This is where it happened

About Projects

This Is Where It Happened was a site-specific performance exploring local dance history, memory, people, and place. Developed through research with community elders and local historical groups, the work wove verbatim stories and local histories together with contemporary dance, sound, animation, and choreography.

Experienced in public space through headphones, the performance invited audiences to encounter familiar places through multiple voices and perspectives. Historical voices and contemporary movement converged to explore cultural memory, belonging, and the relationship between dance and place.

Impact

The project transformed local history into a living performance experience, giving community elders an active role in shaping the cultural narrative of their place. It connected generations, archives, and contemporary artistic practice while inviting audiences to see familiar public spaces differently.

Location: Healesville and Lilydale, Yarra Ranges, Victoria

Date: 2016–2017

Artists: Creator, Choreographer & Researcher — Gülşen Özer; Dancers — Sara Di Segna, Claudia-Lynn Rightmire, and Josh Twee; Sound Designer — Roderick Price; Visual Artist / Animator — Vanessa White

Collaborators: Lilydale Probus Club; Lilydale Senior Citizens Group; Lilydale & District Historical Society; Murrundindi / Gary Hunter, Wurundjeri Elder and Ngurungaeta; Yarra Ranges Regional Museum; Lilydale Athenaeum Theatre Group; local community members

Organisations / Partners: Yarra Ranges Council; Yarra Ranges Regional Museum

Funded / Supported by: Yarra Ranges Council — Dance Here Program; Grants for Community — Arts and Heritage Program

Photography: Gregory Lorunzutti