An award-winning circus and theatre artist whose career has taken her around the world, Dawn Pascoe has found her deepest creative fulfilment working with regional communities – using circus, dance and storytelling to connect people, amplify local voices and entertain.
After studying at WAAPA and completing a circus diploma in New Zealand, Dawn built a career as an independent artist that has spanned decades and continents, earning multiple awards — including Best Solo Show at the Wellington Fringe for her first self-devised work — and winning Toronto Buskerfest, one of the world’s largest street arts festivals.
But despite her many achievements, for Dawn, there’s nothing quite like the power of bringing communities together.
HOW IT ALL BEGAN
Dawn’s path into community-based work began with her multi-award-winning aerial-dance-theatre company.
“I started working regionally through my business, Natural Wings, performing at regional festivals around WA,” she says.
Dawn performing in one of her projects, titled She is Strong.
In 2022, funding supported a new chapter of this work, leading to a primary school residency in the town of Pingelly.
“We put on a show with the kids from the primary school and also performed acts with professional artists and put on this big (what we called) the ‘Pingelly Circus Spectacular’ in the rec centre there. There were 900 people in the town, and it was a rainy, blustery day, and 300 of them turned up to see our show,” a huge turnout and clear sign that her work was making an impact.
Despite having performed at major festivals and venues around the world, Dawn says it was the depth of community spirit in Pingelly that left the strongest impression and was her “catalyst” for working in this space.
This approach of combining performance with community engagement continued in her recent role as resident artist at Cowaramup Primary, where she used the arts to enrich the school’s academic curriculum with a project supported by funding from the Department of Creative Industries, Tourism and Sport (CITS).
THE ART OF FUNDING APPLICATIONS
Like many artists, Dawn knows firsthand both the value and challenge of securing funding.
“Funding is a beautiful beast. Sometimes it gives you this big kiss and says ‘Yes, you are on the right track. You are so valid and valuable and you’re doing all the right things and we love you’,” Dawn says.
“And other times it just gnaws on your bones and spits you out and says, ‘Try again darling’. I’ve had two rejections in the last two months, and it hurts, hard. But then I realise that all the projects I’ve done in the last year that have meant so much to me have been because of the funding, so I’m not going to give up on it.”
One such project has been She is Strong, a work that Dawn co-created with photographer Rachel Collier.
THE MOST IMPACTFUL WORK
She is Strong combines circus, photography, audio and creative movement, telling real, raw and vulnerable stories that celebrate women’s strength.
Dawn (right) in She is Strong
“It is my favourite project I think I’ve ever done and the one that’s had the most impact,” Dawn says. “The thing that really sets it apart, I think, is our community engagement.”
In addition to telling stories from the artists, the show tells the story of women local to the community in which it is performed. Weeks before the show opens, the team engage with members of the community and – through a range of interviews and photography sessions – help them discover their own personal strengths.
With the permission of the participants, the process culminates with the women seeing themselves on the big screen before the show begins.
“It’s really about women supporting one another and that’s exactly what it does. And at the end of the shows there are so many hugs and tears – but not in a way of ‘oh my God that was so heavy’ – it’s just that wow, women are amazing, and we can do great things, and we can really connect with one another. And that’s the kind of work that I want to be putting in the world.”
And she will continue to put such work out in the world; Dawn intends to tour She is Strong regionally again later this year.
WALL DANCING
Currently, Dawn is working on a wall-dancing piece that will perform in Busselton in just a few weeks.
“The wall dancing piece is very exciting,” she shares. “I am in development at the moment and my hips are so bruised from the harness!”
So, what exactly is wall dancing you ask?
“Wall dancing is like abseiling but you’re dancing up against the wall and there’s intricate manouvres and there’s big, big jumps…you feel like you’re flying and flipping and there’s just nothing like it.”
The project involves three professional aerialists from the South West, including Dawn, and is led by UK-based choreographer/director, Lindsey Butcher, the Artistic Director of aerial dance company, Gravity & Levity. A specialist in vertical dance, Lindsey was flown in to teach the artists how to wall dance.
Currently undergoing a three-week training and development phase, this project was also made possible due to funding from CITS and will culminate in a short performance with details still to come.
Dawn (left) in She is Strong
ADVICE FOR ARTISTS ENGAGING REGIONALLY
So, with all these projects in the works and extensive experience working in the regions, we asked Dawn for her advice to artists hoping to engage with these communities.
“One thing I tell everyone that I work with – whether I’m directing them or teaching – is that the best way to be interesting is to be interested, and I think this is so true when working in the regions.”
“I think that if you’re bringing in a show just for ‘ta-da’ reasons I think you’re doing it for the wrong reasons…Have a connection strategy first. Don’t just come and go ‘Okay we’ve got this workshop, that’ll do’. Really think about who your audiences are. I know they say that all the time but choose your target audience. There’s just so much heart here and openness and willingness, and they will just eat it up. So be present.”
You can learn more about Dawn and stay up-to-date with her projects via her website www.naturalwings.com.au
Images by Miles Noel Photography
