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Sunday 20 September kl. 19:00, Venue and tickets to come

“top quality socially engaged creative practice” Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria
“the antidote to fear, misinformation and hatred” ABC Arts
“suffused with hospitality at every level” The Age
“★★★★★” ArtsHub

Contemporary dance+ artist Meagan O'Shea creates exceptional performance experiences that blur the line between dance and theatre. Now, with director Xan Colman, and composer/ DJ/percussionist Nasra Ali Omar, the trio explores ideas of belonging, remoteness and connection to create the next work in A is for Atlas's world-travelling series Dining Room Tales. A nomad for over a decade, Meagan converts her dinner table into a map of multiple dimensions, before inviting audience to share in a co-created communal meal. Meagan dances the dining room, recounting tales of travel triumphs and fails, with audience assisting her in ‘re-do’s – the things she wished she had done in some moments that mattered. Questioning the role of the global citizen, the work reflects on how to be a good guest, and a good host.

Limited tickets available.

Conceived and led by Australian artist Xan Colman, Dining Room Tales is a global-local social art practice centred on food, diversity, and the role food-sharing plays in building communities. Audience is invited to the dinner table to share in the life and practice of an internationally acclaimed artist, as they prepare a communal meal. In between moments of formal and informal performance, audience becomes an integral part of creating an artwork. Dining Room Tales have been shared through 134 performance events with 65 communities across ten countries, and in 5 languages, since 2011; from Sydney to São Paulo, from Helsinki to Hong Kong, from London to Lisbon, from Berlin to Yokohama. www.diningroomtales.com

Meagan O’Shea
Working across forms and borders, queer, dance+ artist, Meagan O’Shea (she|they) devises “Uplifting, energetic and totally out of the ordinary” (Mooney on Theatre) performances. Examining ideas from unexpected angles, treating process like a science experiment, using body and interaction with audience as test site, Meagan’s work jumps between forms, seeking to unite disparate ideas. Meagan has performed 11 dance-theatre mash-up solo shows across the land called Canada, in New York and Texas, Mexico, Morocco, North Macedonia, Greece, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Iceland, Finland and Norway.

Meagan’s other work includes ensemble, participatory and in-situ performances: dance like no one is watching; The Love Project, for teenagers; Anatomalia, slow touring through Europe and Canada with core cast plus locals; It’s My Party, dancefilm with solos from women over 40 in different cultures.

“Off the wall, impossible to categorize, fun” Montreal Gazette

Meagan teaches DIY Solo Making and Ensemble Improv in art, education and community settings internationally. She is co-founder of hub14 in Toronto, was International Associate Artist at Dance Ireland, Associate Artist at Theatre Direct and Living Arts Centre Mississauga, and Artistic Collaborator at Barcelona International Dance Exchange. Meagan is a recipient of the KM Hunter Award in Dance, and her work nominated for Dora Mavor Moore awards. Meagan leads international dance collaboratory, Stand Up Dance, and promotes a culture of care in the arts through
Balancing Act Canada. www.standupdance.com

Nasra Ali Omar
Nasra Ali Omar is a cross-genre percussionist, educated at the conservatory of music in Tromsø and Århus. Nasra has recently worked a lot in the genres of electronica, world, with a drumstick in contemporary, music. Nasra has worked as a session musician with artists and bands such as Kolar Goi, Bel Canto, Ost&Kjex and Sizzle, and has been invited as a soloist on stages with, among others, Bugge Wesseltoft, Mari Boine, Cleaning Women (FI), Vokal Nord, Pinquins Percussion Trio and Marthe Valle/Rasmus Rohde. Nasra has toured with works by Bjørn Andor Drage, Maja Bugge, Bodvar Mo and the MIN Ensemble. Nasra has produced music for performing arts of various characters. Nasra is currently a regular band member in the electronica band UGRESS and focuses on solo and ensemble projects based on silent films. Nasra established Pulskollektivet, studio collective, is part of the electronic scene of Tromsø and its initiatives, and is one of the founders of Tromsø World Festival.

Xan Colman
Xan Colman is an Australian artist and producer based in Helsinki. He works in a variety of contexts, from international festivals to micro-residencies, tertiary education to large state theatres, experimental performance platforms to post-conflict community development, eg: Makhampom Theatre (Thailand), National Review of Live Art (UK), Schaubühne Berlin (DE), Fundaçion Valparaíso (ESP), mala voadora (PT), Yokohama Otomatsuri (JN), The Drama Review (US), Freespace at Taikoo Place (Hong Kong), New Territories (Glasgow), Black Market International, Berliner Ensemble, Chulalongkorn University Bangkok. Xan is an alumnus of the Asialink Leaders Program, a fellow of the International Theatre Institute (UNESCO), and Artistic Director of contemporary performance company A is for Atlas. Since 2011, Xan has been developing his internationally acclaimed social art practice, Dining Room Tales, working hyper- locally with communities to enhance their social resilience, and to share globally the diverse stories of contemporary humanity. www.aisforatlas.org.au