Martha Hincapié Charry stands quietly inside Brunswick Heads Memorial Hall as the wooden floor begins to hum under careful movement. Feet press into the boards. Bodies shift, pause, begin again. Arms reach. In the stillness between movements, breath becomes audible.

On Tuesday 3 March 2026, twenty-six artists and community members gathered on Bundjalung Country, in the coastal town now known as Brunswick Heads on the far north coast of what is now called New South Wales, for a movement workshop led by Colombian-born, Berlin-based choreographer, Martha Hincapié Charry.

The gathering began with dance.

Dancer: Lara Lai (Kinship Doobai Dancers)

Members of the Kinship Doobai Dancers (KDD) performed three dances: First Sun, Acknowledgment, and Possum. Through the Acknowledgment dance, Country was recognised, reminding everyone that movement, culture, and place are intertwined on Bundjalung land.

The offering grounded the room before Martha guided participants into a gentle movement practice. Working in pairs, dancers slowed, listening to their bodies and to one another. At the heart of the practice was a simple idea: free the mind, and the body can find new pathways. Participants explored the relationship between head and tailbone.

Dancers: (L-R) Tora Crockford, Alison Toft, Martha Hincapié Charry, Wojak, Kirilly Dawn and Georgie Gow. Image: Philip Channells

Partners moved through exchanges, sometimes offering stimulus, sometimes receiving it, discovering how movement unfolds through attention rather than control. Across the hall, bodies rolled, paused in stillness, then rose again. Rhythmic stamping echoed as hips swayed and arms drew lines through the air. What emerged was less a dance class than a shared act of listening.

By the end of the afternoon, many participants felt they had glimpsed the beginning of something deeper, a practice that might reveal itself over days rather than hours.

Dancers: (L-R) Lara Lei, Kellie Knox, Issie Hart, Katie Theobald, Rebeka Azur and Teleahsia Togo. Image: Philip Channells

For our community, these moments of exchange are important,’ said Philip Channells. ‘When artists from different parts of the world spend time here, it creates a space where ideas, practices, and perspectives can move both ways, new creative relationships, and future collaborations far beyond this place.

Across Australia’s dance sector, conversations about strengthening connections between artists, communities and international practices continue to grow. In regional areas especially, opportunities for this kind of exchange can be rare.

Initiatives such as PH(R)ASE, an artist-led producing organisation working alongside the First Nations cultural group Kinship Doobai Dancers (KDD), help create spaces where these connections can happen. Martha’s workshop in Brunswick Heads offered a clear example of how such exchanges can unfold in practice.

Dancers: Eve White, Rebeka Azur and Teleahsia Togo. Image: Philip Channells

For dancer Teleahsia Togo, the experience left an impression.

Spaces like this are nourishing for the body, mind, and spirit.

This workshop was co-produced by the Kinship Doobai Dancers (KDD) and PH(R)ASE and supported by BlakDance.