Earthdance is an outdoor music festival with the slogan, "Give peace a dance". I spoke to the event organiser for Earthdance Melbourne, Lynne Donnelly about the history of Earthdance, the performers, and what people can gain from attending this free outdoor party.

Can you give us a short history of the Earthdance event, both globally and in Melbourne?

Earthdance was initiated in 1997 in London by Chris Decker, who at that time was part of Return to the Source. Eighteen countries were involved and linked by the internet, an absolutely outstanding use of technology at the time. We were all on dial up and the images were very slow. I was part of that first event in Tokyo and was completely blown away by the way our style of music could be used for a positive purpose, and on returning to live in Australia in early 1998 collaborated with Green Ant, Psycorroboree and Psyharmonics to start the first Earthdance Benefit Nights in Melbourne. 6 years on Earthdance Melbourne joins 120 festivals and parties worldwide to create a dual event; a free daytime festival followed by Ostara, our Benefit Night where all monies raised is donated to our nominated charities.

Earthdance is a Global Festival for Peace that coincides with UN World Peace Day. How do you spread the message of peace to people via a music based event?

I think there are many levels in this message. It starts with the people involved in the actual organising. Everyone is a volunteer, from me to the artists, vj’s, performers, graphic designer, publicist, Universal Language, crew etc. People work on Earthdance with a massive personal commitment, because we genuinely want to make a difference in a way we know best – music and dance. This commitment is reflected in the atmosphere of Earthdance. The vibe at the event has always been very friendly and peaceful and gives our audience a great foundation to have a positive afternoon and night.

Then there is the actual Earthdance intention. Everyone who has seen a flyer or been to Earthdance in the last 6 years is fully aware that they are ‘dancing for peace’ with thousands of people across the planet. We are all incredibly powerful beings, and with everyone’s focused intention of peace through dance and music, the impact is felt at Earthdance tangibly. Music is a universal language is a powerful tool and we have a very strong global dance community whose commonality is a love of electronic music.

The program features Tibetan chanting and the Danbai Dancers from Sudan. What other nationalities will be performing? How important is it to have multicultural performers?

We live in a multicultural society in Australia which is fantastic. There are so many opportunities here to sample different cultures through food, music, art etc. It makes our lives here much less homogenous than many other countries.
Having a daytime event certainly offers us greater opportunity to diversify our musical content and experiment with cultural fusion. The Danbai Dancers will be collaborating with Mantrix to close Earthdance with a mix of traditional Sudanese performance and contemporary Melbourne electronica. This is really exciting and reflects what is happening in many places in Australia; a blend of European and other cultures to create something new.

Earthdance Melbourne's continuing force is to create positive opportunities for young people through music, art and performance. How do you achieve this for the event?

We offer young people a sense of community. A place to come and hang out, with no pressure and interact in a positive way with like minded people. Community is something that is being lost in our current society. People are increasingly isolated, lonely and depressed. Both the daytime festival and the Ostara are designed to maximise the community and social benefits for all who attend by encouraging active participation and communication.

As Earthdance has recently incorporated as a non-profit organisation, we are now in a position to expand into ongoing programmes, workshops and other events in 2004 which will be directly focused on increasing young peoples mental and physical well being though performance, art and music. It’s really very exciting for us and I hope will benefit many people in Melbourne.

How did you choose the musicians and djs for the party? What style of music will we hear on the day?

We are so incredibly lucky with the support we get from dj’s and musicians in both Australia and internationally. Every year, so many people contact us offering their time and talent, so we have the chance to really programme an excellent line up that works harmoniously for the type of event we are planning.

This year at the festival we really wanted to focus on showcasing the live element of Melbourne’s current dance scene mixed with dj’s who are skilled at playing in between live performance and maintaining the continuity. The musical style is definitely broad and accessible to most people, crossing many trance & dance genres as well as having certain acoustic and world elements.

Ostara is definitely hosting the best current trance on the dance floor, with more of the newer artists in Melbourne. The Earthfloor includes a range of ambient live and dj sets. The music at both events is really excellent and shows Melbourne for what it is – home to an incredible & talented dance scene.

How did you manage to secure the fantastic location of Federation Square as the venue for this free party?

I rang them. Well, it wasn’t quite that simple. I know many party organisers have been in a simular position – where to find a venue that will tolerate amplified sound. Even though Gasworks gave us amazing support last year, the local residents were pretty clear that they were not to into our kind of music or festival. So sadly we were left without a site for this year. I approached Federation Square because firstly it’s a great spot and being in the middle of the city with no close residential zone, loud music should not be such an issue. Secondly, I knew that Federation Square was built specifically for community use, so as part of the Melbourne community I felt fine to get in touch with them to discuss holding Earthdance there. We had to put in written proposals and comply with more regulations that I’m used to dealing with, but the management there have been fine. I think they are really curious to see how this pans out. As long as we have no problems on the day, I believe that the venue will open up opportunities to many other dance promoters in Melbourne.

The stage looks set for a great day with music, performance, vjing and markets. Is there anything else we can expect in the program for the day and night?

RMITV is filming the first Earthdance Documentary both at the festival and Ostara. The audience is really going to be a big part of this with the opportunity to have a voice in how they feel about Earthdance, music and peace in general. As well, Syn FM will be broadcasting live from Federation Square on the day which is another first for us.

Both Federation Square and Colonial Hotel have some of the best décor artists in Melbourne creating fantastic visual concepts and will look fantastic.

The audience is the most important of our programme and is what truly creates the fantastic Earthdance atmosphere. People can expect to have a brilliant time – fun in the sun (I hope).

What kind of feelings and thoughts would you like people to take away with them after participating in Earthdance Melbourne?

Last year, the Bali Bombing happened on the night of Earthdance. We found out about it when we were pulling down the décor at Colonial Hotel – everyone was devastated, thinking that although we’d put on an amazing weekend for peace we hadn’t made a bit of difference. Later that week, I ran into a girl who’d been at both the festival and benefit. We discussed Bali and she said to me that she felt so good after Earthdance that instead of feeling hate and anger at the Bali bombers she was feeling very sad and compassionate for all effected. Her comment was that participating in Earthdance had opened her eyes and heart and allowed her to go beyond her usual reaction to a terrible catastrophe and ask positive questions. They are the feelings and thoughts I hope we can all take away and keep with us after the weekend.

Earthdance Melbourne takes place on Saturday 20 September at Federation Square, Melbourne, from 11am until 8pm. It is a free event.