Cover Image: Dancers and community members fill Forrest Place with movement during the large‑scale CERCLES workshop. Photo supplied.

When dance leaves the theatre and enters the city centre, something fundamental shifts. “Concrete Echoes,” the choreographic commission for Perth Moves 2026 led by award-winning duo Ta’alili from Aotearoa, embodies this transformation. According to Burgoyne, “Peeling away the walls of the theatre aims to democratise access to dance. Bringing dance into the centre of the city invites people to interact with dance whether they had planned to or not”.

The result is more than just accessibility – it’s an invitation. “I think it also brings people in proximity to dance asking what movement, music and connection can offer each of us in our lives,” Burgoyne reflects. “Choreographing dance in the centre of the city and offering it free of charge diversifies who thinks dance is for them, who watches the dancing and hopefully somewhere down the track, who does the dancing”.

CERCLES, an “XXL dance workshop,” brings together 150 amateurs and 12 professional dancers in an unprecedented feat for STRUT Dance. The logistics alone are staggering: coordinating 162 dancers requires over 550 square metres in Forrest Place, with the first three days of rehearsal happening at Winthrop Hall due to space constraints.

The response to STRUT’s call-out for amateur dancers was overwhelming – over 200 people expressed interest in joining the project, with 125 ultimately selected by Terrain, the French dance organisation of choreographer Boris Charmatz. An additional 25 WAAPA dance students round out the roster. “One of the most challenging parts of the project has been to find enough space for 162 people to dance!” Burgoyne admits.

The collaboration with Terrain and Perth Festival has been crucial to managing the scale. “Working alongside Terrain we have had the opportunity to learn processes and procedures from a world-renowned organisation in coordinating large, participatory projects in public space,” Burgoyne notes.

The partnership with Ta’alili – artists Aloali’i and Tori Manley-Tapu – grew organically from repeated encounters. STRUT’s James O’Hara first met them while working in Aotearoa/New Zealand between 2020 and 2022, drawn to their leadership style that prioritises care, inclusion, and community-building across diverse dance cultures.

Since then, Ta’alili has led workshops in STRUT’s Perth Moves Workshop Series and presented MANU MALO in the annual Restore program at PICA. These regular visits to Boorloo fostered deep connections within local dance communities – connections that now form the foundation of Concrete Echoes.

Half the dancers hail from Boorloo, the other half from across Australia and the Pacific, selected from 180 auditionees. “Embedded in all their dance practices is care, respect and generosity,” Burgoyne explains. “Dancing together in Boorloo, Concrete Echoes will be almost ceremonial, dancing with the heart of Boorloo, as well as the soil, waters and landscapes in which they learnt to dance from and with”.

The techno brass band Meute will provide CERCLES’ soundtrack, reinterpreting electronic classics with acoustic instruments. Described as “high-energy, hypnotic and almost like ‘brass clubbing,’” Meute’s music promises to electrify Forrest Place.

Each evening, choreographer Boris Charmatz will lead a collective warm-up open to both the 162 dancers and audience members. “It will be the audience’s chance to prepare for a night of unstoppable dancing,” Burgoyne says. According to die-hard fans, no one can resist Meute’s pull.

Perth Moves is billed as a “choreographic emergence” designed to nourish the city’s relationship to movement. When the festival ends and the weight of everyday life returns, what does Burgoyne hope lingers in the minds and bodies of Perth’s community?

“Perth Moves has at its heart movement, music and connection,” she says simply. “We hope that all three continue to resonate in the bodies and minds of the people that attend”.

Perth Moves 2026 runs 21-28 February.
For details, visit strutdance.org.au