This is the UK premiere of Australian artist Rochelle Haley’s performance A Sun Dance. A musician and a group of international and South West-based dancers track the path of the sun as it passes across and through Tate St Ives, celebrating the transition from summer to autumn.
The performers will create kaleidoscopic shapes and contemplative movement and sound for audiences to encounter throughout the day, using and playing with the building itself. At its core, the work is a collaboration between the dancers, light, sound, and the architecture.
The performance continues throughout the day. At times, the group will be performing together. At others, they will disperse throughout the gallery.
To discover A Sun Dance:
- Follow the sun
- Listen for the sound of bells, chimes and humming
- Seek out long sightlines between gallery spaces
- Look for gallery staff wearing yellow sunbeams on white t-shirts
An Acknowledgement of Country will take place on the roof garden of Tate St Ives at 9:30.
The performance will then flow into the circular Loggia at the entrance to Tate St Ives and enter the galleries.
Morning, midday and afternoon cycles also provide points into the work:
- 10:00: Rise, Loggia, Tate St Ives entrance
- 10:15: Morning Cycle, Gallery 1
- 12:00: Midday Cycle, Gallery 6
- 15:00: Afternoon Cycle, Gallery 8
- 17:00: Set, Loggia, Tate St Ives entrance
Sunseekers, we look forward to welcoming you into A Sun Dance.
Credits: Rochelle Haley, A Sun Dance, 2024. Choreographers: Ivey Wawn, Angela Goh. Dancers: Ivey Wawn, Kyra Norman, Talia Sealey, Winona Guy, Alice Heyward. Musician: Megan Alice Clune. Costume: Leah Giblin.
Premiered in February 2024, A Sun Dance was originally commissioned by the National Gallery of Australia and assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body. With additional support from the Australian Research Council through research and commissioning partner Precarious Movements: Choreography and the Museum, a research project hosted by University of New South Wales, with Art Gallery of New South Wales, Monash University Museum of Art, National Gallery of Victoria, Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts and Tate.
Artist: Rochelle Haley
Choreographers: Angela Goh, Ivey Wawn
Dancers: Angela Goh, David Huggins, Lizzie Thomson, Niki Verrall, Ivey Wawn
Composer & Musician: Megan Alice Clune
Costume: Leah Giblin
NGA Curators: Elspeth Pitt and Deirdre Cannon. Produced by Saskia Scott.
Tate St Ives is located on Porthmeor Beach. There is a ramp up to the gallery entrance alongside stairs with a handrail.
There are lifts to all Levels of the gallery, or alternatively you can take the stairs.
- Accessible and standard toilets are on Level 3, next to Gallery 6.
- A Changing Places toilet is on Level 3, next to Gallery 1.
- Ear defenders can be borrowed from the information desk.
- Folding stools are available.
To help plan your visit to Tate St Ives, have a look at our visual story. It includes photographs and information of what you can expect from a visit to the gallery.
For more information before your visit:
- Email visiting.stives@tate.org.uk
- Call +44 (0)173 679 6226
