Worlds meet in dance
Published on 25 July, 2002
Dancing the world over for princes and paupers, Nicholai von Tonslamann and Tony Widjaya, bring their exuberant dance interpretations to the Central Queensland Multicultural Fair on Sunday 11 August.
“If you experience the music and dance of another culture, you’ll begin to understand it’s people,” says Nicholai, a veteran folk dancer who’s studied and performed for 30 years in Europe, Africa and Asia. If you are sensitive enough, Nicholai believes, it will tell you about yourself, what you believe, and where you come from.
Nicholai’s love for ethnic dance comes from the learning experience he draws from the movements of the different dance and the people he dances with. “The dance is only alive for as long as the dance lasts. In dance you can connect with other people figuratively and literally.
For Nicholai, dance is personal and more introspective. For his partner, Tony, it’s about the performance. Dancing as team for eight years, they’ve studied and performed tap, modern and folk dancing. Ballet is the most difficult according to Tony and Ballroom is the only style of dance they don’t always agree on.
Nicholai & Tony will deliver workshops and provide Indonesian and other ethnic dance performances on the main stage at the Central Queensland Multicultural Fair. More than 30,000 people are expected to converge on the Rockhampton Campus of Central Queensland University (CQU) to attend the “Community Event of the Year” – the 10th annual Central Queensland Multicultural Fair and CQU Open Day.
Central Queensland’s foremost single-day event, produced by Central Queensland University (CQU) and ABC Capricornia with support from The Morning Bulletin, represents more than 30 cultures and will feature plenty of new attractions along with traditional favourites.
The festival, held the second Sunday in August, has a nationally recognized reputation for serving up wonderful foods, dance, music and diverse cultural performances.
This year, the Year of the Outback, organizers will focus on contributions immigrants have made to the settlement and development of rural and regional Australia.
Pictured are left, Tony Widjaya and right Nicholai von Tonslamann.