Backbone Arts Festival 2025: Hurly Burly, Music, Dance and Art Fused Together

By Lilian Harrington

Production: 2025 Backbone Arts Festival “Look Up”

Company: Backbone Arts

Location: Seven Hills Hub

28 Tallowwood St. Seven Hills

Dates: 9 October – 11 October (from 6 pm)

Contact: www.backbone.org.au

Free Event.

The Backbone Arts Festival 2025 got off to a colourful and exciting start with a vivid, and musically entertaining showcase, part of this year’s work by young and emerging artists. With a welcome to country from Chris McGregor, and their sponsors from Council and State Government D. J. (Richie Le Strange), sprang into action on the tech-board and the dancers began to strut their stuff on the open stage in the Amphitheatre; daylight fell and the twinkling lights in the arena lit up to feature dancing duo Doppelklang (Lipsey and Kerrod), along with popular burlesque singing/ dancing trio, Evie, Beebe and Emma.

The whole space came alive with art displays from several visual artists, such as Brisbane artist, Plumi Herath, whose art display explored emotion through textured art, a stilt walker, struggling in the heat, along with hand-held lights and colourful spinning fans the audience held. Nibbles were shared and the audience mingled and waited for the featured program to begin in the twilight.

Backbone Arts has been in operation for over twenty years. Unique to Brisbane (or Magandjin, it was originally, established to encourage youth in the community, aged from preschool to thirty, of all colours, creeds and diversity, to explore and develop their skills in the arts; it has grown each year. An annual festival is held each year now, to showcase the creativity and efforts of these emerging artists.

Situated at the Seven Hills Hub, there are workshops for all members during the year and school students in the holidays.  With government support members have an opportunity to learn about filming, photography, making presentations, and developing skills in practical drama/music workshops and more.

They are encouraged to make use of their comfortable rehearsal room, studio time, technical equipment and workshop space available to help them to develop their artistic skills and create, connect with their community. It offers the youth an opportunity to flourish, meet and work with people of similar interests and connections. One young student said “it’s a chance for us to express ourselves and it’s an opportunity to create our own plays”

The main play featured in the Ron Hurley Theatre on the night was Fuse an original work created and directed by Anabella Gregory and written by Ariel Franzmann, an emerging young writer who has shown some good   talent.  Fuse posed the question “Why do we gravitate towards certain people?” The writer researched over 120 different stories from others. Fuse, is a sixty- minute play, which incorporates many different disciplines from the arts, for instance: circus technique, group movement, placement, non-verbal’s, narrative or dialogue, use of props, technical aspects, lighting and sound. It relied on close movement and team work by cast, and this in turn helped emphasize the important points of the play fused together; Fuse is written in short scenes and is complimented by the original music and sound design composed by Andrew Oxford and lighting design by Carys Walsh. The cast of five worked well together and all moved seamlessly showing good energy and timing.

Many of the production creatives are currently studying Fine Arts, Music, Arts, Drama and Education, at university, some have come from Meanjin and gained experience in other productions. Backbone Arts has helped to develop their skills and work ethic further. Backbone Arts Festival runs until October 11, and is followed by two weeks of the MELT Festival.