In accordance with cultural protocol, after the Traditional Owners of Perth perform their Welcome to Country, the Sunrise Dancers will respond with a performance to acknowledge and pay respect to the Traditional Owners and wider audience.
Sunrise Dancers songman and Director of Goombucker Creations Kerry Neill said the group was grateful to have the opportunity to be part of Suncorp Super Netball’s Inaugural Indigenous Round celebrations.
“We want to pay our respects to Noongar Community here and thank the people for inviting us over and sharing in this wonderful experience,” he said.
“It’s not just a job for us…we’re really grateful for this opportunity.”
While Fever has independently run a dedicated Indigenous Round for the past five years, this is the first time every team in the competition will celebrate the occasion.
“It’s great to see things are changing and inclusiveness is for everyone and I think the league is doing a great job of pulling all that stuff together.”
“The light has gone on, things are moving closer and closer together on the Sunshine Coast and I think it’s a big respect for the Sunshine Coast to acknowledge Indigenous culture.”
The Sunrise Dancers have vast backgrounds, with some touring across the world, Kerry described the Company as ‘a museum on wheels’ encouraging real experiences with Indigenous peoples.
“Our dance is about thank you, it’s about thank you for inviting us to come over here, it’s about inclusiveness and showing you little bits and pieces of what we do on the Sunshine Coast.”
“We talk about the time before, the time before when it was flat, when all people were equal.”
“My message is no matter where we come from, we all get a chance.”
West Coast Fever is encouraging its supporters to be in their seats early to experience the unique performance at 6:40pm (local time)
Words from: http://www.westcoastfever.com.au/
