Taryn graduated from NAISDA Dance College and has since performed and taught extensively, including performing with the acclaimed Bangarra Dance Company at the 1996 Olympic Games Closing Ceremony in Atlanta, USA.

Taryn started a family dance group called InDidgDance performing cultural dances and teaching in schools both nationally and internationally to New York, New Zealand, Europe, & Korea. Taryn is a member of Kebi Kub, a Torres Strait Islander performing group based in Sydney. She also performed with Descendance Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Dance Company and has toured to China, Japan, Taiwan, Qatar & Russia.

Aba is Alumni of National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA). She is a workshop facilitator leading Cultural and Contemporary Dance Workshops around Australia’s most remote communities such as the NPA (Northen Peninsula Area) region which include Bamaga, Injinoo, Umagico, New Mapoon & Seisia, Thursday Island, Kubin Village (MOA Island) and Lockhart River. Recently she has performed in Waru - journey of the small turtle for Bangarra Dance Theatre and dancer for the Yaban Festival.

Gabriel Comerford is an Australian-Malaysian artist with over 10 years professional experience. He is a founding member of MakeShift Dance Collective and is currently based in lutruwita/Tasmania working with Tasdance, Stompin and MakeShift in a range of differing capacities. He thrives off working across disciplines and is constantly seeking to challenge and extend himself.

Gabriel has worked and performed with a diverse range of companies and choreographers both Nationally and Internationally. Whilst his practice is rooted in dance, his experiences have allowed him to learn from and incorporate elements of physical theatre, object theatre, puppetry, visual arts, site-specific, Suzuki method, integrated practice, installation and du- rational performance. His interest lies in collaboration and the creative process; sifting through first impressions to expose the core of the theme or concepts at hand. He has an inquisitive mind, a powerful physicality and a captivating stage presence.

Gabriel is a passionate performer, choreographer, educator and mentor who believes deeply in the power of dance to create connection, transformation and healing.

Samara is a dance artist, director and producer who works in community-engaged performance. She has built a reputation for delivering exceptional creative art projects for people of all ages and abilities in regional Victoria. A focus of these projects is always to encourage participation for marginalized people by ensuring access to professional arts experiences. By welcoming all people, regardless of their background, Samara's dance and performance practice promotes understanding and nurtures a place where all people can share their creativity in a professionally supported environment.

Samara's work as the founding director of (it’s no) drama—a physical theatre company for artists with disabilities—has been one of the most unique and important creative endeavours in Gippsland over the past eight years. Since the group's establishment in 2017, Samara has directed several works and collaborated with Back to Back Theatre for Rising Festival’s 'Single Channel Video' (2022), and Heidi Latsky Dance (New York) for 'On Display Global', an international collaboration honouring the United Nations' International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

Samara has worked for Regional Arts Victoria for their Creative Workers in Schools and Sustaining Creative Workers initiatives, and her recent community outreach project 'Everyone Can Dance' attracted support from the Heart Foundation Australia, and the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal. 

The impact of Samara's creative projects have also been recognised by support from Creative Australia, Regional Arts Victoria, The Mercy Foundation, Bendigo Community Bank, Mirboo North Foundation, and South Gippsland Shire Council. Samara is currently a national finalist in the 2024 HESTA Excellence Awards for her transformative work in inclusive arts.

Elle Evangelista loves dancing. Her BELVOIR choreography credits include Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, Holding the Man, The Master and Margarita, The Cherry Orchard, The Boomkak Panto, The Rep Season and A Mgabidnight Summer’s Dream with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Her other theatre choreography credits include Twelfth Night (Bell Shakespeare), A Very Expensive Poison (NIDA) and How To Catch A Star (Australian Chamber Orchestra).

As a dancer she has worked for Force Majeure, KAGE Physical Theatre, Opera Australia and she has been awarded residencies to create new work by Ausdance NSW, DirtyFeet, Critical Path, Shopfront, March Dance, Brand X, DRILL Performance Company and Supercell Festival of Contemporary Dance. From 2019 – 2021, Elle was an Artist Representative on the Board of Critical Path and in 2022 a Belvoir Artistic Associate.

Elle has a Bachelor of Arts in English from UWA and a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from WAAPA. She was raised on Boorloo/Perth by her Filipino and Burmese family and currently lives on Garigal Land in Sydney with her partner and their young son.

Highly-Award Winning, Multi-Disciplinary and Multi-Dimensional Storyteller Ghenoa Gela is a proud Koedal – Aubaith Clan Wagadagam, Mualgal Poid and Aragan, Samsep and Peidu Woman. Originally born on Darumbal Country CQ - Rockhampton, Ghenoa’s ever growing skill base, stems from her solid foundation as a Traditional Torres Strait Islander dancer, storyteller and musician.  From this strength, Ghenoa’s fierce cultural values of visibility in the broad western landscape is at the fore front of her artistic vision and practice. 

Ghenoa navigates across several industries such as Dance, Theatre, Comedy, Entertainment, TV and Film. She holds these spaces in various capacities; Director, Movement Director, Comedian, Writer, Dramaturg, Dancer, Actor, Mistress of Ceremonies, Presenter, Facilitator, Collaborator, Hype-Boss and Mentor across remote,regional, and urban communities.

Ghenoa’s artistic expression is deeply influenced by her family stories and emboldened by her passion to share her Torres Strait Islander culture. She aspires to inspire.

NATE GILKES is a Helpmann award winning musician, arts educator and artistic director working across disciplines of theatre, music and community arts.

Nate’s artistic practice sits at the colliding points of music, theatre and opera, often using multi modes and artforms to convey story. He works primarily in new music / theatre, Arts Education and Training and Community Works.

He composed the score for the Helpmann Award winning production, Robot Song with Arena Theatre Company (Best Production for Children and Young People), as well as works appearing with companies like Big hART, Melbourne Festival, Ten Days on the Island and the Fairfax Youth initiative

His training is in music and theatre direction and is currently completing a masters degree in Cultural Leadership at NIDA.

Timothy Green is an award winning interdisciplinary body based performer and collaborative maker.

He is a co-founder of Static Drive Co, and a graduate of WAAPA (BA, (Performance Making), 2015) and The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, London UK (MA (Advanced Theatre Practice, Distinction), 2020).

Additional training includes practice-based programs by STRUT Dance, Frantic Assembly, Maxine Doyle, Force Majeure, Lucy Guerin, Andrew Morrish, Leimay CAVE (NYC), and theory programs by Dance Nucleus (Singapore), Centre of Applied Dramaturgy (London).

Recent projects include performing in ‘Logue Lake’ (Elise WIlson and Geordie Crawley, Perth Festival 2024), ‘Hell is Other People’ (Monkey Brain, 2023) (Best Individual Performance (Timothy Green) 2023 Blue Room Theatre Awards, Best Independent Production (Theatre) and Outstanding New Work (Theatre), PAWA Awards 2024), ‘Equations of a Falling Body’ (Laura Bones, Perth Festival 2023) (Outstanding Contemporary or Experimental Work and Outstanding Ensemble or Duet, PAWA Awards 2024), co-curating ‘SITU-8: CITY’ (STRUT Dance, 2022), co-creating ‘The Golem; or, Next Year in Jerusalem’ (Humphrey Bower and Timothy Green) (Best Independent Production, PAWA Awards 2020), co-creating ‘Handle with Care’ (Form(at) Festival, London UK), ‘SUNSET’ (Perth Festival 2019), ‘Private Function’ (Static Drive Co.), and ‘The Apparatus’ (Humphrey Bower).

Margaret works across the medium of live performance and film, creating and re- creating stories as a researcher, performer, writer, director and producer. She is of Saibai Island blood in the Torres Strait - Ait Koedal and Samu clans – as well as English heritage. In 2021 Margaret had her PhD conferred at Monash University titled, Caring for Saibai Island Stories: conducting research and creating a performative story in an ethical and culturally appropriate way. Her interest lies in interdisciplinary performative storytelling that is inherent in the culture of her people from Saibai Island and the mythology that connects the physical plane to the spiritual plane. She is also passionate in documenting and archiving stories of her people for her people.

For The Jo Ze spArks she has co-created the video installation BAMI for the Qld Museum in 2021. In 2018 she also co-created WOER WAYEPA about the impact of climate change in the Torres Straits for the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair.

Margaret’s work is prolific in Australian theatre and includes directing and acting. In 2022 Margaret directed the successful production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf for STCSA, co-presented by Sydney Festival and Queensland Theatre. For Circus Oz she assistant directed the 2015 Circus Oz show BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE and in 2014 for the Melbourne International Arts Festival, she directed and co-devised the critically acclaimed MY LOVER’S BONES, an ancient gothic horror story about Jargon the bunyip of the Quandamooka people, set in modern times. As an actor she has performed for Melbourne Theatre Co, Ilbijerri, Malthouse Theatre, Company B, Sydney Theatre Co, Queensland Theatre, Black Swan Theatre.

She has directed and produced many documentaries for NITV, from Central Desert to Arnhem Land, down to Melbourne and up to the Torres Straits. Through Multicultural Arts Victoria Margaret co-produced and facilitated the making of Ubuzima Bushasha with Desmond Connellan – New Life, screening at ACMI. Seven short films of refugee life within the Burundian Community of Melbourne. In 2012 she directed the short film THE HUNTER and was part of Melbourne’s International Film Festival Accelerator Program.

Margaret has written for the Griffith Review, co-authored a chapter in the book Shakespeare in the "Post"Colonies: Legacies, Cultures and Social Justice, and an essay for Indigeneity on the Oceanic Stage for the Brill/Rodopi: “Cross/Cultures” series.

Margaret is half of JO ZE SPARKS along with Desmond Connellan - storytellers meeting at the intersection of culture, research and creative practice.

Alfira is a Perth born dance artist of Acehnese-Irish descent, specialising in contemporary and traditional Indonesian dance. In 2001 Alfira founded Suara Indonesia Dance in Sydney, a troupe of professional dancers creating innovative contemporary works informed by traditional practice and an educational program teaching Indonesian dance, music and culture, nationally and internationally.

Eliza Scott is an interdisciplinary artist working across performance, drag, sound and film. Their practice investigates the use of movement, improvisation and sound in live performance. Their work is experimental, striking a balance between conventional narrative and abstract experiences through the integration of performance, movement, text, & live sound technology.

Eliza has donned many hats in productions such as The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (STC 2022 – composer & performer), Pollon (KXT 2021 – writer & performer), Young & Gorgeous (Brand X 2021 – writer & performer), Symphonie Fantastique (KXT 2021 – assistant director) and Petite Suite (BRAND X 2021 – writer & performer).

They have completed residencies with Shopfront Arts Collective Artslab 2020, Sydney Fringe, 2020, Griffin Theatre Company 2021, and Brand X 2021. In 2021, they were shortlisted for the Griffin Incubator Fellowship and was nominated for a Sydney Theatre Award for their performance in self-devised one person show, Pollon. 

They are passionate and dedicated to the exploration of theatrical modalities, innovation and creating new Australian work.

Ella’s bio coming soon!

Raina Peterson is a multi-award winning dancer-choreographer of Fiji-Indian and English heritage who was born and raised on the lands of the Gunaikurnai people of regional Victoria. Their work draws on the deep cultural practice of their classical Indian dance (Mohiniyattam and Kathakali) training and the experimental, subversive, queering which emerged from their performances in the queer party scene. 

They have performed in the work of Nithya Nagarajan, Priya Srinivasan, Paul Rae and Kaylene Tan, and Lucy Guerin. Raina’s recent, award winning works include their dance film with Govind Pillai entitled ‘Drishti’ (Winner of two Melbourne Fringe Awards, 2020, nominated for the Green Room Award for Best Performer (Raina Peterson) and winner of the Green Room Award for Best Digital Work), ‘Narasimha: ManLion’ (2022, winner of Melbourne Fringe Award for ‘Best dance and physical theatre’) and Mohini (2023), which received four Green Room Award nominations (‘Breaking ground’, ‘Best set design’, ‘Best sound design’) winning the award for ‘Best Lighting / Digital Effects’. Raina runs ‘Transgender Yoga’, a program of free yoga classes for the transgender community, and is an audio-describer for Vitae Veritas.

Carly Sheppard is a cross-disciplinary performance artist based in Naarm (Melbourne), working across dance and theatre making and performance, sculpture, drawing, writing, voice, and installation. Her practice navigates complex narratives of  intersecting race, class, mythologies and identities we inherit and how meaning is created and processed through prisms of colonial interruption. Carly’s work reflects her fascination with the chaos of conflicting cultural paradigms.

Carly’s career and practice have been platformed and nurtured through invaluable artist initiatives run by BlakDance, British Council, Australia Council for the Arts, ILBIJERRI and more. Carly’s formal training includes Careers In Dance at NAISDA Dance College and a Bachelor of Dance at Victorian College of the Arts.

Carly’s recent performance credits include Chase (A Daylight Connection), A Nightime Travesty (A Daylight Connection), Set Piece (Anna Breckon and Nat Randall), Considerable Sexual License (Joel Bray Dance), Anthem (Performing Lines and Arts Centre Melbourne) and Love (Dee and Cornelius).