We Don’t Dance For No Reason
THE stage of the Moresby Arts Theatre at Waigani will play host to an incredible ensemble of talent next weekend, when Aaron Choulai, a Melbourne jazz band and a 16 voice Tatana village choir perform “Ai Na Asi A Mavaru Kavamu” (We Don’t Dance For No Reason)
Following sell-out seasons at the Queensland Music Festival and Melbourne International Arts Festival in 2007, this unique collaboration between Australian and Papuan musicians combines the tradition of Peroveta Anedia (Prophet songs) and modern jazz to create something entirely new.
We Don’t Dance For No Reason is a multi-media production that features six of Australia’s finest jazz musicians and the Tatana Village Choir, set against the backdrop of evocative film pieces filmed in Papua New Guinea that explores historical, cultural and contemporary representations of the country projected onto a large screen behind the performers.
Central to this collaboration is extraordinary jazz talent Aaron Choulai.
Born to a Motuan mother and an Australian father, the 25-year-old Albino/Papuan/Chinese/Polish/Jewish/ Australian was raised in PNG Guinea until the age of 14, before completing his jazz training in Melbourne and New York.
Signed by prestigious New York record label Sunnyside Records at the age of 21, Aaron was named 2006 Young Jazz Artist of the Year at the Australian Jazz Awards and has performed at major jazz festivals worldwide.
Aaron divides his time between Melbourne, New York, Tokyo and his home, Port Moresby.
The Age Newspaper recently named Aaron Choulai as one of the top 100 influential people in Melbourne, describing him as a “brilliant creative thinker” and We Don’t Dance For No Reason as one of “the year’s most memorable shows”.
ABC Online described the performances as “an enriching experience of the lush, traditional songs of Papua New Guinea and subtle yet complex harmonies of Aaron Choulai.”
Aaron and his band have been developing the project since 2006, visiting PNG to spend time at Tatana village and explore the musical collaboration.
Similarly, the Tatana Village Choir has spent time in Melbourne with the musicians and their community, and together they have presented their music to over 5000 people in Brisbane and Melbourne as part of two major Australian arts festivals.
The choir members are from Tatana village in Central province. Created for this project from members of the Tatana church and wider Tatana village community, the choir are proud representatives of Motuan culture and the traditions of Peroveta Anedia.
This unique and important collaboration celebrates its first ever performance in Papua New Guinea on March 14 and 15 at the Moresby Arts Theatre, Waigani, and signifies a major step towards exposing both countries to new collaborative possibilities.
The show will go for one hour and fifteen minutes with no interval.
The concerts of We Don’t Dance For No Reason at the Moresby Arts Theatre will be presented as part of the Australian High Commission’s Australia Week Program.
A CD of We Don’t Dance For No Reason will be released in 2008 by Sunnyside Records, New York.
The presentation of these concerts is proudly supported by The Australian Government, Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade, Australian High Commission Port Moresby, Airlines PNG, Arts Victoria, the City of Melbourne, and Total Event Company (PNG)
Tickets are selling for K15 adults, K10 students at the Moresby Arts Theatre at Waigani, Espressos (Deloitte Tower in Town) and Boroko Foodworld at Gordons. 

 

About the Moresby Arts Theatre
THE Moresby Arts Theatre was founded in 1914. The original Library Institute Hall was built on Douglas Street, Port Moresby and was used to host a variety of balls and functions, the Choral Society would provide entertainment before orchestral performance were elaborately staged here.
This continued until1967 when a fire destroyed the front of the theatre including the porch, a small foyer with cloakrooms and a lighting box. A rear part of the auditorium was also destroyed.
The old Douglas Street theatre had its last production, ‘Dick Whittington’ in December 1972. Although the building was condemned for public performances, it was not demolished until the late 1970s. The Deloitte Tower now stands where it used to.
The Arts Council of Port Moresby decided to build a new theatre on a site for which the Administration of the Territory had granted a ninety-nine year lease.
This was named the Waigani Arts Centre, owned by the Arts Council of Port Moresby and home of the Moresby Theatre Group and the PNG Potters Society.
The new cultural complex in Waigani, designed by architect Sandy Simmons, was planned in three stages.
Stage one was the main building currently standing, which consists of a theatre to seat one hundred and fifty six people, together with a foyer, props rooms storage area and a dance and art studio.
A few years later, stage two, a pottery workshop with electric kilns and other facilities, was added.
Stage three was an addition of a modern, well-equipped kitchen and bar area to cater for conferences and functions, for which the building can be let.
The new theatre opened in 1974 with a Gala Opening Festival which began with the ‘Three penny Opera’ on May 4, directed by Fred Wessely with Keith Stebbins as musical director. Appropriately, Sandy Simmons (as Tiger Brown) was in the cast.
Recently, the Arts Council of Port Moresby, the Moresby Theatre Group and the PNG Potters Society merged to form the Moresby Arts Theatre Inc. and the site was renamed the Moresby Arts Centre.
There have been around two hundred shows at the new theatre since 1974 but the number of shows altogether since 1914 is not clear. Thousands of people have been involved on or off the stage during this time and a large database of these people is held in our archives.
The Theatre uses funds to put on productions which involve people from all walks of life. The theatre endeavors to produce three or four major productions a year, and encourages this as a way to network with people from all walks of life.
Giving people the opportunity to be creative and artistic, learning how to manage, direct, work with sound and lighting etc.
Currently the Theatre has over 200 registered members that participate in creating a variety of shows throughout the year. The committee however, would like to see this network expand.
The theatre hopes to be able to invest more in getting youth more involved in the theatre especially from nearby communities. Providing them with an avenue in which to be creative and network, hopefully being a positive influence in their lives.
This year the committee hopes to be able to secure the Siale Dance Group, directed and choreographed by Dobi Kidu.
This unique mix of contemporary creative and cultural dance is a form of educational story telling. Performed by over 50 youths of all ages, the dancers need a stage to tell their stories, the theatre hopes to be able to provide that stage regularly allowing the group to perform monthly.
The theatre also runs a programme known as Pride, a well known workshop for Government schools, in which students get first hand experience at creating their own productions. Students come to the theatre and are taught by theatre volunteers the ins and outs of putting the productions together, by the end of which they present to a captive audience their various plays depicting stories of their choice.
Another activity is Clubs Nights, on the first Thursday of every month. This informal monthly get-together is for members to come along and just have a go. No pressure, scripts in hand, members simple come along for a bit of fun. A theme is selected and members can take part in a bit of un-rehearsed theatrics.
The search for information on MATs history continues and we welcome any contributions.

Moresby Arts Theatre | P.O. Box 258, Port Moresby | Location
Ph: (675) 325 3503 | Fax: (675) 325 3503
Email: arts@online.net.pg  | www.arts.com.pg
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