At the heart of Charcoal is a striking blend of visual art and movement, a performance that reaches deep into the spirit of the land. This interdisciplinary dance work, led by the visionary Keia McGrady, paints a vivid picture of the fire that shapes and transforms country. Through the delicate strokes of charcoal on a sprawling canvas, Charcoal speaks to the physicality of caring for the land and the ancestral responsibility of First Nations people to safeguard it.
The performance is more than dance—it is a living artwork. As the Wulli Wulli artist Olivia Adams and Keia Mcgrady move across the stage, the soft rasp of charcoal against the canvas echoes like a whisper of the earth’s story. The stage transforms, becoming not just a backdrop, but a living, breathing part of the performance itself. The strokes of charcoal—black, raw, elemental—capture the complexities of the land’s past and present, and the deep connection between movement and the environment.
Special thanks to Performing Lines Tas and previous collaborators, artist/dancer Amarina (Githabul, Gaangalu peoples) supported by visual artist, D Harding (Bidjara, Ghungalu and Garingbal peoples) Courney Schue and Githabul, Migunberri - Yugumbeh artist/dancer Alinta McGrady, and sound engineer Joshua Santospirito.
This project received support from the BlakDance residency and Dana Waranara Digital programs.
Suitable for all ages
Restricted photography and filming
Keia McGrady is a Githabul, Migunberri – Yugumbeh woman. Keia is a multi-faceted artist and choreographer, performing at festivals and events such as Junction arts festival, 10 days on the island, Panama festival, Perth festival, Sydney contemporary and more. With the desire of truth telling through movement Keia has performed in seasons such as Taree Sansdbury’s MI:WI season at QPAC, Mel O’callaghan exhibition ‘centre of the centre’, Jo Loyds work ‘collision’, and recently joining the national tour with Karul projects for their show ‘Silence’.
Keia has a passion in guiding the next generation through the arts with song writing and movement workshops. Facilitating and performing in Assembly197 educational program ‘trolls’, Drill performance company dance nexus program and facilitating song writing and movement workshops throughout lutruwita (Tasmania) and Ieramugadu (Roebourne) WA.
Keia's practise is rooted in deep listening, weaving stories through visual art and movement while valuing collaborations to create safe spaces to express.
Olivia Adams is a proud Wulli Wulli woman from and based in Meanjin (Brisbane). Olivia graduated in 2020 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts: Dance from the Queensland University of Technology and has since built a career as an independent artist, dancer, choreographer and producer at BlakDance. She has worked with Digi Youth Arts, Polytoxic, Bangarra Dance Theatre’s youth program Rekindling, Richard Bell’s Tent Embassy for Documenta 15 and presented at Western Arts Alliance’s Advancing Indigenous Performance symposium in Calgary. Most recently Olivia has performed in Michele Rizzo’s Coalescing Towards and Karul Project’s national tour of SILENCE. In 2024 Olivia premiered her first full length work Matriarchs as a part of Metro Art’s new festival DANCE24. Olivia is proud to work in and on works that champion First Nations voices and stories and is passionate about continuing the practice of healing and storytelling through dance.
Lead creative Keia McGrady, Wulli Wulli
Performer/artist Oliva Adams
Composer Waveney Yasso
Special thanks to previous collaborators, artist/dancer Amarina (Githabul, Gaangalu peoples) supported by visual artist, D Harding (Bidjara, Ghungalu and Garingbal peoples) Amarina Toby and Githabul, Migunberri - Yugumbeh artist/dancer Alinta McGrady
Jason James strongly focuses on new Australian works and projects with social benefits. He has won three Tasmanian Theatre Awards for lighting design: Archipelago Production's The Maids in 2022, Terrapin's Big Baby in 2015, and Hobart Rep's Speaking in Tongues in 2020. Recent designs include Amy's Tattoo, Bingo Stay on the Ball Ladies for Blue Cow, The Adventures of the Indefatigable Enviroteens, Past the Shallows for Archipelago, and To Carry to Hold for Mature Artist Dance Experience.
Multimedia artist and composer, Joshua Santospirito, lives and works in Nipaluna. He has toured across Europe and Australia with his unusual brand of sound-making. He regularly performs in Bing/Santospirito with violinist Natalya Bing, a project that jams together classical and noise music for audiovisual performances for major festivals and underground venues.
Noah Johnson is a black multidisciplinary artist, born in lutriwita (Hobart), they first began painting as a way to visually represent their creative mind and their deep roots to their African American culture which paved the way for their love of fashion and consequently sewing & design. Noah has a successful business ONEOFONEARCHIVE, an upcycling slow fashion label which came to fruition when they were 16 years old. Their values lie in sustainability and story telling through their textile art while they use a mixture of simple to intricate design choices to convey that.
Jessie Brough is an arts administrator and stage manager based in lutruwita. Her work in stage management naturally evolved from operations and logistics experience working in music and arts festivals across the country. Jess has been mentored in stage management by a collection of to-die-for femme stage managers who have shared their strong passions for theatre safety and risk management, consent practices and unwavering ethical codes. Jess’s experience in stage management spans across outdoor live music, youth musical theatre, circus, contemporary dance, outdoor theatrical performances and traditional stage theatre.