On the Couch

Join Beck as she chats with Darwin artists about their work, achievements, doubts and inspirations. And bringing the On the Couch tunes is vocalist Joanne Davis.

On The Couch Guests: Saturday July 13th
Bustard Town

Tickets avaliable through Darwin Fringe Festival

Alice Cotton: Straight outta Darwin, queer indie-folk artist Alice Cotton’s infectious songs ‘hit you
with the depth and breadth of her storytelling’ (triple j).
Carving up the country’s regional music scene with her infectious and off-kilter blend of folk, altcountry
and indie-rock, which has seen her compared to Aussie music legends Paul Kelly and
Stella Donnelly, Cotton draws audiences in with her playful banter paired with stunning vocals and
introspective lyrics about family dogs, queer love, and a constant longing for food.
The last 12 months have been huge for Cotton, with back-to-back top 10 placement in ABC NT’s
Territory Sounds Countdown, a finalist placement for the inaugural Australian Folk Music Awards
and the release of her debut, self-titled EP.

Gary Lang was born and raised on Larrakia Country in Darwin, and is of mixed Larrakia, Scottish
and Filipino descent, and has extended Yolŋu family in Arnhem Land. Lang performed with
Bangarra Dance Company under Stephen Page, Dancenorth under Jane Pirani and AIDT under
Raymond Blanco. On his return to live in Darwin, Lang developed his signature choreographic
style by incorporating the movements, storytelling and Indigenous knowledge systems of Larrakia
and Rirratjingu Yolŋu cultures with his professional dance training.
Gary founded the company that bears his name in 2012 as a way to work, live and teach dance on
his own Country. Today, Gary Lang NT Dance Company is the Northern Territory’s leading
contemporary Indigenous dance company, and one of only three dance companies creatively
controlled by First Nations people in Australia.
NTDC promotes Aboriginal culture through high-quality dance, provides training and skills
development opportunities for emerging Indigenous and non-Indigenous dancers and vulnerable
youth, and provides economic opportunities for professional dancers based in the Northern
Territory.
NTDC is renowned for Gary Lang’s artistic innovation at the intersection of traditional Aboriginal
storytelling and dance, and classical dance, drawn from his professional training, cultural heritage
and deep relationships with Larrakia and Yolŋu Communities. Lang’s themes are inspired by
ancient Larrakia and Yolŋu songlines, and explore spirit worlds, loss, hope, healing and journeys
within traditional and modern narratives.
Lang’s signature choreography blends the gestural physicality of First Nations dance with the
ethereal movements of classical ballet, and heightens the experience through orchestral strings
accompaniments, to create a new art form that is entirely unique within the Australian dance
landscape.
‘I tell my stories to resonate spirit and breath, to share beauty and to
celebrate cultural unity.
I have created my own style of dance because
I want to revolutionise and challenge people’s perception of traditional
First Nations dance and how they assume our stories should be shared.’
Gary Lang

Therese Ritchie has lived and worked as an artist, graphic designer and photographer in the NT
for over 40 years. She is best known for her provocative prints that make fearless and social
commentary about the complexity of race relations and political deficiencies in the Northern
Territory.
Her latest book YOU ARE HERE, (the full-colour catalogue for her solo exhibition of the same
name) examines Australia’s frontier wars and the massacre of Indigenous peoples alongside the
nation’s history of coal extraction and infrastructure development by European settlers, mining
companies and Australian governments. Curated by Joanna Barrkman in 2022, YOU ARE HERE
was also the venue for CDU Art gallery’s public program on truth-telling.