The Red Tree
Phluxux2 Dance Collective
Booking Details
Event details
A contemporary dance incursion for Years 2 to 7 Dance and Drama, adapting Shaun Tan’s picture book, performed live at your school.
By Shaun Tan. Adapted by Phluxus2 Dance Collective. Commissioned by Shake & Stir for the Regional and Remote Schools Touring program.
What to expect
Choreographer Nerida Matthaei brings Shaun Tan’s book to the stage through movement and visual storytelling. A girl moves through isolation, strangeness and despair, and finds a red leaf waiting at the end of it.
The work uses the book’s imagery directly, its swirling waves and surreal creatures, and asks students to read emotion in movement rather than words. Workshops in dance and puppetry can be added alongside the performance.
Key learning outcomes
Suited to: Dance and Drama, Years 2 to 7.
Students will
- Read emotion and meaning in movement, without dialogue to rely on.
- Connect the choreography back to the imagery in Shaun Tan’s book.
- Discuss resilience and empathy through what they have watched.
Curriculum links
- Dance: expressive movement, contemporary dance, improvisation, symbolic movement, ensemble, responding.
- Drama: physical theatre, characterisation, storytelling through movement, responding to imagery.
- English: picture books, visual literacy, adaptation, responding to texts.
- General Capabilities: Critical and Creative Thinking, Personal and Social Capability, Literacy.
Additional Information
Delivered as: Students watch a live performance adapted from the picture book.
Year levels: Years 2 to 7.
Duration: 50 minute performance plus a 10 minute Q&A.
Cost: Including GST. A minimum performance fee applies.
Setup and space: A dance-safe space such as a studio, hall or indoor sports complex, ideally not concrete, large enough for the group. Access to a sound system, or the company can bring one with notice.
Inclusions: Teacher resource kit.
Optional extras: Workshops in dance, puppetry and resilience, alongside the performance, as a single session or a series. Professional development for teachers in dance and movement.
Contact Nerida Matthaei for The Red Tree
About the Artist
Phluxus2 Dance Collective is an award-winning and boundary bashing Brisbane based dance theatre company founded in 2006 and led by choreographer Nerida Matthaei. Today, the collective has a strong vision creating innovation driven work through experimentation and rigorous choreographic practice. Phluxus2 proudly creates cutting-edge dance for the stage, events, ceremonies and studios, whilst also delivering exceptional education, community and sector engagement initiatives.
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