bechstein grand piano and made adjustments to the pedals, to allow the pianist to enter the piano ad play it from within, bearing it with them as they traverse a choreographed path through the gallery.

The works draw on Fluxus artist and composer John Cage's 'prepared pain' performances from the 1940's and 50's, in which CAge altered the instruments's timber throughout eh placement of objects such as screws or bolts along the piano strings and hammers. Here the artists' method of 'preparation ' is more dramatic, recalling the circular segments cut from Gordon Matta-Clark's architectural interventions, they completely alter the function of the piano, techniques required to play it and the experience of the audience.

The composition is the 4th movement of Beethoven's famous 9th Symphony, known as 'Ode to Joy' and widely understood as a hymn to humanity, a testament to human fraternity and brotherhood. This piece is performed hourly, with pianists stepping under and into the piano and caching over the top to play.

In Allora & Calzadilla's variation, the work is recognisable but incomplete as the cut renders two octaves of the piano inoperable and the resulting keys leave only a hollow resonance. Although it was advertised as a "poetic meditation on art, idealism and power" the performance lacked some dynamic energy and the acoustics within the State Library of Melbourne, failed to create sound immersion.  

A month or more...

After a much needed sleep in, I've just wandered back from the local cafe after having had my Saturday morning latte and perusal of the weekend paper, whilst seated in the sun; and I've been thinking...

I love being in Melbourne because I love being near family and close friends, my abode by the bay, my study and professional commitments.

Teaching nursing students has reignited my passion and is so fulfilling. This position has given me the ability to express myself intellectually; to foster a new generation of nurses; to nurture, mentor and inspire them; immense freedom and autonomy. It is a great joy and I feel fulfilled and blessed.

After much hesitancy, debate and day dreaming, I commenced a study plan towards a Masters in Art Curatorship at the University of Melbourne this year. Although 'taking the plunge' has been exciting and challenging, the new perspectives that have developed, have been illuminating. 

My period in Italy in June/July brought the clarity and closure I had been yearning for. Even though I was heartbroken, the experience enabled me to finally understand and to truly know. Since returning, in this aspect of my life I've been able to pause.

Play-time and moments of reflection have been rather sparse and unconventionally conventional this year and my most favoured activity has become sleep. On paper, life looks balanced, but I know I need more spontaneity and carefree expression...

In three weeks I am leaving to undertake another international multi disciplinary medical team deployment contract to East Timor. A wonderful opportunity both personally and professionally. My contact concludes on December 31 2012. Actually my flight is scheduled to a drive in Melbourne on New Years Eve at 23.59hrs. Interesting hey....

2013.... What will next year be about??? At the moment I don't want to contemplate it. I couldn't imagine designing another year's worth of commitments - not now... I've planned to take two weeks off in January 2013 after I return from East  Timor. Two slow, lazy, sleepy, fish n'chips on the beach, sun-kissed and water lodged weeks by the bay. Then during this time, I'll gather thoughts and plan the year.

One thought I have for the coming year "is to fly away and spend three months somewhere that inspires me artistically and culturally". Because for as much as I love Melbourne, it doesn't nurture me on that level.  I crave immersion in foreign landscapes and ancient Architecture, languages and expressions, handsome men and women, textile draped silhouettes, the scents and ambience. I need to connect to that trilogy between: who I am; how I see myself; and what I want to be. 

I have come to understand that the opportunity to work in Europe is nearly impossible and that being in these historical and fantastical cities alone can be at times lonely and confronting, especially after having experienced it "so completely"; but I miss being there (not every day, but particualrly when I stop and think about it, or hear someone refer to Florence, Paris etc on the radio or in the paper). I can't explain it any other way, except that what I want for my life is to know that I can "be" "there". And I know now that I don't need to explain it to anyone or have anyone understand it. I just need to honour this belief. And so somehow or in someway I will continue to find a way to return for a month of more each year. 

Visual Aids in Clinical Teaching

As did Leonardo da Vinci, I have always believed in a nexus between art and health, medicine and nursing education. I recently presented this interdisciplinary relationship and the evidence from research and professional experiences, to professional peers at St Vincent's Health.  

Additionally, as a portal for discussion, resources and further information in this area I have developed another blog site entitled Visual aids as a Clinical Teaching Strategy.

Dance Territories

Sense and Sensibility choreographed by Cindy Van Acker & Perrine Valli (Switerzland) and  Matthew Day and Sandra Parker (Australia). Four choreographers. Four solo works. Four riveting explorations into the power of minimalist dance.

What is the most that can be achieved with the least? This is the question posed by Dance Territories, a sequence of four solo dances from Switzerland and Australia that explore the possibilities afforded by a minimalist choreographic language. Sparsely rendered, precisely performed and possessed of an undeniable elegance, these performances are at once both commanding and graceful, decisive arguments in favour of a stripped-back gestural aesthetic.

Impasse

Denis Beaubois, William McClure & Jeff Stein (Australia)

Push your way into the experiential extreme of an ‘impossible space’ – where physical pressure, light and sound combine to create a surreal accumulation of sensations.

Denis Beaubois, William McClure and Jeff Stein were members of Sydney’s Gravity Feed Ensemble – an architectural performance-theatre group that employed large sets to create potent, subversive and densely atmospheric events.

For Impasse they’ve created a tangible rendering and intensification of space: a unique experience where space becomes substance, in which visitors must struggle to carve out a path with their bodies, as they move through an unfamiliar physical and aural landscape.

Surreal, immersive and challenging, Impasse is an extraordinary, densely packed journey that will change the way you see, feel and hear the world.

Created by Denis Beaubois, William McClure and Jeff Stein

Sound Design Nick Wishart

Lighting Design Sydney Bouhaniche

Production Hedge

Produced by Insite Arts

Hold

An intriguing performance-installation from David Cross  (New Zealand) invites participants to step into the void, braving primal fears and testing the limits of trust.

Part reality TV ordeal, part extreme performance art engagement, Hold draws participants into a dynamic relationship between play, interaction and phobic space as they push through an assortment of physical and psychological barriers.

This highly immersive, multi-sensory architectural experience creates an uncanny yet intimate one-on-one encounter between the audience member and an unseen performer. Crucially, it also demands unusual levels of physical and psychological interaction, as they navigate a spatially complex and disorientating pathway, all the while suspended above the ground by cushions of air.

Walking into Hold, was a shift outside my comfort zone. Part fear and unsettling, and part curiosity and pleasure.

Weather

Lucy Guerin Inc

From one of Australia’s most renowned choreographic talents comes an atmospheric new dance work, a homage to the breathtaking power of the elements.

Celebrated dance artist and choreographer Lucy Guerin explores the extremities of our ever-changing climate in the world premiere of her latest dance production, Weather. An immersive voyage into the elements around us, Weather pits the human form against the uncontrollable power of nature, conjuring the thrill and awe that these forces inspire.

An arresting new work born from a co-production between Lucy Guerin’s Melbourne-based company and Montreal’s Place des Arts, it draws on the inventive design skills of Robert Cousins and the expansive music of Oren Ambarchi to create an intriguing exploration of the choreographic formations and visceral affects of weather.

Mesmerising and intense, Weather is a dynamic expression of the tides, the winds, the sun and the rain – a celebration of the ephemeral forces that shape our lives and the physical body’s connection to the natural world.

Desh

Akram Khan Company (UK)

Having taken the 2010 Melbourne Festival by storm with his visceral Vertical Road, dance phenomenon Akram Khan now returns with this mesmerising one-man show, a whimsical reflection on his ancestral homeland.

Born in London to Bangladeshi parents, Khan has over the past two decades become one of modern choreography’s finest observers of the migrant experience. With DESH (Bangladeshi for ‘homeland’) he turns the spotlight decisively on his own story and identity.

Spanning continents and generations, DESH is beautiful, direct and grand in scope, a dance rich in comic flourishes and theatrical asides, underpinned throughout by Khan’s inimitable merging of traditional Indian kathak dance and the precise gestures of contemporary movement – fluid as water in one moment, taut and pronounced in the next.

Weaving his way across an enchanting landscape created by Oscar-winning set designer Tim Yip (production designer for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and Yeast Culture, Khan explores the Bangladesh of his childhood imaginings as breathtaking projections transport him to a chance encounter with an elephant or into a journey through the treetops and down the rivers of his father’s childhood. Orchestral strings swell alongside traditional Bangladeshi chants, as Khan shows us the complexity and untrammelled beauty of a country and people still divided and uncertain.

Playful and imaginative, intimate and deeply affecting, DESH is a masterwork from a performer at the peak of his powers, a wilfully magical reflection on the indelible ties of family and culture, and the elusive nature of the place we call home.



http://www.akramkhancompany.net/html/akram_production.php?productionid=37

"I am fascinated by water inside the earth, it is the core principle of the way I think and move, fluidity within form... and Bangladesh has an abundance of both water and earth... I am fascinated to search for and explore a story that addresses the tragedy and comedy of lives in Bangladesh."

- Akram Khan

Dolorosa/Gaude!

Astra Chamber Music (Australia)


Melbourne’s Astra Choir takes choral sound on transformational pathways – from a key contemporary Romanian work, back into musical history and forward to electronic spectra from two of Australia's present-day sonic pioneers.

Performed at one of the city's architectural and acoustic marvels, St Mary Star of the Sea church in West Melbourne, Dolorosa/Gaude! represents two images of the traditional figure of Mary: the grieving victim of human conflict, as portrayed by Romanian Dan Dediu in a stunning harmonic pageant of the medieval poem Stabat mater dolorosa; and the joyful affirmation of Nature as ‘star of the sea’, as laid out in a choral tableau by Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara.

Australian composer Carl Vine places human singing and laughter in an endangered natural world in his Hebrew psalm setting for choir and organ. Recorder celebrity Genevieve Lacey joins the choir and computer-art composers Steve Stelios Adam and Michael Hewes in music, that moves between the ‘real’ and the transfigured.

Dolorosa/Gaude! is a pilgrimage through the worlds of the sacred, the ritualistic and the natural, in a spirit of sonic experiment and adventure.

Dan Dediu Stabat Mater dolorosa, 10 madrigals after Gesualdo and Verdi
Carl Vine They Shall Laugh and Sing
Anthony Briggs Credo
Steve Stelios Adam Et Døgn – One Day
Steve Stelios Adam Waves
Michael Hewes An Imaginary Hymn (World Premiere)
Einojuhani Rautavaara Song of Mary: Star of the Sea/Gaude!
With choral pieces by Stravinsky, Verdi, Gesualdo and Gombert
Recorders Genevieve Lacey
Organ Rhys Boak
Electronics Steve Stelios Adam and Michael Hewes
The Astra Choir
Conductor John McCaughey

After Life

Michel van der Aa (Netherlands)

Libretto by Michel van der Aa, after Hirokazu Kore-eda

Universally acclaimed and utterly unique, Michel van der Aa’s cross-genre masterwork grapples with a compelling, singular question: what was the defining moment of your life?

Could you distil your life to a single instant? A moment that, if all else were to fade, you would choose to live with for the rest of eternity? Michel van der Aa, house composer for the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam and one of contemporary opera’s most assured and ambitious voices, burrows deep into the very question of why we live with this profound contemporary masterpiece.

As six lost souls gather in limbo, they are asked to decide on the one memory each of them will take with them into the afterlife. Those who cannot choose must remain, trapped in purgatory until they can find a way to move on.

Michel van der Aa (Netherlands)

Libretto by Michel van der Aa, after Hirokazu Kore-eda

Universally acclaimed and utterly unique, Michel van der Aa’s cross-genre masterwork grapples with a compelling, singular question: what was the defining moment of your life?

Could you distil your life to a single instant? A moment that, if all else were to fade, you would choose to live with for the rest of eternity? Michel van der Aa, house composer for the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam and one of contemporary opera’s most assured and ambitious voices, burrows deep into the very question of why we live with this profound contemporary masterpiece.

As six lost souls gather in limbo, they are asked to decide on the one memory each of them will take with them into the afterlife. Those who cannot choose must remain, trapped in purgatory until they can find a way to move on.

Based on the acclaimed 1998 Japanese film of the same name, this landmark Netherlands production is a heart-rending fusion of music, theatre and film. The textured vocals of the six singers, set to an ethereal score performed by a 23-piece orchestra, blend with an intriguing element of documentary: as the characters struggle to choose a single, defining memory, their stories are intercut with footage of real people contemplating the same decision.

Grandiose in scope, Van der Aa’s audacious blending of arts makes for a fitting final operatic presentation from Festival Director Brett Sheehy, who throughout his work with festivals around Australia has sought to champion contemporary opera as a vivid and essential 21st century art-form. After Life joins such works as Jonathan Mills’s Eternity Man, Jonathan Dove’s Flight, Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar and Pascal Dusapin’s Medea in bringing us another compelling demonstration of contemporary opera’s artistry and vitality.

Composer, Stage Director, Video Script & Direction Michel van der Aa
Technical Production Development Frank van der Weij
Costume Designer Robby Duiveman
Film Projection Flint Louis Hignett, Bert Hornback, Dee Jager, Esther Jager, Tessa Marwick,
Juul Muller
Conductor Wouter Padberg

Performers
Aiden Roderick Williams
Mr Walter Richard Suart
Sarah Marijje van Stralen
Ilana Margriet van Reisen
Chief Yannick-Muriel Noah
Bryna Helena Rasker

Representatives of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

I don't believe in outer space

The Forsythe Company (Germany)

A work by William Forsythe

Legendary choreographer William Forsythe presents the Australian premiere of an ambitious masterwork – an unmissable event for anyone with an interest in the past, present or future of contemporary dance.

Commanding and enigmatic, I don’t believe in outer space is a brilliant inclusion in a stellar choreographic career – one that has deeply influenced the very trajectory of contemporary dance.
Renowned for his rigorous and inventive choreography, Forsythe returns to Melbourne Festival for the first time since 2001, when he stunned sold-out audiences with Eidos:Telos, a formidable exploration of memory and time. With I don’t believe in outer space he has created a whimsical and poignant investigation of life itself, in all its physicality, fragility and inevitable mortality.

Invoking the artefacts of popular culture, Forsythe pieces together a stunningly complex collage of images and voices, casting a playful yet sober eye on the nature of our existence.

Pulsing to a fractured live soundtrack, this surreal opus sees molecular interactions, social intrusions and sentiments from the disco era bleed together against the backdrop of an uncaring, unfathomable spacescape.

As the 17 dancers of the Forsythe Company move through the comedic, poetic choreography – taut, fluid and precise – they display a discipline and power the equal of any ensemble in the world today, giving a powerhouse performance worthy of this exquisite paean to the potential and beauty of movement.

Music Thom Willems
Sound Design Niels Lanz
Graphics Dietrich Krüger
Costumes Dorothee Merg
Light Tanja Rühl, Ulf Naumann
Dramaturgical assistance Freya Vass-Rhee
Dancers Yoko Ando, Cyril Baldy, Esther Balfe, Dana Caspersen, Katja Cheraneva, Brigel Gjoka, Amancio Gonzalez, Josh Johnson, David Kern, Fabrice Mazliah, Roberta Mosca, Tilman O`Donnell*, Jone San Martin, Yasutake Shimaji, Elizabeth Waterhouse*, Riley Watts, Ander Zabala

Membra Jesu Nostri

The Illustrated Man (Australia)

Performed under the majestic arches of St Paul’s Cathedral, Membra Jesu Nostri is a unique contemporary re-imagining of a masterwork of Western sacred music.

Two talented Melbourne-based ensembles join forces under the direction of award-winning conductor Peter Tregear to present a stirring vocal and visual performance of Membra Jesu Nostri, a set of seven short cantatas first created for Holy Week in 1680 by German-Danish composer Dietrich Buxtehude.

Berlin-based visual designer Christian Herrnbeck has composed an arresting series of photographic projections to accompany the performance, providing a stunning contemporary commentary on the Christian idea of a God-made-man.

Performed by Melbourne’s finest young vocal soloists, The Consort of Melbourne – who appeared at last year’s Melbourne Festival with the Kronos Quartet – along with the accomplished string ensemble Monash Sinfonia, this stunning baroque score is given a suitably exquisite showcase in a truly majestic setting.

Conceived & Directed by Peter Tregear

Visual Design Christian Herrnbeck
The Consort of Melbourne

Monash Sinfonia

... time for sleep

It has been a long, busy and fun-filled week

Birthday celebrations with those I love
and feeling cherished
... lots of wine, good food and beauty 

finally ... it is Friday evening and deconstructed time begins
the Grand Final is on tomorrow ...
the Mighty Hawks (our family team) vs the Swans ... feathers will fly

but for tonight
i'm content with evening yoga, a cup of tea
... and the chance to lie on my sofa beneath my quilt & candlelight 

... to admire
 a hand carved bookcase filled with all my beautiful books
and a vase of white flowers  

... a moody storm is brewing across the bay 

and ... it is so lovely to be here 

- happy, warm and sleepy.

goodnight
x

Flavours of Greece

Katina and I celebrated the Antipodes Festival and Flavours of Greece tonight at the Hellenica Republic. 

An evening of over indulgence.

Jules Birthday

Life can be seen as a garden maze, sometimes the hedges are too tall to see over or, too thick to see through, with no way of knowing what lies ahead or around the corner. There is a beginning and an end but, there is also a lot of learning, experiences and memories to cherish in between. 

Thankful for the beauty, freedom, inspiration, essence and ...

in my life.

TarraWarra Museum of Art

Birthday celebrations continued today with a visit to the TarraWarra Museum of Art, Healesville-Yarra Glen to see the third Biennial Exhibition 'Sonic Spheres' and lunch at the TarraWarra Winery.

Gorgeous Spring day, relaxing drive through undulating green, lush and sun kissed valleys, wine tasting a decadent lunch.

Feeling loved, lucky and inspired...

Drought and Rain

Video link: Drought and Rain

French Vietnamese choreographer Ea Sola celebrates historical and cultural memory and mediates on the human cost of war and imperialism in Drought and Rain.

Garden of dreams

... to be discovered.

Body of Knowledge

Body of Knowledge is an exhibition on the representation of medicine and he human anatomy through art and is being held at the University of Melbourne and Ian Potter Museum.

Ruth Hutchinson's Vessel to hold one's breath (2012) and Beat (2012) (image of work featured below) were particularly captivating.

Peninsula Hot Springs

What could be more decadent, and therapeutic for mind, body and soul; than spending the day with my beautiful friends at the Mornington Peninsula Hot Springs. Followed by an evening gathered together at a Grand Design abode, overlooking St Andrews natural flora and rugged coastline.

Ah Pure bliss.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY & Thanks Suz  

x