The People's Dance Party 7 | Bring a Plate Inclusive Dance Company

Celebrating diverse bodies, identities and movement, Bring a Plate returns for their seventh round of ‘The People’s Dance Party’ (TPDP), offering a diverse course of dance flavours to excite all palates. Breakdancing, belly-dancing, contemporary, African dance, salsa and drag, - there was something for everyone. And for lovers of movement, you could also learn some steps yourself.

All images: Cecilia Martin

Bring a Plate is a local dance company with a passion making dance as inclusive and accessible for all lovers of movement in Meanjin. One of the many regular events they run is TPDP, which began in 2019 with the aim of showcasing their favourite artists from across the city. Not happy to just make it show, these lovers of movement as give their loyal supporters the chance to learn a small segment of a range of dances themselves.

​For the latest TPDP, Metro Arts was transformed for the night into a black box dance studio for the night complete with bar and DJ booth, with the seating bank pushed back to ensure room for the eager punters to move. It seemed that many in the audience were Bring a Plate faithfuls or their loved ones, as all were ready to embrace the vibe and get their groove on event before the night began. It was a beautifully diverse crowd, with a range of ages, ethnicities, and abilities, a testament to how hard Bring a Plate has worked to make their classes and showcases accessible to all.

This round of TPDP showcased a gorgeous mix of local talent and the broad variety of dance on offer in our fair city. Each of the six performers introduced themselves and their style in a pre-recorded voice-over, before performed a solo to showcase what’s possible with their chosen type of moment. After this, they taught the punters by a short movement flow to whet their tastes and inspire them to move in new and diverse ways. And in between each set the Bring a Plate team, pumped up the beats and encouraged the audience to bring their own flavour to the dance floor.

All images: Cecilia Martin

The performers for this round were truly a treat. There was Yenenesh Nigusse backed by live drumming, showcasing a high energy mix of traditional African dance & Contemp Afro inspired movement. Kayah Guenther gave us some raw and emotional contemporary dance (and was ably supported by his sister Maitreyah in the short lesson that followed his performance), and Thais Carvalho’s fusion bellydance mesmorised, moving her body in ways I’d never seen before. Johan Bolivar charmed with some solo salsa shines that revved up the crowd. Roj Kabalan showed us some epic breakdancing moves, complete freezes and gyros that blew out collective minds, and Malvadine, our city’s pocket rocket of drag wrapped the show was some joyous, high energy lipsyncing that left us all buzzed.

With such a diverse showcase of performers and six mini dance classes, TDPD ultimately felt a little rushed, and I didn’t quiet feel like I could relax into it as I’m sure the Bring a Plate team would have wanted me to. I would have loved to have seen extended performances from all the dancers, all super talented in their own field, as the 5 min slot was, to labour the meal metaphor, like tasting the tiny spoon sample at the ice cream store without being able to get the full cone.

All images: Cecilia Martin

Having spent some extended time in the dance world, I also wonder if TPDP would be more effective with some more breathing room, maybe as using the format of a dance festival or congress. Make it a half or full day event with extended workshops in each style followed by a show and then a party into the early hours. Keeping the current format, I’d suggest decreasing the number of performers so they have more time to shine, and adding a little more crowd word to relax the punters and some staging for performers, particularly for the lessons, as it was pretty hard to follow their instruction from the back of the room. Both options would take a bit more to produce, but they would help to make TPDP the feast it deserves to be.

That all being said, the Bring a Plate crew truly put their all into the night, assembling a beautiful mix of performers and creating a fun, inclusive and enjoyable space for the punters that truly should be commended. I look forward to see what they do next!

The People’s Dance Party was pot-luck banquet for lovers of movement, where you get to sample and play as much as you like. While each course was a little light for my tastes, it was ultimately a satisfying night that filled my dance cup. With so much damn talent in our fair city, it’s sure to return too, so book your spot on the dance floor when Bring a Plate returns with the next round.