TRACKS - Key Persons
Anna was born in Darwin, bred in Adelaide, and happily returned to the Territory in 2020.
She completed a Bachelor of Law and Media at the University of Adelaide with some study abroad at Indiana University. Anna now works as a lawyer in Darwin across a range of practice areas.
The arts have always been a part of Anna's life. She has experience as a freelance writer and in Fringe festival marketing and publicity. Closest to her heart is music; she has performed in music theatre productions, competed in jazz festivals and worked as a musician throughout her studies. Now, Anna sings for joy.
Responsible for collaborating with the Artistic Director and Associate Artistic Director to realise the artistic, community and financial vision of the company, and to co-manage, develop and nurture community, government and stakeholder relationships.
Britt has called Larrakia Country home for over a decade and is a trans disciplinary maker and creative producer working across the creative, government and community sectors. Working in collaboration with artists, communities and other partners in the NT to produce local projects that are unique to the Territory and foster community connection.
Britt started her own company ACCOMPLICE in 2016 and delivers a range of long term creative and community projects through this. Including facilitating the Sweat Collective - a local collective of experimental artists interested in the intersection between people, place and environment. Through her company Britt also works as a consultant supporting the community, creative sector and government stakeholders of the Northern Territory with community engagement, future planning, design and capacity building.
Britt is a passionate advocate for young people with a twenty year history of youth work, policy development and advice within the youth sector.
She has a Bachelor of Creative Industries: Performance at Queensland University of Technology. She is trained in Partnership Brokerage and has undertaken governance training with OurCommunity. She is currently undertaking her PhD at Charles Darwin University exploring Entangled Collaboration on Larrakia Country.
Job Titles:
- Artistic Director
- Artistic Co - Director
Responsible for the company's program, conception and artistic direction of productions, and the engagement and direction of artists and performers to realise these works.
Responsible for the company's program, conception and artistic direction of all productions. Also responsible for managing commissioned work and for the engagement of all artists and performers to realise these works.
A great strength of Tracks is the artistic talent and collective skills of the Co-Artistic Directors, Tim Newth AM and David McMicken AM, who have consistently produced excellent work for almost two decades. They approach the making of their work through a multi-arts lens, backing up their skills in dance, visual arts and design, drama, music, and literature. They use performance to inspire a wide range of Territorians of diverse cultural backgrounds: from youth through to the elderly, city to remote community.
David and Tim have an extraordinary ability to work collaboratively, honed since the early 1990's. This is a core value of their creative process.
David completed a B.Ed in dance, theatre, and education at Rusden State College, Melbourne, in 1980. His first professional arts job was as a drama tutor at Arena Theatre, Melbourne in 1978, and he has remained employed in the performing arts sector ever since. He has also studied music and literature. He performed with Jacqui Carrol's Dance Group Adelaide, was a founding member of Tasdance, was Director of St Martins Youth Dance Company, and founded Storm in a Teacup Dance Theatre (supporting independent movement and film artists). He has taught dance and theatre in secondary and tertiary institutions and within many community settings.
After several projects in 1991, David moved permanently to Darwin in 1992 where he worked as the Dance Development Officer with Brown's Mart Community Arts. He steered the formation of Tracks Dance Company as a leading community-based dance and performing arts company, becoming the Artistic Co-Director alongside Tim Newth. Since 1988, the company has had a cultural development relationship with the remote indigenous community of Lajamanu and has run the Grey Panthers seniors dance troupe.
With a community development interest, he explores being a contemporary Australian through questions of race, age, place and culture, and by working with local artistic and cultural workers, and populations. He is particularly interested in creating work that comes from the specifics of place, as well as through collaborative processes. He enjoys the way that dance can exist in our bodies at any age and stage. David believes that dance has a unique power in the community, as it makes our aspirations and dreams visible. As a collective activity, dance builds confidence, community, trust, and pride. David was made a Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia in 2014.
Born and raised in the Bahamas, David migrated to Perth with his family in the early 70's. An avid cook, foodie and lover of spicy, interesting food from the tropical regions of the world, he travelled the world exploring the wonders of the food and culture.
David has taught private cooking classes since arriving in Darwin in the early 90's. After a number of years working in the training kitchens of CDU, he joined St Vincent de Pauls Knockabout Chef program. There he worked to train homeless and at risk youth, refugees and others experiencing hardship in Commercial Cookery. Many transitioned into employment and brighter, sustainable futures.
The program closed in 2015, not before David was given a Winston Churchill Fellowship to research models of Culinary Education for disenfranchised youth. David returned to Australia and developed a working program from the research carried out.
The program came to life in 2017 with Mission Australia in Darwin. Café One is a barista and life skills program for young Territorians who are disengaged or struggling to find independence. The program has been most successful in assisting young Territorians to find the confidence, resilience and skills that leads to more fulfilled lives.
Job Titles:
- ADMINISTRATOR
- Administrator - Debbie Micairan
Responsible for the administration of the company, website management, marketing and general enquiries.
A first generation Australian-born Filipino, Debbie has always had a love for the arts from an early age. From visual art, dance and music, her passion in the arts reflect in her academic and personal achievements throughout her adolescent years. Originally from Darwin, Debbie has returned after living in Melbourne and New Zealand for the past several years. In that time, she had expanded her vocal abilities working with professionals in the industry, was the lead singer of a soul / funk band in Melbourne called "The Groove Collective" and is now the proud mother of one. Debbie is excited to use her experience to contribute to the arts sector in a positive way and collaborate with like-minded creatives.
A Noonamah kid, Duane has been a part of the Top End arts scene for the last 19 years. Starting out as a musician and sound tech he has since been the Production Manager of Barunga Festival, Nightcliff Seabreeze Festival, for Brown's Mart Theatre and Corrugated Iron Youth Arts.
Duane has developed strong relationships across the Top End working with remote communities and musicians on festivals, studio recordings and film projects. Also, as a keen photographer, Duane enjoys exploring and portraying the landscapes and relationships developed through his work.
Responsible for the management of productions and technical aspects of the company.
Job Titles:
- Director Business Support
Glenn is currently Director Business Support, Court and Tribunals with the Department of Attorney General and Justice. He has a Bachelor's degree in International Business, a graduate diploma in Indonesian Language and a diploma in Export Management. Glenn has been the Treasurer of Tracks since 2000.
Job Titles:
- Associate Artistic Director
Involved in diverse methods of facilitation, creation and direction of performances. Responsible for collaborating on company artistic outputs and additional programming.
Involved in various ways with facilitating community participation, dance and choreographic skill development, and the creation and direction of performances.
Lachlan Spargo-Peattie is Crown Counsel in the Solicitor-General's Chambers. He holds a Bachelor of Economics/Laws (Hons I) from the Australian National University and has previously lectured in Administrative and Constitutional Law. In his spare time, Lachlan is a violinist in the Darwin Symphony Orchestra and a failed gardener in Darwin's northern suburbs.
Maari, aged 60, has danced for most of her life, reaching virtuosity in the New Zealand Ballet. She has worked as a fitness instructor, a community sexual health educator, As a result of the extreme physical demands of professional Ballet, Maari has had a hip replacement. A career shift into midwifery and mortuary technician has not stopped Maari from continuing her dance practice. There is barely a program area of Tracks where Maari has not been involved: full-length performances Global Positioning, Seasons of Skin and Bark, and Chasing The Moon; En Masse dance in public spaces; A participant in the 2019 Choreographic Development Course; a choreographer for the award-winning experimental short film project - Home Bodies; Space time Studio Residency with Lizzi Webb. She has and been chosen as a local dance artist to work alongside David to create some applied research through performance - Generating Divergence - Aging into the Unknown.
Max Dewa Stretton was born in Bali but grew up in the Northern Territory. He studied law at Charles Darwin University which included some time studying in Indonesia and China. Max has extensive experience in the legal industry but now works as a consultant providing strategic advice to companies with operations in Northern Australia.
Max has been involved in extra-curricular activities throughout his life including working on the Australia-Indonesia bilateral relationship, local sporting groups and workforce in the Northern Territory. His parents have been involved in the arts for many years and as such, Max has also been an active member of the local arts community. He has performed in several of the Festivals in Darwin and notably performed in 'In Your Blood' which was a Tracks Dance Company production in the Darwin Festival 2018.
Michael Grant is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory. At the time of his appointment in July 2016, he held office as the Solicitor-General for the Northern Territory since 2007. Prior to that time he practised as a barrister at William Foster Chambers in Darwin. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 2006, he first Territory-born practitioner to be commissioned as a QC in the Northern Territory.
Mr Grant holds a Bachelor of Laws degree with first class honours conferred by the University of Queensland. He completed articles of clerkship with the Northern Territory Attorney-General's Department, and then worked as a solicitor-advocate with the Crown Solicitor's Office. In 1998, he was appointed as Director of Litigation with the Northern Territory Attorney-General's Department and spent various periods acting as its Chief Executive Officer before joining the private bar. He has also lectured in Law at the Charles Darwin University and served as President of the Health Professional Review Tribunal.
Rachael is a versatile dancer and choreographer based in Nhulunbuy, NT. Covering both traditional and contemporary dance styles she has worked with leading Indigenous dance companies and choreographers, performing regionally, nationally and internationally. As a NAISDA graduate, she has also taught at the College, danced with Bangarra and delivered remote, regional and interstate initiatives, workshops and classes. Rachael is the Director of Miku Performing Arts, a First Nations performance company based on Yolngu Country in North East Arnhem Land. Currently, Rachael is working onGapuNgupan! A cultural collaboration born during NT dancer Rachael Wallis's Taiwan residency, as part of Artback NT'sIndigenous Artist in Residency Program. She is the 2023 Lucy Geurin Inc First Nations Resident for 2023, and has been collaborating with Tracks Dance since 2020 on the Dhangu Walu (In The Now) and Wuyal Sugarbag Man projects - working in Nhulunbuy, Yirrkala, Darwin and Coomalie
Spillett began their dance journey late in high school as a curious and passionate performer and creator. Known for their big smile, energy and playful work, Spillett has predominantly facilitated small collaborative processes with movers from diverse cultural backgrounds, age and skill set. As a Darwin local Spillett has been mentored by Tracks from their teenage years up to now as a participant in the company's Youth Development programs (Make a Dance in a Week, Dance in Cool Spaces, Year 12 Creative Arts Mentorship, Choreographic Program and Fresh Tracks). Spillett relocated to Melbourne to study dance at Deakin University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts ‘19 and completed a Diploma of Fitness and Coaching ‘16 and have merged the two since then, promoting inclusiveness, creative expression and exercise in a safe space.
Spillett has been inspired by their own journey, after working with a number of different art practitioners both interstate and overseas throughout their studies and encounters. This has led Spillett into gaining experience teaching and passing down knowledge at schools in Melbourne and across the NT. While balancing Personal Training and teaching, Spillett featured in Masters of Choreography's showcase "Tragedies vs Comedies" 18', Tracks Dance Company "Seasons of Skin in Bark" 21' and currently choreographing for Tracks' triple bill "Chasing the Moon".
Returning home to have a greater focus on creating and performing again, Spillett is a recipient of the Arts NT- NXT Gen Grant. Which opens the opportunity for Spillett to implement their desire to facilitate projects and guide emerging artists, thus Spillett's urge to be involved in the Tracks Youth Development Projects that paved the pathway to their artistry.
Job Titles:
- Artist
- Artistic Co Director
Responsible for the company's program, conception and artistic direction of all productions. Also responsible for managing commissioned work and for the engagement of all artists and performers to realise these works.
A great strength of Tracks is the artistic talent and collective skills of the Co-Artistic Directors, Tim Newth AM and David McMicken AM, who have consistently produced excellent work for almost two decades. They approach the making of their work through a multi-arts lens, backing up their skills in dance, visual arts and design, drama, music, and literature. They use performance to inspire a wide range of Territorians of diverse cultural backgrounds: from youth through to the elderly, city to remote community.
David and Tim have an extraordinary ability to work collaboratively, honed since the early 1990's. This is a core value of their creative process.
Tim excels at uniting the visual with the physical. His is passionate about space, movement, how things look, and doesn't mind a good story. It's important to him that he uses his artistry in connection to his community. He has gained recognition for creating large-scale, outdoor, visually spectacular dance performances that connect people to place.
Born into a life of sheep and football in rural Victoria, Tim trained as a visual artist, however by the mid 1980's he was working with dancers and choreographers, and also directing and designing community events. In 1988 he came to Darwin. While maintaining established relationships with artists, companies and communities in Victoria and Tasmania, the Northern Territory quickly became home. The north introduced Tim to an Australia he had not yet experienced; exposing him to Indigenous Australia, and to the many different cultures and people that live and work in a city that is so close to, and has such strong ties to Asia. After spending much time in the late 80's and early 90's in the Aboriginal community of Lajamanu, the question of "what does it mean to be an Australian" became an ongoing exploration within Tim's work. His early work in the Northern Territory became the seeds for what became Tracks Dance Company, of which he was a founding member. Tim is currently Artistic Co-Director of Tracks, a position he has held with David McMicken since 1994.
In 2014 Tim, along with David McMicken were made Members (AM) in the general division of the Order of Australia for significant service to the performing arts, particularly through the development of Indigenous dance. Tracks was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award in 2004. Their work has earned them four Australian Dance Awards, and Tim and David were short listed for services to dance in 2007.