alfira
Artistic Director/daNcer
Alfira, born in Perth of Acehnese-Irish descent, is a dance artist who specialises in traditional and contemporary Indonesian dance styles. In 2001, Alfira founded Suara Indonesia Dance Group and her dedication, diligence and talent have granted her several Indonesian Government Scholarships. Her educational repertoire includes studying at the Institute of the Arts Yogyakarta and Surakarta (Central Java). In Aceh (North Sumatra) she researched and trained under master instructors in Acehnese sitting dances which are rhythmical body percussion dances, accompanied by devotional Islamic melodic songs. She holds a degree in International Studies (UNSW) and an Honours in Indonesian Studies at Sydney University, completing a thesis on the history and significance of Acehnese body percussion sitting dances.
Alfira performs as a solo artist as well as with her dance troupe at national and international festivals. Notably, her artistic contribution goes beyond pure entertainment. Alfira is a modest humanitarian who has volunteered her time in Palestine, teaching body percussion dances in refugee camps as a method of trauma relief (2010). She has also been to Papua New Guinea in the Goroka highlands to teach workshops in villages (2011). In Aceh, 2006, she monitored trauma-healing programs that taught traditional dance to victims of the 2004 tsunami and 30-year conflict in Aceh.
Preserving and honouring her cultural heritage through dance is a key objective of Alfira's and subsequently her dance group have taught Indonesian dance workshops in hundreds of schools across Australia and New Zealand and Europe.
She has collaborated with a number of Indonesian and Australian contemporary music ensembles and artists including: Lyn Williams AM and the Gondwana Choirs, Contemporary Asian Australian Performance (CAAP) the late Slamet Gundono, Rendra Freestone & The Rhythm Hunters, Agung Gunawan, Gong Baby, Garis, Anything But Roy, Sawung Jabo & GengGong, Jade Dewi Tyas Tunggal and Wei Zen Ho.
As a contemporary dance artist, Alfira utilises her knowledge of traditional dance from across the Indonesian archipelago as the inspiration and starting point for the creation of contemporary work, sharing personal stories and issues of contemporary society to explore issues of identity, fitting in, resistance, rejection and inclusion.
Suara's creative work is based on the unique upbringing and diverse influences of its members who are all collaborators and a big part of the creative process. All of Suara's dancers reside in Australia but have ties to Indonesia, whether through their background, families or upbringing. Alfira has worked over many years to preserve traditional and folkloric dances and uses them as a basis from which to create new works based on traditional movements. Since 2009, she has guided a new generation of Suara dancers in Sydney to develop their own style of contemporary vocabulary informed, but not limited by, their traditional practice.
Alfira's traditional training has inspired the troupe to acknowledge the past as a way to comprehend and contribute to the present and future art form of dance. Her contenmporary dance practice reflects her own and her dancers' personal journeys and opens up larger questions about the place of struggle and resilience in forging an identity and a place of belonging in the world.
Contemporary works photos/videos
Choreography commissioned and projects/collaborations;
Dua Topeng, Hawker Ball, National Gallery of Victoria 2019
Siti Rubiyah play by Katrina Irawati Graham for Sydney Festival first development with CAAP
Genjer Genjer - Performance in collaboration with Kartika Suharto-Martin, Cement Fondue 2019 for Woven Collective original collaboration with Tata Purwitasari 2010/2013
Tapuak Galembong 1st development Opus Now Concert Series Alpha Gallery, Newtown 2017
Weekends are for washing - Performance & Installation at Casula Powerhouse 2019
ARTBAR Curated by Jason Wing, Museum of Contemporary Australia, 28th of October 2016
Rapai - First development work-in-progress at The Arts Platform 2013 Arts and Culture Residency for 6 weeks at Platform 2, Liechardt, Sydney
Fiddler on the roof - performance improvisation, filmed by Fatima Mawas, Bethlehem, Palestine 2010
Wajah-Wajah (Faces) 2011 for Coolie Asian-Australian Festival at Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney
Duduk (Sit) 2012 Islamic Women's Festival Casula Powerhouse, Sydney and 2010 UNSW Metamorphosis Symposium, Sydney
Tanah Ibu (Mother Earth) 2007, 4a Asian Arts Gallery, Sydney
Broeh (Rubbish) 2006 Yogya International Arts Fest, Yogyakarta
Buah Kemanusiaan (This Fruit of Mankind) 2006 Gang Fest, Sydney
Fiddler on the Roof is a dance film shot, edited and directed by Fatima Mawas performed and choreographed by Alfira and music by Becka Wolfe.
*200-word short BIO:
Alfira O'Sullivan is the Artistic Director and founder of the New South Wales-based Suara Indonesia Dance. Born in Perth of Acehnese-Irish descent, Alfira studied at the Institute of the Arts Yogyakarta and Surakarta (Central Java), and conducted research and trained under master dance instructors in Aceh (North Sumatra). Her Bachelor of International Studies from the University of NSW informs her cross-cultural engagements in Australia and abroad and she has completed an Honours thesis in Indonesian Studies at Sydney University, on the history and significance of Acehnese body percussion. She is a renowned educator, volunteering and leading workshops across the globe, from New Zealand to Europe, Palestine to South East Asia and Papua New Guinea. Alfira specialises in traditional and contemporary Indonesian dance styles. She founded Suara Indonesia Dance in 2001 and performs as a solo artist as well as with her dance troupe at national and international festivals. She has collaborated with a number of Indonesian and Australian contemporary music ensembles and artists on music and theatre projects including: Lyn Williams AM and the Gondwana Choirs, the late Slamet Gundono, Agung Gunawan, Contemporary Asian Australian Performance, The Rhythm Hunters, Sawung Jabo and GengGong, Jade Dewi Tyas Tunggal and Wei Zen Ho.
