Hope Tour

HOPE TOUR 2006 was hip hop theatre straight outta Brisbane featuring the next crop of MCs, B-girls, B-boys, vocalists and beat makers. They broke it down and presented modern life, remixin da system with stories of hope, BBQs and love letters, set against hopelessness, bombings, and suicide notes. These young artists rose above fear of terrorism, gangs, and cultural difference, and presented a bold new vision for the future. HOPE TOUR challenged the audience to step up, push the boundaries and recognise.

About the performance

In a world inhabited by 3 tribes – the Spots, the Stripes and the Checks – HOPE TOUR sets a matrix of contemporary and traditional expression against a backdrop of funky beats, old school moves, traditional dance, rhyme, and multimedia. The young artists hailing from all corners of the world - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background, Afghanistan, Sudan, Samoa, Congo, Iran, Burundi, Thailand, Cook Islands, Rwanda and Fiji – bring diverse cultural backgrounds, personal experiences, and awesome talent into the mix.

HOPE TOUR is the evolution of Contact Inc’s vision and Third Place Policy– the creation of spaces where cultures can safely and meaningfully meet. Contact Inc has an 18 year history of presenting arts workshops, community development programs, projects in hip hop and video production, and professional development programs for young people from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, Polynesian, recently-arrived Refugee and Migrant backgrounds. Contact Inc has performed at LIVID, QPAC, Out of the Box, Stylin’ Up, and Woodford Folk Festival; toured to regional Queensland, the Torres Strait Islands, Denmark, and Bali; supported the development of leading Australian artists including Debra Mailman, and Wesley Enoch; and  helped established local Brisbane organisations, Kooemba Jdarra and Youth Arts Queensland. 

HOPE TOUR was directed by Lisa Fa’alafi and Fez Fa’anana from Polytoxic, a Brisbane-based dance ensemble creating theatrical performance works drawing from Polynesian, contemporary and street dance styles. Busty Beats ‘the nastiest beats producer in the Southern Hemisphere’ from Melbourne’s Sista She, is Music Director and she has mixed custom HOPE TOUR contributions from the Avalanches and Macromantics into the beat-scape. Polytoxic and Busty Beats have led workshops and creative development sessions with the young artists over the past 11 weeks developing new rhymes, songs, beats, theatrical elements and dance.

HOPE TOUR is the culmination of this program and a reflection of the different stories and hopes for the future, of the young performers.

Check out the Hope Tour photos in the Photo Gallery