Anna Seymour

Hi there!

My name is Anna Seymour and I am presenting a new dance work, SPIN, a participatory dance performance event with a DJ and Deaf Hosts. SPIN is premiering at this year's Melbourne Fringe Festival and we need your help to make it happen.

We are thrilled to announce that SPIN will be presented as part of the A Weekend for Every Body program at Northcote Town Hall and is supported by the Darebin Arts Speakeasy program. 

SPIN takes place on the lands of the Wurundjeri people. I acknowledge that this land is stolen. I pay my respects to their elders both past and present.

WHAT IS SPIN? 

SPIN is a dance party like no other. 

Inspired by club scenes in San Francisco, Mexico, Cuba and Berlin, SPIN is a participatory dance performance event with a DJ and Deaf Hosts. It celebrates the physical and social experience of dance parties, subcultures and the beats that bring us together.

SPIN challenges understandings of how dance and music can be experienced. It offers an immersive experience, combining visual and tactile elements of DJ music, sound vibration design from Russell Goldsmith, visual projections from Rhian Hinkley, dance performance and energetic collective movement.

SPIN is a physical and energetic dance performance event. There are no seats.
Participants will be divided into four groups and assigned with a Deaf Host who will guide participants through a series of super stylin’ moves leading into a dance party.

No experience necessary, just your favourite dance moves! 

HOW DID IT START?

In 2017, I performed at the International Deaf Dance Festival in San Francisco and one experience that had a huge impact on me was the after party. The DJ was Deaf. The dance floor was packed full of Deaf people who were leading and holding together the dance party. I have never seen anything like that in Australia before. I felt inspired to re-create circumstances for these kind of experiences to occur in Australia.

I went to dance clubs in Mexico, Cuba, and Berlin where I observed different social dances and how people interact and move together. 

These experiences changed my perspectives of dance clubs and dance parties. It also got me thinking about social anxiety and what we seek when we go out to dance clubs and dance parties. 

As a Deaf person and a contemporary dancer, I started thinking about subcultures and the role and presence of Deaf community and culture in the worlds of the dance club/party. 

I felt compelled to make SPIN, an accessible and inclusive dance party where audiences are divided into groups and assigned with a Deaf Host who will lead audiences into a dance party. 

WHO ARE WE? 

Creator/Director: Anna Seymour

Engagement specialist and choreography consultant: Bec Reid

Deaf Hosts: Anna Seymour, Luke King, Robbie Burrows and Tahlia Hais

Dancers: Anna Seymour, Amanda Lever, Jon Clarke and Benjamin Hoopmann

DJ: Callum Padgham

Sound Designer: Russell Goldsmith

Lighting Design: Bronwyn Pringle

Video Artist: Rhian Hinkley

WHERE ARE WE AT NOW?

We have a team of artists, Deaf Hosts and creatives. We have the performance venue. We have a small grant from Darebin Arts. We got in the Top Picks of the Melbourne Fringe. 

What we still need to help make SPIN happen is:

More funds to pay for artist fees, Deaf Hosts fees, equipment hire and production costs. 

ACCESS: 

It is very important to me that anyone and everyone feels welcome and safe to dance and to feel the joy in moving together despite the body and experience we have. 

SPIN is highly visual and accessible for Deaf and hearing audiences.
There will be Auslan interpreters on site for pre-performance and post-performance mingling.
There will be a chill-out zone set up for all participants.

Wheelchair accessible.

The 2pm and 8pm sessions on Saturday September 22 will have trained describer guides on site for people who are Blind or have low vision.

We would be incredibly grateful for your support for SPIN.

Your donations will go directly towards; artist fees, Deaf Hosts fees and equipment hire/production costs. 

1. ARTIST FEES:

SPIN is a big team! I would like to make sure the artists are paid for their time, commitment and energy. 

$2000 will go towards artist fees. 

2. DEAF HOSTS FEES:

SPIN would not be SPIN without our Deaf Hosts who are very excited about welcoming you to SPIN and making sure you have a great time! 

$1000 will go towards Deaf Hosts fees.

3. EQUIPMENT HIRE:

It is important for us to be able to hire a few sub woofers from Alpha Audio to make sure SPIN is a fully accessible and immersive experience for Deaf and hearing participants. 

Rhian Hinkley will create visual projections to make all the sound and music visual and therefore, accessible for Deaf and hearing participants. Donations will also go towards DJ equipment and lighting design. 

$2000 will go towards equipment hire and fees. 

Every dollar counts! We hugely appreciate your support! 

Anna and the SPIN team xx