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TasDance presents

a flight of fancy

and the imagination

choreographic interpretations

of a Tasmanian story

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Just as butterflies emerge from theircocoon after their metamorphosis, thisseason too is a result of a long andwonderful evolution.

One of the most rewarding aspects of myposition is to see an idea develop andgrow. Nearly four years ago authorCarmel Bird showed me the wonderfullithograph A Flight of Fair Game thatdepicts women as butterflies moving fromthe old country to Van Diemen’s Land.

Following her research into the history ofthe Royal Princess and her cargo ofwomen for the colony, Carmel developedshort narrative pieces that have fed theimaginations of our two choreographers, our composer and our set and costume designer.

Introduction

a flight of fancy and the imagination

Natalie and Phillip each interpret the storybased on an intriguing part of Tasmania’shistory and explore notions of entrapment,coersion, vilification, moral corruption andthe extremes that occur in the relationsbetween men and women. The resultingworks involve universal themes of fear,horror and disgust.

Neither is literal interpretation or a linearnarrative, but a choreographic explorationand expression. I am delighted with theresults of this unusual process of offeringtwo artists the same motivation tointerpret in their own ways, so thatTasDance once again presents a diversityof contemporary work in this double bill.

The differing talents of the TasDancecompany members shine in this productionand I encourage you to allow eachtreatment to offer you their uniqueflavours. The dancers have contributed tothe development of the movementvocabulary and worked extremely hard tomaintain the integrity of thechoreographers intentions.

Greg Clarke and his innovative set designenable the dancers and Natalie to movebeyond the floor space and allowed FairGame to take an exciting spatial andmovement dimension. Likewise he hasbeen able to work to realise Phillip’s fertileimagination. It has been particularrewarding for me to have one designer towork on both set and costumes for theproduction.

For the final illumination we rely on the talents of Joseph Mercurio, and it iswonderful to have him working with us again.

Hope Csutoros has been a wonderfullyinspiring artist to work with and we lookforward to more contact with her and hermusic. Sarah Curro likewise has broughther extraordinary talents to bear in herplaying of Hope’s score.

All these artists come together with theirwork focussed through the company andthe refining skills of Rehearsal Director,Natasha Middleton. I thank all for theircontributions. Special thanks to StuartLoone, our Administrative Manager whoworked behind the scenes to make it all happen.

Annie Greig Artistic Director

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TitleFair Game

ChoreographyNatalie Weir

MusicLudovico Einaudi - Le Onde and SalgariBach Hope Csutoros

Costume DesignGreg Clarke

Costume ConstructionSonja Hindrum

PerformersCraig Bary, Trisha Dunn, Lisa Griffiths,Malcolm McMillan, Jason Northam, Tania Tabacchi

Ensemble - Boat composed & recorded by Hope Csutoros, live violin performed bySarah Curro

Duo - Lisa and Jason composed, recordedand arranged by Hope Csutoros with manythanks to DeFLOCKeD string quartet

Ensemble - Waltz Le Onde, solo pianocomposed by Einaudi

Duo - Trisha and Malcolm Le Onde, solopiano composed by Einaudi

Duo - Tania and Craig* composed andrecorded by Hope Csutoros

Solo - Trisha J.S. Bach; Agnus Dei, B minor Mass (lambarena, Bach to Africa)

Ensemble - Bridal Hold composed andrecorded by Hope Csutoros

Solo - Craig composed and recorded byHope Csutoros, solo violin performed by Sarah Curro

Solo - Tania composed and recorded by Hope Csutoros, solo violin performed bySarah Curro

Trio - Men Salgari composed by Einaudi

Contamination - Lisa and Men Salgaricomposed by Einaudi

Ensemble - Finale* Salgari, composed by Einaudi, arranged and re-recorded for violin by Hope Csutoros and DarrenSteffen, live violin performed by Sarah Curro

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Program Fair Game

From the Choreographer

This ballet is my reaction to thelithograph, A Flight of Fair Game and the chapter in Tasmanian history that inspired it.

The picture depicts some women as agroup of butterflies in flight, with the menin Hobart awaiting their arrival withbutterfly nets to catch them.

My piece is a reaction to this image, and Iwondered about the emotional aspects ofthese 'arranged' marriages and pursuedthe possibility that many of these enforcedrelationships were dysfunctional.

The women were described in anewspaper article as bad, an experimentalcargo, and when they arrived some ofthem were described as contaminated.These words give a feeling of horror tome, and provide a strong emotionalresonance for the work.

Hope Csutoros has composed severalsections of the work, which I think hasprovided a dynamic and thrillingcomponent to the piece. Design by GregClarke is an inspired concept, which addsenormous physical and emotional color tothe ballet.

The passage of writing later in thisprogram, the Margaret Coffey story byCarmel Bird really sums up many of thefeeling and images in this work.

I am very thankful to TasDance for havingme back here once again. This is acompany of strong individuals and theyshould be nurtured and valued. I have feltrefreshed by the honesty and commitmentthe dancers have shown in the creation ofthis work.

Natalie Weir

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Note The use of Le Onde and Salgari by Ludovico

Einaudi is by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Pty

Ltd as agent for BMG Ricordi SpA

* Thanks to Darren Steffen and Creative Urge

Studios, Melbourne.

Inte

rval

TitleDoubting Lakes Edge

ChoreographyPhillip Adams

MusicCobra Killer I’m your Alibi with thesupport of Meg Stuart/Damaged GoodsRobert Schmidt – Mt Bulla SoundscoreHope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions

Costume DesignGreg Clarke

PerformersCraig Bary, Trisha Dunn, Lisa Griffiths, Malcolm McMillan, Jason Northam, Tania Tabacchi, Joanne White

From the Choreographer

The parameters of the work oscillatebetween two spaces. A campsite, and anopen space. The camping groundrepresents a place of settlement and theopen space operates as a foreground forevents. Eg a forest and ocean.

Both sites play with the notion ofhabitation, isolation and contamination. The narrative is a contemporary reflectionin both idiom and mode of the time spentby the women passengers’ aboard thePrincess Royal and their first encounterwith settlement in Tasmania in 1832.

The opening event [the crossing] is a de-construction of life on board the PrincessRoyal. The women encounter uneventfulsituations, hysteria and displacement.

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Program Doubting Lakes Edge

Upon arrival onshore [the campsite], the movement reflects the living andworking relationship between the womenand their male counterparts. Whatbecomes apparent is an onslaught of moral corruption.

The open space [the forest] becomes astrange land of tall trees, ritualisticbehaviour, folk dance and strangeanimals. For the women the roughTasmanian terrain and forestry offer asense of weird isolation.

In the final scenario we see arecapitulation of past events in modernday living. In no particular order bothsites exhibit random events that offerfragments of conclusive evidence andcompromise by the women. Eg: sleepingarrangements and guest appearances.

p.s. [after thought] places the work atrest. The performers offer a New Haven as a means to coexist.

Thank you to Jess Exiner through thepatronage of Kolm Exiner, the AustraliaCouncil for the Arts, Young and EmergingInitiative Foot in the Door grant and EdgarJohn Wegner. To the performers for theirindividual contributions, dedication andenthusiasm in the development of mywork. To the artistic director Annie Greigand the administrative team of TasDancefor the opportunity to partake in the 10Days on the Island Festival and to share inthe indefatigable pursuit of contemporarydance practice - the experience had beeninvaluable. Special thanks to Cobra Killerand Paul Lemp.

Phillip Adams

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The night was so dark, the fog so thick,that the passengers on deck could not seeeach other, but they heard the cry:‘Breakers Ahead!’ The ‘Princess Royal wasoff Cape Pillar, on the far south west ofTasman Peninsula. It was Tuesday, August21, 1832. All the next day the ship tossedin a wild tempest, and on the Thursdaywas drawn up into Storm Bay, arriving inFrederick Henry Bay on the morning ofAugust 23. The storm continued; the shiprode at anchor. But the next day the ship,adrift, moved towards Pittwater and, withfour big bumps, stuck fast in the mud atDodge’s Ferry. All the sails and all theanchors had been lost. A steamer, the‘Surprise’ collected everyone on board andtook them to shore, and all wereeventually conveyed to Hobart Town whichwas the intended destination of their fivemonth voyage from London.

Who was on board?

Apart from the Captain, the Surgeon, theChaplain and the Crew, there were twohundred single women passengers whohad been given free passage for the

purpose of providing the colony of VanDiemen’s Land with servants and wives,for women were in short supply. Thewomen on board were described as cargo,the first ‘experimental cargo of FreeFemale Emigrants’. The original idea hadbeen wildly idealistic – to somehowmagically persuade respectable youngwomen with poor prospects to take adangerous free five-month trip away fromall they knew, ending up in an incrediblydistant penal colony way way away in theSouthern Ocean, there to spend the rest oftheir lives. The experiment was prettymuch a failure.

As it turned out, the two hundred womencame from three main sources: eighty-fourfrom the Charitable Guardian Asylum,twenty-four from the parish workhouses,forty-four from the London FemalePenitentiary. The remaining forty-eightwere described as ‘casual applicants’. Anattempt was made to keep the differentgroups separate by giving each a specificarea of the ship for their berths, but itsoon became clear that a process of moral‘contamination’ was bound to occur, as

The Story of the Princess Royal Author Carmel Bird

the more corrupt members of the companyhad an effect on those who weresusceptible. In both London and HobartTown there were Ladies’ Committeesdevoted to overseeing the project. Ialways find lists like those of the names ofpassengers on ships coming to Australia inthe nineteenth century strangely movingand compelling. There is so much hopeand so much fear and despair built intothe roll call. The lists for the ‘PrincessRoyal’ are even more interesting thanusual because next to the names there arecomments made by the highly respectableLadies’ Committee of Hobart Town.

If the women were deemed to be beyondredemption by the Committee, they were‘expelled’, presumably cut off fromprotection of any kind, finding their wayas best they could in the colony. A womanmight be: ‘Expelled for bad conduct,sleeping out of doors, and now believedto be living with some man in the countryin an improper way.’ Or she might be:‘Very bad and said to be gone to Americawith the Boatswain of the Princess Royal.’Occasionally the report was good, Mrs

Matthews the Matron from the ship beingcited as a referee: ‘ Mrs Matthews speaksvery well of her and has taken her into herown employ.’ And one woman ‘Appearedvery respectable. Represented herself tobe a widow with these two daughters.Mrs Matthews’ letter says this lady founda husband at Hobart Town named Elliott.’But the ringing repetitions of ‘very bad’and ‘expelled’ are a sad indicator of theway many – it seems to me most – of thewomen were perceived and treated in thecolony. A forlorn footnote to the ship’slists is the mention of ‘nine children’ whoare of course nameless. Some of thewomen themselves were as young asfifteen. Such records as these are apoignant window into life in the earlyyears of the colony.

The boat itself was the ‘cheapestconveyance’ and the crew were engagedat the ‘lowest penny’, while many of them‘proved drunken and became theassociates of the worst of the women’.Most of the women could not of coursewrite, and so there are few records ofevents. However, in her diary Catherine

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Price, the wife of the Chaplain, writes ofhow some of the ‘girls’ filled the lockswith sand so that their candles could notbe locked away, but gives no real detail ofunseemly behaviour. She writes of how‘some of the worst females on boardoffended’ the surgeon, but goes on to saythat the surgeon himself was often drunk.Two men fought about ‘a Miss Smith’. Shewrites mainly about such positive mattersas her husband’s sermons and theestablishment of a Bible school on board,and her observations of the weather andof birds and porpoises. She commentsthat the poop deck is allowed to ‘cabinpassengers only’ and that the ‘emigrantwomen’ are forbidden to walk there. Thereis something very telling about the finalentry in the diary: ‘Have clean linen to goashore in. We have had no washing doneon board.’ The comment sits very darklybeside the statement on the Form ofAdmission issued to each of the Emigrant women: ‘There will be sufficientopportunities of washing Linen during the Passage.’

While the ship was at sea, the experimentwas the subject of at least one cartoon inEngland. This was a coloured lithographpublished on June 17, 1832 by Thos.McLean of 26 Haymarket, London. Thepicture was printed by A.Ducôté of 70 StMartin’s Lane. The artist is unknown. It istitled ‘E-Migration or A Flight of FairGame’ and copies are held in the NationalLibrary ACT and the State Library ofTasmania. It was this image that firstinspired me to study the 1832 voyage of the ‘Princess Royal’.

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The glorious exuberance of the womenwith their fantastic butterfly wingsdescribes an iridescent arc between themean ugly women with brooms in Englandand the dismal little company of men inVan Diemen’s Land. The really good part isthat the man with the butterfly net hasn’tcaught anyone yet, although at least onewoman seems to be flying into the arms of a man high up on a rock. The flying women sing with colour, while the gloomy figures on both shoresshout in little speech balloons. In England, where there is a Penitentiaryand a Workhouse, they are saying:‘Varmint’ and ‘I’d be a butterfly’; in VanDiemen’s Land, where there is anObservatory and also a gang of convicts,it’s: ‘I spies mine’, ‘I sees a prime’un’, ‘Get ready Clargiman’. The chaplain iswaiting with his prayer book open.

There is a sense that the women aredoomed, and yet their ephemeraltrajectory across the vast ocean speaks of joy, beauty, and a kind of spiritual uplift that cannot be entirely quelled by their darker fate.

E-Migration or A Flight of Fair Game

Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts,

State Library of Tasmania

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The Journal of Jane Wordsworthyounger daughter of Lady CharlotteWordsworth of CarrickvaleConvenor of the London ChapterLadies’ Committee for the Promotion of the Emigration of Single Women to Van Diemen’s Land 1832

In the morning, quite early, Sarah and Ihad the great pleasure of selecting thefabrics for our new opera cloaks – rosevelvet for Sarah and white cashmere withswansdown for myself. We visited also theFrench milliner in Lavender Lane where wepurchased some of her smaller artificialflowers fashioned from crepe-de-chine, forbeneath our new cloaks we will both wearour pink silks which will require newtrimming. From the bird-seller on thecorner Sarah bought a sweet canary in awillow cage. Mother has promised we mayeach choose something from her jewel-case. We were quite worn out first by theexcitement of anticipation and then by thedemands of the decisions required of us,but we were also most delighted with theresults of our labours. This excursion wasallowed only on the strict understanding

that in the afternoon we would bothaccompany our Mama, our AuntGeorgiana and Mrs Jameison when theyconducted the Charitable Interviews. Thiswas for our exercise of Good Works, forour own Education, and also for ourEdification. We were not called upon tospeak or to offer any judgementwhatsoever, although nothing couldprevent us from discussing the events thathad passed, between ourselvesafterwards, within the private confines ofour own rooms.

The Interviews are conducted at therequest of Canon Bracebridge who is theDeputy Chairman of the Committeeproper. Although we were weary, we wereeager to comply with our Mama’s wishes,not the least because we have been forsome time in a wonderment as to theduties and activities of the Ladies’Committee. Tippie has scarcely stoppedbarking since Sarah brought home thecanary.

Mama has explained to us (at great lengthand in some detail) that there is a

The Journal of Jane Wordsworth

shortage of servants and also of wiveswithin the society of the Colony, and thatthese young women, who have applied forfree passage at the expense of the Trust,are generally without family or marriageportion, and are seeking a respectablefuture for themselves within the Colonywhere they will be welcomed by theHobart-town Chapter of the Ladies’Committee. Sarah and I have imaginedthat the same young women must be trulycourageous and adventurous, and wewere most keenly interested to meet themand to observe them at close quarters.

We met first of all Aunt Georgiana andMrs Jamieson (who is a most imposinglady, not a little terrifying – Sarah becamevery subdued which is of course anunusual state of affairs, causing Mama tolook at her once or twice with concern) ina little courtyard beneath two enormouschestnut trees which darkened theafternoon at once and made us long forthe open air and freedom and sunshine ofCarrickvale. Then before much time hadpassed we found ourselves inside agloomy building composed it seemed to

me of narrow corridors and hundreds ofimposing doors with big brass handles, allclosed. I had the feeling that behind thosedoors was a kind of beehive of busyactivity, clerks with piles of important(Sarah said un-important) documents,sorting and scratching away with theirpens and ink, bent over their work withspectacles on their noses, dead moths intheir hair, and worn slippers on theirtapping feet. If we could but open thedoors we would discover a whole world ofindustry. We hurried on, flowing in a lineof rustling silk and bobbing bonnetsbehind Mrs Jamieson whose figure issubstantial until we arrived at theInterview Chamber down in the deepestrecesses of the edifice, far far away fromthe hum and buzz of London, in a worldall its own, in a dark cocoon of Discussionand Interview and Sorting and Sifting ofPersons Destined for the Colonies.

The air was hushed, down there, hushedand somehow empty, not dreaming, notwaiting, but stilled. There was an aromaof bitter oranges. I grew a little afraid andclung to Sarah as we entered the

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Author Carmel Bird

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Interview Chamber proper and took ourseats along a green bench which stretchedthe length of a mahogany table. On thewall before us hung a clock, large andround with a brass frame which had notbeen cleaned, I believe, for a very longtime. It offered a maritime aspect, and itticked most audibly, most mournfully inthe sad and silent air, as, one by one thewomen entered through another doorway,a dark low door which cut the corner at anangle, and led, Sarah told me, to stairswhich wound down into the cellar where(who knows how many?) hopeful womenwait in expectation of being called up forthe Interview. We saw six of these womenin our morning, and the differencesbetween them were most striking.

All the women were inmates of theWorkhouse, for Mama had quite firmlydecreed that Sarah and myself were not tobe witness to Interviews with thoseUnfortunates who originated at theFemale Penitentiary. I confess a secretdesire to see some of these latter women,as it is almost impossible for me toimagine Creatures of God’s Earth more

marked by woes and cares than the sixwomen who came before us this verymorning. The oldest one was twenty-fiveyears of age, the very age of my cousinAlexandra who has so recently married MrDavenport. The contrast between dearAlexandra whose complexion is so finethat it is remarked upon by all who meether, and whose hair is indeed the glory ofour whole family, and Mary Ann Fiske wasmost astonishing to me. For Fiske wassuffering from a twisting of the spine, andshowed hands and countenance of suchgrimy crinkled and withered aspect it wasdifficult to look at her without asking herfirst to dip her face and hands in the rain-tub. Mrs Jamieson, in fact, made a noteto speak to the Forewoman in chargerequesting greater attention be paid tothe washing of face and hands beforeInterview. Her eyes were sad. I would nothave wished Mary Ann Fiske for myservant, although I confess her voice wasgentle enough, and her abilities withneedle and thread appeared to be verysatisfactory. She wore a dress of darkstuff, the rips and tatters of which hadbeen most carefully mended and restored.

Her bonnet appeared to be quite new, andmy aunt commented later that she was ofthe opinion this had been acquired bymeans other than honest. I wondered howone would perhaps steal a bonnet. We, ofcourse, Sarah and myself, were not calledupon to comment at all. We were simplyto observe and later to pray for thewellbeing of the women who passedbefore our company. I understand thatFiske was given a Stamp of Approval bythe Committee, and I do hope and trustthat she may find a happier life in VanDiemen’s Land. I am certain that she will,since that place is famously noted for thefreshness of the air and the abundance offruits and fishes to be had, as well asuseful work, and, who knows? perhaps asuitable husband in the Colony. I do hopeso. I will pray when next we go to Church.Sarah always shudders at the idea of thedangerous journey by sea, and by the vastdistances to be crossed, and by thestrangeness of places far away, thestrangeness of strange peoples, but I amof a more optimistic turn of mind, and Isee all as an adventure, nourished as I amin the imagination by the wonderful

romance of fairy tales and legends. I alsosee the practical application of theenterprise, since there is nothing but painand suffering for women such as this inthe London Workhouse.

The youngest woman was she who mostdrew my interest and attention, perhapsbecause she was one year younger thanmyself, being fifteen. Her name isMargaret Coffey.

She was tiny and slender, barefoot,bareheaded. Her hair was thick, long andblack and tied up with a rough piece ofchartreuse ribbon which was featheredand frayed from age and use. Althoughsome of her teeth were darkened, and onewas broken, her smile was truly beguiling,and her face and hands were small, soft,and perfectly clean. I tried to imagine howshe would look in a pink cotton gown anda snow white pinafore, and I decided thatshe would offer a quite charmingappearance – for even in her dark woollenskirt and shawl she did not lookungraceful. She spoke briefly, holding herhead steady and looking Mama and the

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other Ladies in the eye, by turns. Her owneyes were a clear pale grey, I do confess Ihave not often seen such pretty eyes. Sheis, she explained, an orphan, with noprospects whatsoever, her only hope, shesays, of making her way in the world as aChristian woman is to travel to theColonies and take up a position, and hopeto find a good husband among the newcountrymen. I had a vision of a tiny stonechurch in an avenue of apple trees, andMargaret was the blushing bride indelicate lace and satin ribbons with a posyof bright flowers picked from the lanes onher way to the church. Her husband was asoldier in scarlet coat and feathered cap. Ithink it was in fact partly my memory of apicture in one of my books, a romanticidyll where a poor country girl finds andweds the good soldier of her dreams.

Are you quite sure, the Ladies asked her,that you are prepared in full to leave theplaces and the people you know and tocross the seas to an unknown futurewhere life will no doubt be strange andfraught with difficulties? – for even they,stern matrons as they may be, were

touched by the fragile youthfulness ofMargaret Coffey, and feared for her safetyand happiness. She replied: “The people Iknow would wish me ill, and the place Ilive is the Workhouse.” It was AuntCharlotte who, after the Interviews, said:“What hope is there, after all, for the poorlittle thing in the Streets of London?” AndI thought to myself, what hope indeed.And so I was persuaded that it was theright and proper thing for Margaret Coffeyto join Mary Ann Fiske and the other fourwomen as a Female Passenger on boardthe Princess Royal when she sails for VanDiemen’s Land some time in April.

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Goes from the Interview to the Journeyto the Arrival in Van Diemen’s Land

Up from the cellar, into the Room ofInterview. Sunlight bright in the window. I am feeling brave and I speak out formyself. Coo, coo from my shy cocoon.Behind the dark bench three ladies andtwo girls. Yellow bonnets, pink cheeks,cherry lips, the girls are staring, the girlsare smirking. Black bonnets, beady eyes,lips like the beaks of blackbirds, thewomen. Soft silky gowns of pale bluecloud, the girls are softly whispering.Crackle and cackle and big mulberrycapes, edged with rustling taffeta, darkblue, deep wine, the ladies, midnightgreen, with lockets of gold and silver andbracelets and rings and heavy, heavytimepieces. Tick tock ticker ticker tocker.What time is it, what day is it, what worldis this? What is your name and how oldare you and where did you live and who isyour father and why do you want to go toHobart-Town? Are you healthy? Do yousew? Do you cook, sweep, dust, polish,carry coals and water? How old? Fifteen?You must be an orphan. You may get in

line and be listed and tagged and bundledand bullied and bruised and boxed onboard the floating palace for brides-in-waiting, servants in disguise. The PrincessRoyal will be sailing soon, billowing,sailing away across the horizon, across theworld, across the waters, the oceans, theseas. Dangerous journey. The bottom ofthe ocean is a long long way, way, waydown at the bottom with the fishes. Tofind a situation. To find a husband. To findsomething good in the world. What worldis this? The ship moves out from theknown world into the unknown world, anunknown world floating on an unknownworld-sea. My head spins round, my gutsspill out, my legs are weak, I can not seethe land. In my mind I run and run like amouse in an attic, flittering, searching forcrumbs, for crumblets, for warmth, forcomfort, for safety. The sailors run at me,eyes wild, their arms around me. In thedaylight, in the dark. I run and I run and Irun from the sailors, from the Surgeon. Irun to the Matron. I hide behind her. Shedrags me out. She hands me to theSurgeon like a parcel of washing, like acottage pie, like a bundle of rags. I am a

Margaret Coffey

bundle of rags. The Surgeon uses me like abundle of rags. I scream and the ship rollsand I scream and I run and I fly. I amflying along, rags fluttering, flapping, abroken insect limping on the deck wherethe high waves break in the roaringdarkness and the Surgeon gives me to thesailors and the sailors use me like abroken insect in a bundle of rags and Iweep in the darkness as the ship rolls on,as the sails billow salt in the afternoonbreeze, and hundreds of flying fish leap inthe light. Look, look, the sailors cry, lookat the flying fish. They are a good omen.Look, they say, this one, this girl, she’s ourfigurehead, and they throw me up, up, abroken stick in a bundle of rags in theafternoon sunlight, and I fall like a stoneon the deck. Slipping and sliding. Salt,sea, sun, tears, blood, loud laughter and agreat shouting in my ears. But the woundsheal. I am whole and astonished and sad.And on dry Van Diemen’s Land I meetagain the self-same ladies in the self-samebonnets and capes of mulberry rustlingand bustling and who are you and what isyour name and what is your age and whyare you such a little whore and how could

it be that you are so bad and we havedecided to tip you out and turn you looseand give you the freedom of the streets tobeg your way and whore your way andfind your way and may God have mercy onyour soul and we are most highlydisappointed in this cargo of lewd andlopsided women with the limping legs andthe sloping backs and the broken wings ofcrumpled crazy crack-pot moth-facedbutterfly wishbone sluts. What time is it,what day is it, what world is this? What world is this?

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Author Carmel Bird

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Annie began her dance training inLaunceston, Tasmania and went on tostudy in Adelaide with the AustralianDance Theatre under the direction ofElizabeth Dalman. Annie received aFulbright scholarship in 1979, enabling herto complete a Master of Arts Degree inDance at New York University. As well asextending her dance practice, Anniedeveloped skills in dance video productionand won awards in Experimental DanceVideo at the American Dance Film andVideo Festival (1981 & 1982). Shebenefited greatly from working withinternationally acclaimed choreographersAlwin Nikolais and Murray Louis.

Annie has worked in many capacities:Course Director with the NationalAboriginal and Islander Skills DevelopmentAssociation; freelance teacher and videomaker; Liaison Officer with TasDanceunder Jenny Kinder; lecturing at theUniversity of Tasmania for the Bachelor ofPerforming Arts Dance students andPerforming Arts Program Officer with ArtsTasmania. She was on the TasmanianCultural Industries Council and is presently

a National Vice-President of Ausdance, the Australian Dance Council, on theAdvisory Committee for The AustralianChoreographic Centre in Canberra andSecretary for the Asia Pacific PerformingArts Network.

Annie undertook an AsiaLink residency in2001 to Korea and worked with Dr SunOck Lee and the Son Mu Ga DanceCompany. This resulted in TasDance beinginvited to perform at the Asia PacificPerforming Arts Network in May 2002 andagain in India in 2003.

Artistic Director

Annie Greig

Natalie Weir was born in Australia, andhas been choreographing professionallyfor 18 years. She was trained at the AnnRoberts School of Dance in Townsville, andcompleted an Associate Diploma inPerforming Arts at the QueenslandUniversity of Technology in Brisbane. Shewas a founding member of ExpressionsDance Company and was offered her firstchoreographic commission by Expressionsat the age of 18.

Natalie has worked extensively throughout Australia, creating work formost of the countries major Classical andContemporary Dance Companies,including the Australian Ballet, the WestAustralian Ballet Company, theQueensland Ballet, Expression's DanceCompany, Australian Dance Theatre and Dance North. Natalie was alsoChoreographer in Residence for theQueensland Ballet and the Australian Ballet.

Natalie has created several works for theAustralian Ballet including Dark Lullabyand her first full-length work, ‘Mirror Mirror’.

Natalie has also created two works for theHouston Ballet, and the American BalletTheatre in New York have performed'Jabula'. Most recently she was one offour choreographers involved in theHarrison Project, a tribute to GeorgeHarrison from the Beatles, which was abig success for the company.

Most recently Natalie has created 'BeyondTears' for the West Australian Ballet, hasset her 'Rite of Spring' on the Hong KongBallet and created ‘Steppenwolfe' for theHouston Ballet for which she received theChoo San Goh award. Natalie has alsobeen the recipient of an Australia councilFellowship towards development as achoreographer and artistic director.

Natalie created the contemporary solo forthe male and female for inclusion for thefirst time in the RAD Gene Competitionheld in Sydney late in 2002.

This year WA Ballet is remounting 'TheCollector". Singapore Dance Theatre willalso perform her 'Dark Lullaby'. Nataliewill create a new work for Dance North. InApril, Natalie will create 'Harmonium' forthe American Ballet Theatre's Met seasonand later this year a full-length version ofTourandant for the Hong Kong Ballet.

This is Natalie's second work forTasDance. She is thrilled to have workedwith the company again and would like togive her biggest thanks to the dancers ofTasDance for their inspiration andenormous collaboration.

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Choreographer

Natalie Weir

Phillip Adams is a graduate of theVictorian College of the Arts and lived andworked in New York for a decade afterbeing awarded the ANZ InternationalFellowship award in 1988. He was amember of several leading dancecompanies and worked with independentchoreographers including: Nina WienerDance Company, Donna Uchizono Dance,Bebe Miller Dance Company, DennisO'Connor Dance, Trisha Brown Co,Amanda Miller Pretty Ugly Dance Co, IreneHultman Dance Company, Chunky MoveDance Co, Company In Space, Vis-Vis andworked with Sarah Rudner and LanceGries.

Since returning to Australia in 1998, Phillipfounded his own company BalletLab thatdebuted with their sell out season ofAmplification. Since forming the companyhe has toured to Beijing, Scotland,Germany, England, Mongolia, SydneyOpera House and Brisbane Powerhouse.Phillip’s work has also been presented inNew York, Boston and New Zealand.

Phillip has been commissioned by severalleading theatre and dance companiesincluding Arena Theatre, Chunky Move,Dance Works, Back 2 Back Theatre,Guongdong Modern Dance CompanyChina, Sydney Mardi Gras, One Extra Co,Vis a Vis Dance Canberra, VCA andWAAPA. Phillip was director of theMelbourne Fashion Fringe 2000. Philliphas taught internationally and throughoutAustralia.

Most recently Phillip was artist inresidency at the Tanzwerkstatt Berlin andRotterdam school of Contemporary Artsand in 2003 he will be creating a newcommission for the Rotterdam DanceCompany. BalletLab will be creating a newTrilogy Self Encasing to premiere at theHolland Dance Festival and MelbourneFestival in 2003.

Phillip is the recipient of grants andawards from the Australia Council, ArtsVictoria, Playing Australia, Kolm-Exiner,Myer Foundation, Mardi GrasDevelopment Fund, Green Room Awards,Asialink, Massachusetts Culture CouncilArts Fund USA, Anthony Joseph PrattScholarship, Besen Family Foundation andan Australian Dance Award Nomination.

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Choreographer

Phillip Adams

Hope studied at the Victorian College ofthe Arts and the Franz Liszt MusicAcademy (Hungary). Hope's broadexperience in all aspects and styles ofviolin playing has ensured she is highlysought after as a performer, composer,session musician and soloist. Hope iscurrently violinist with pop band MyFriend the Chocolate Cake, the DavidChesworth Ensemble, DeFLOCKEd stringquartet and gypsy tango group CosmoCosmolino. Hope has also enjoyedcomposing and performing throughoutAustralia and internationally (Europe, UK,Asia) with highly regarded companies suchas Circus Oz, Theatre Physical, SidetrackTheatre, the Gavin Bryars Ensemble,Chamber Made Opera, Ros Warby Projectsand DV8 Physical Theatre. She has alsoworked with the State Orchestra ofVictoria, in numerous musicals includingPhantom of the Opera, the Bach ChamberEnsemble in Budapest and recorded withMidnight Oil, Mark Seymour, The GoBetweens, Deborah Conway and others.She has also worked on film scores suchas the recent Till Human Voices Wake Usand documentaries, both as composer and

violinist.

Composers Note

Fair Game is inspired by a dramatic true story

and lithograph of innocent love, violent lust and

an arduous journey to a harsh, foreign land. We

were keen to have the intensity, passion and

innocence inherent in the story Fair Game

reflected not only in the choreography but also

in the energy, evocativeness and contrasts

within the musical score. The musical process

was quite an unusual one. Natalie Weir had had

to choreograph much of the dance to an eclectic

selection of pre-recorded pieces ranging from

Bach to romantic piano pieces and South

American rhythms before I arrived. We then

decided that my role was to create a few new

original compositions in response to the

choreography that evoked the darker, grittier

side of the story. The other remaining pieces

were to contrast quite starkly with this. We had

also discussed incorporating live violin

performance into the tapestry of the work. After

choosing the appropriate sections, I created

sketches and recordings using a varying

soundscape of dark, emotionally intense raw

sounds created mostly from a palette of

electronically processed violin and found

objects. I also wrote the solo violin ideas and

transitions after initially improvising to the

choreography to create a new homogenous

score. Finally I worked with violinist Sarah Curro

to bring the written violin parts to life. The most

important quality I wanted to retain in the violin

pieces was an improvised quality of impassioned

intensity. We hope to create the impression that

the violinist is playing freely in direct emotional

response to the movements of the dancers. This

was a unique challenge for both us that was

ultimately very satisfying. I hope that the

musical score for Fair Game will contribute to

the dynamic and spirited movements of the

choreography and dancers to highlight this

extraordinary story of women from a segment of

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Composer

Hope Csutoros

Originally from Brisbane, Sarah beganstudying the violin at the age of eight. In 1988, Sarah entered the QueenslandYouth Symphony as its youngest memberand then was accepted into theQueensland Conservatorium to commencea Bachelor of Music. During these fouryears, she was winner of many prizes andscholarships including the ConservatoriumMedal for Excellence. Sarah wasConcertmaster for Queensland YouthSymphony, the Australian Youth Orchestraand the Camerata of the Australian YouthOrchestra with whom she tourednationally and internationally.

In 1993, Sarah was a string finalist for theABC Young Performers Award for whichshe performed the Sibelius Violin Concertoin D Minor with the Tasmanian SymphonyOrchestra. That year she also performedthe Australian premiere of Ludlow Lullabyby Australian composer Vincent Plush,which was broadcast on ABC Radio.Sarah has since played with theQueensland Philharmonic and SymphonyOrchestra, the Tasmanian SymphonyOrchestra and, with the Australian

Chamber Orchestra, has toured Europeand the United States of America.In 1996 Sarah was offered a fullscholarship to study with and act asteaching assistant to Michael Ma, Head of Strings at the Hong KongAcademy for Performing Arts.

After accepting a full time position withthe Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in1999, Sarah was able to pursue herinterest in Early music with JeromeHoberman, founder of the Bach SocietyChoir and Orchestra.

Sarah’s interest in contemporary music hasinspired her to commission several piecesfor violin and percussion from composersmet in her travels for a current recordingproject.

Currently freelancing around Australia,Sarah is looking forward to many exciting collaborations with other artforms and artists.

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Violinist

Sarah Curro

Carmel Bird is a novelist who grew up inTasmania and whose work frequentlyfocuses on the strange and moving historyof this place. Her Fair Game narrativeswere inspired by a lithograph illustratingthe voyage of the 'Princess Royal' in 1832,and reflect the tough lyricism of herapproach.

She has written five novels, fourcollections of short stories, and twomanuals for writers. The body of her workof novels comprise The White Garden; TheBluebird Café; Cherry Ripe; Red Shoes;and under the name Jack Power, Crisis.The collections of short stories include TheCommon Rat; The Woodpecker Toy Fact:Automatic Teller and Births Deaths andMarriages. The manuals are intended asinspiration for writers and appear underthe titles of, Dear Writer and Not NowJack- I’m Writing a Novel. Carmel hasalso edited four anthologies of Australianwriting, Relations; Red Hot Notes and thelatest being The Stolen Children - TheirStories. All the work has a strong base insocial issues, and in Tasmanian history and landscape.

Authors Note

I dedicate this text to Lucy Lucy Halligan who

introduced me to the image of the butterflies via

a post card from the National Library. And I

express my gratitude to Gillian Winter of the

State Library of Tasmania for her kind assistance

with research, and also to Max Annand for

generously sending me a copy of the diary kept

by his ancestor Catherine Price, wife of the

chaplain who travelled on the Princess Royal in

1832. I also thank Annie Greig, Director of

TasDance, who had confidence in my vision and

saw it translated into dance, and I thank the

dancers and all members of the creative team

who have brought the spirit of Fair Game to

vivid and amazing life.

I have drawn historical material from the diary

of Catherine Price, from the ship’s records, and

from letters exchanged between Governor

Arthur of Van Diemen’s Land and Viscount

Goderich and other authorities in England.

Explore the range of Carmel's work on

www.carmelbird.com and enjoy also her most recent

novel Open For Inspection. Her forthcoming novel is

Cape Grimm, which is set in the north west of Tasmania.

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Author

Carmel Bird

Joseph Mercurio was born in Melbourneand raised in Fremantle, WesternAustralia. As part of the Mercurio dynastyhis exposure to the entertainment industrycommenced at an early age. Following hissister Connie, into ballet at age sixtriggered his fascination with dance. He decided to leave the barrel rolls to his brother Paul and moved into LightingDesign. At age sixteen one of his firstjobs was for Swy Theatre Company withhis brother Michael, who was a founding member.

Joseph's career has spanned the entireentertainment scope. Workingpredominantly in Lighting for dance anddance theatre, rock and roll, film,television, drama, and corporate shows.Lighting and the manipulation of light hasfuelled Joseph's passion for his career, it isnot only what you see but also what isconcealed that fascinates him.

Joseph was an integral part of BangarraDance Theatre's rise to prominence asLighting Design on Praying Mantis

Dreaming, Ninni, Ochres, Alchemy andFish. Returning to the freelance lifestyleat the start of 1998 Joseph has immersedhimself in a wider more varied rangeof lighting styles.

In 1998 with generous support from TheAustralia Council Joseph attended TheBritish Council International Seminar onLighting Design. In 1999 Joseph workedon the Australian Dance Awards, BodiesDance Festival and The Last Princess aswell as a renewed focus on drama throughAlive at Williamstown Pier for the Griffinand State of Shock in Wagga Wagga,Adelaide and Sydney.

Other events include the 2000 AustraliaDay Lunch, 2002 Gold Dinner, 1997/2000Opening of The Olympic Arts Festival,Lighting Designer for Closing Ceremony of The Sydney Olympics Props and allground based elements.

Joseph continues to freelance in Australia and overseas.

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Lighting Designer

Joseph Mercurio

Greg’s previous experiences designing fordance have been with Expressions DanceCompany, Brisbane. There he has designedtwo works by Natalie Wier, Proof Sheetand Insight, as well as numerous worksfor the company’s director, Maggi Sietsma,which have toured both nationally andinternationally. He has also participatedin cultural exchanges with Expressions toNew Guinea and India. He has designedfor The Queensland Theatre Company,Opera Queensland, Q.U.T., Playbox,Laboite, Handspan, and was a designer on the inaugural Brisbane Festival Parade. His work was last seen in Tasmania in TheMelbourne Worker’s Theatre production Who’s afraid of the working class?

Natasha, currently TasDance’s RehearsalDirector, is a dance artist based inMelbourne and has had an extensivecareer in a variety of dance fields.

Originally from Tasmania, Natasha was acompany member with TasDance in 1997and performed in Passionfruit and TEASEand choreographed The Journey SuiteNo.2 and Midnight’s Child for theTasmanian Poetry and Dance Festival.

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Costume and Set Designer

Greg Clarke

Rehearsal Director

Natasha Middleton

Natasha danced as Principal Dancer of theWest Australian Ballet, working veryclosely with director and choreographerBarry Moreland, creating many full-lengthroles. Among other awards and grants,Natasha was honoured with the AdamsAward for best Female Classical Dancer inan Australian state company. She wasalso Principal Dancer with London CityBallet for two years during which time shealso danced as guest artist with BalletClassico de Zaragoza, Le Ballet du Nordand Scottish Contemporary Dance Theatre.On returning to Australia, Natasha wasinvited to tour to the Philippines inAustralian Stars of Ballet with PrincipalDancers of the Australian Ballet.

Natasha danced as a soloist in GraemeMurphy’s bicentennial production Vast,and was invited to join Sydney DanceCompany in 1995, for whom she touredinternationally as well as performing inTasmania with Protecting Veil.

With extensive teaching experience,Natasha is currently a sessional lecturer indance at the Victorian College of the Artsand coaches at the City Dance Centre.

She is also continuing to develop as anactor and creates dance theatre and film.Recently she performed at La Mama inMelbourne in a dance theatre productionof Heloise and Abelard. Natasha iscurrently working on a dance narrativefilm as writer/director.

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Born in New Zealand in 1977, Craiggraduated from the New Zealand Schoolof Dance in 1998 with a Diploma in DancePerformance. Craig has performed forsuch companies and choreographers as,The Royal New Zealand Ballet, FootnoteDance Company, Michael Parmenter’sCommotion Company, Douglas WrightDance Company, Gary Stewart’s Thwackdance company and two years with theAustralian Dance Theatre. Craig JoinedTasDance last year for their Ripple Effectseason where he was noted in the DanceAustralia’s Critics Survey as mostoutstanding dancer. Craig has alsochoreographed two short worksReincarnated and Tetrad.

Trisha, originally from South Australia,studied at the Queensland Dance Schoolof Excellence, later gaining a Bachelor foDance from the Victorian College of the Arts.

Trisha has worked for TasDance for nearlyfour years in various capacities botheducational and professional. Herperformances for the compoany includePassionfruit, Story Lines, Obsessions,HYPER_mobile, Treasured Island andRipple Effect. Trisha has also spent timewith Sue Healey and Dancers andperformed in Chunky Move’s Arcadeseason.

Trisha performed in Seoul, Korea withTasDance in May 2002 and she recentlyreturning from India, where she performedin the 5th APPAN International Festival inRishikesh. Her India trip was madepossible with support from the AustraliaIndia Council. Trisha is inspired andexcited to be a part of the Fair Game season.

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Dancer

Craig Bary

Dancer

Trisha Dunn

Lisa completed her tertiary dance studiesat the Queensland University ofTechnology and the Centre for PerformingArts in Adelaide. In 1996 she worked withChris Jannides, Artistic Director of DarcSwan Dance Company. In 1998 Lisa joinedChunky Move, the Melbourne basedcontemporary dance company, workingwith choreographers Paul Selwyn Norton,Lucy Guerin, Phillip Adams and GideonObarzanek. During her time with ChunkyMove, she toured nationally andinternationally with Live Acts, Body Partsand Fleshmeet. Lisa also performed inTasDance’s HYPER_mobile season (2000)and in Ripple Effect (2002). Since then,Lisa has performed in When There’s Only,a dance film for UK based AmandaPhillips, and also worked on Niche, a filmby Sue Healey. In 2002, Lisachoreographed and performed in twocommissioned worked for Dance Tracks atThe Studio, Sydney Opera House. She alsoperformed in Fine Line Terrain, a newdance work by Sue Healey at the BangarraTheatre, Sydney.

Malcolm started dance at the QueenslandDance School of Excellence at the age of16 and furthered his studies at theVictorian College of the Arts.

He then traveled and worked in LosAngeles, Canada and Alaska beforereturning to Melbourne to work withElissa Mayer Thomas. In 1998 he joinedFootnote Dance Company in New Zealand.Malcolm worked for Michael Parmenter’sCommotion company for the 1999 seasonof Jerusalem before returning to Australiato work with Opera Australia for aMelbourne season of Julius Caesar andthe Pearlfishers. In 2001 he worked withthe Australian Dance Theatre on thecompany members choreographic seasonIgnition before joining TasDance. Malcolmreturned to ADT for Ignition 2, beforegoing to New Zealand to perform inAndrew Lloyd Webber’s Song and Dance.

Malcolm has also performed for TasDancein Treasured Island, Ripple Effect and nowthe Fair Game season.

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Dancer Dancer

Lisa Griffiths Malcolm McMillan

Jason completed his dance studies at theQueensland University of Technology,graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in2001. Whilst studying, he worked with theOne Extra Dance Company (secondment)and performed in Opera Queensland’s2001 production of “The Pearl Fishers”.

Since graduation Jason has worked withExpressions Dance Company as a memberof their Education Team, touring toschools in regional Queensland. Followingthis he worked for Lismore based companyNORPA on their 2001 production of “TheSeed”, performing in Lismore, Taree,Wagga Wagga and Parramatta.

Tania was born in Italy and grew up inAdelaide where she began her dancingcareer. She continued to study dance,completing her studies at the Centre ofPerforming Arts. Tania has workedextensively within the independent artistscene, alsp working in the State Opera ofSA and Opera Australia. She has beeninvolved in the ADT Ignition seasons,performed in the film The Diaries ofNijinsky directed by Paul Cox and as a partof TasDance for Treasured Island (2001 10Days on the Island). She toured to Koreain 2002 with TasDance as part of theAPPAN International Festival & Symposiumand most recently was noted in the DanceAustralia’s Critics Survey as mostoutstanding dancer for Ripple Effect.

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Dancer

Jason Northam

Dancer

Tania Tabacchi

Joanne commenced her dance trainingwith the Graduate College of dance inPerth. After graduating, she travelled toEurope and was accepted into the JohnNeumeier Hamburg Ballet School whereshe trained for 1-_ years. Following thisshe joined the Hamburg Ballet Companyand performed in all productions bothballet and contemporary ballet and touredthe world extensively with the company.After returning to Perth, Joanneperformed in Passion with the WestAustralian Ballet, Broken Angels withDavid Prudham’s Australian DancersCompany and various other independentprojects. In 2001 she enrolled at theVictorian College of the Arts to completethe third year of a bachelor of dance.During the first half of 2002 she workedwith Buzz Dance Theatre and was also arecipient of an Australia Council’s Foot InThe Door grant to work with Phillip Adamsand BalletLab on the Self- Encasing trilogy.

Angela recently graduated from theUniversity of Tasmania with a Bachelor ofPerforming Arts, where she developed akeen interest in production and technicaltheatre. During her course, Angela gainedvaluable experience in stage managementand lighting, as well as directing acontemporary dance piece, The Cell, whichshe devised for the Student DirectedFestival.

Angela was also production assistant forStompin’ Youth Dance Co. and productionmanager for the 2002 TCE dance exams.After a stint as production assistant withFrontline for Grinspoon concerts, Angelawent on to stage manage for Festivale andwas deputy stage manager for TheatreNorth’s Our Path (as part of the inaugural10 Days on the Island Festival). This isAngela’s first time working with TasDanceand is looking forward to being a partof Fair Game.

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Dancer Production and Stage Manager

Joanne White Angela Cole

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Lighting DesignerJoseph Mercurio

Production and Stage ManagerAngela Cole

Pre-production AssistantTheresa O’Connor

Technical Assistant Damien Fuller

Graphic/Image Design Kieran Bradley

PhotographyTim Smith (dancers, cover image) Paul Scambler (portraits)Kieran Bradley (butterfly and fabric)

TasDance StaffArtistic Director Annie GreigRehearsal Director Natasha MiddletonAdministrative Manager Stuart LooneAdministrative Assistant Dale Rowan

TasDance Board of DirectorsAlison Andrews (chairman), Elizabeth Daly,Annie Greig, Judy Hodgman, MarkKelleher, Scott McKay, Nicholas Reaburn,Tony Walker, Christine Ward.

AcknowledgmentsThe TasDance Friends Committee, Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts,State Library of Tasmania, The TasmanianSymphony Orchestra, The Queen VictoriaMuseum & Art Gallery, Chas KellyTransport, 10 Days on the Island, Great Northern Hotel, Kim Roe

Production Credits

TasDance gratefully acknowledges the support of its corporate sponsors:

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