Sete Tele’s experience as a professional artist and educator spans nearly thirty years of dance as a performer, choreographer, teacher, and arts worker. His formative years were with 2 Dance Plus (now CO3 – a dance in education company), where the groundwork was laid for the subsequent opportunities to teach (as an independent dance artist) across the spectrum of professional, tertiary, secondary, primary, and community (urban and regional) dance environments. Sete has facilitated residencies in various remote indigenous communities in Western Australia and Northern Territory.
Sete has also developed performance works with people from diverse cultural backgrounds, refugee communities, and the disability sector (physical, intellectual, mental health, aged care).
Sete is a recipient of three West Australian Dance Awards: Outstanding Performance by Male Dancer, Outstanding Teacher, Outstanding Achievement in Regional or Community Dance.
He was an Asialink Artist in Residence at the Guangdong Modern Dance Company in Guangzhou, China. Other residencies include Time Place Space 2 and Time Place Space Nomads, as well as a self- directed residencies at Tasdance, Launceston Tasmania, Artscape Gibraltar Point, Toronto, and a collaborative studio residency in Lisbon.
Sete’s practice to date is a compilation of experiences that coalesce to create works that reflect his perspective of the world. His medium is, contemporary dance with flavours from – his Samoan cultural heritage; Aikido (Japanese Martial Art of Peace); pop culture; and the experiences of working with artists from other fields – writers, theatre, visual art, performance art, and music.
Sete’s aesthetic is to re-contextualise the human to human, whereby the rules of interaction are challenged to navigate a paradigm shift arriving at a new protocol. Improvisation is his base that yields all aspects of practice: the constant exploring and shifting of material unveils what is appropriate. This solid foundation continues to evolve, to be reconfigured in response to the requirements of the project at hand.
Sete views his work as a place based and play based practice. Where his love of improvisation drives the creation of works that are inspired by its place of origin. Often these works are ephemeral. His contemporary dance has evolved towards designing participatory performances as a solo practice, and also in collaboration with other like minded provocateurs.
I see my fascination with the movement and placement of objects in space, a direct extension of my dance, my movement, the projection of experience and intent. The placement of the “objects” provides room for the essence of the work to emerge. The choreography is determined by the interaction of all present in that space at that particular point in time.
Here, in Drinking Water with Lisa Hirmer, the object is the water gathered by our volunteer water collectors:
Drinking Water was presented by Tasdance, had it’s world premiere at the 2018 Junction Arts Festival.
Another iteration was presented at the 2019 Fremantle Biennale. Our exhibition ran from 2nd November – 24th November 2019, at the Moores Building in Fremantle.
Working with a gentleman of mature age, and with zero experience with the arts, he was tasked to interact with the environment via a series of tasks, hence:
The following video endeavours to convey a sense of my improvised solo – The Island.
(Programmed at Dancehouse for the 2017 Melbourne Fringe Festival)
Here was a collaboration with Australian dance artist, Rachel Arianne Ogle. The work resulted from a masterclass with Joao Fiadeiro on his Composition in Real Time method. The event was produced by Strut Dance, Western Australia.
The video here illustrates my process outcome in facilitating the viewer, the audience, to be the ‘incidental’ performer in this iteration.
The following snippet is from – The Watering Hole – a collaboration with Canadian artist, Lisa Hirmer. This work occurred at the 2015 Time Place Space Nomad, in Natimuk, Victoria.
The Watering Hole invited viewers to one by one traverse approx 400 metres across a dry lake bed to taste water that we had collected via a condensation unit (The Watering Hole) that we had constructed with assistance of other artists. To complete the circle, the viewers were then invited to assist in filling the Hole.
Time Place Space Nomad was produced by Arts House, Victoria, and Performance Space, Sydney.
The video below looks at the effects of an introduced species upon local fauna and flora. This dance work was developed in situ with the dancers. The presentation was the culmination of a three month project produced by Southern Edge Arts, and managed by Nikki Green.
Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company. Lead facilitator for the company’s Culture 2.0 Respect Yourself, Respect Your Culture workshops on the metro and Kimberley tours.
MonkeyFunk workshops: lead facilitator – creative movement for mums and bubs presented by Ausdance WA.
Artscape at Gibraltar Point, Toronto, Canada. A reflective residency with attention given to the investigation of process. The outcome was a participatory event shared with other residents. Many thanks to Lisa Hirmer and Holly Timpener.
Drinking Water: with Lisa Hirmer, a creative development for a new performance work.
Outreach Tour: Culture 2.0 to Pilbara and the Goldfields for Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company.
2013:
With a Bullet: a curated season of short dance works where the choreographers are invited to re-imagine their first ever creation utilising the piece of music. I was cast in works by Jacob Lehrer, Sam Fox, and Rachel Arianne Ogle.
January: – “Strutathon” produced by Strut Dance, as part of the 2012 Perth Fringe Festival. I presented a duo with Joshua Bott (dancer with Down Syndrome) entitled “Once Upon a Time with Gallotta”.
April: – “In This” – by Claudia Alessi, Company Complesso at The State Theatre
June/July: Regional dance project in Fitzroy Crossing, for Theatre Kimberley.
August: “Harakiri” by Didier Theron at The State Theatre, for dance festival leading up to the 2012 Australian Dance Awards.
September: “Gallery Moves” by Sandi Woo, Nicole Barnes & Claudia Alessi. I was creative consultant on this project which programmed in the 2012 Shinju Matsuri Arts Festival.
2011:
Dance Residency: Fitzroy Valley District High School, Fitzroy Crossing, for Theatre Kimberley’s Outreach Program
AIR Residency: Gondwanaland Project, produced by Southern Edge Arts, residency in the South West towns of Denmark, Albany, Cranbrook, and Mt. Barker. Creative team included Leon Ewing, Peter Keelan, Cecile Williams, and yours truly.
2010:
Opening Event by LA FURA for the Perth International Arts Festival
AIR Residency based at Karratha Senior High School in Karratha Western Australia, with Rachel Arianne Ogle.
Joshua Bott – ATE. A young man of 24 years with Down Syndrome, being mentored by artists, including myself, culminating in a performance / exhibition.
Other community projects –
Regional: – Punmu – remote indigenous dry community – was great to be back there!
Urban: – Mirrabooka SHS – working with a group of kids from newly arrived families!
– Seton Catholic College – co-creation of a graduating performance special ed class
– Warnbro – creating a work for the special ed kids that was performed at the annual schools expo in Perth CBD
Mentor for Quindell Orton – AIVDT – Unexpected Microclimates
Participating in Garry Stewart’s dance video – Collision Course.
2009:
CO/LAB
Participation in choreographic lab week mentored by Joao Fiafeiro & Marcus Canning. An annual Strut Dance program where the collaborative teams consist of choreographer, dancer, & designer. A very informative process. Very cool! colab-sete.blogspot.com www.strutdance.org.au/workshops
AUSTRALIAN YOUTH DANCE FESTIVAL 2009
MAN-DU-RAH! was a hectic time had by all involved but was very successful. I was there in the capacity of facilitator – presenting Aikido Dance workshops – and choreographer – presenting 2 works by our GETdownERS group (dancers with down syndrome).Highlights : the representation the exposure and acceptance of other groups such as the indigenous dancers from the Pilbara, the indigenous dancers from New Caledonia, and the local dancers with disabilities.
I was a late inclusion to the project. I was engaged to work with students from two primary schools to create two dances for performance in the main event, TranscenDANCE, at the 2009 Festival of the Wind. www.festivalofthewind.org.au/
Didier Theron – “Harakiri”
Presented by Strut Dance, Didier Theron’s was re-staged upon Perth’s finest dancers.
