Belong Dance Theatre, founded by Cal Mills and Maddie King, made its debut on the weekend of May 2 with several performances held at Mooroopna Hall — the first show to be staged there since the hall’s refurbishment.
The pair, now studying full-time dance in Melbourne, first came through the now-closed Awaken Dance Theatre Company.
“When the director, Kyla McGregor, decided to step down last year, with lots of gratitude for what she did and understanding for how important this was for the community, Maddie and I decided that we didn’t want to see the dance theatre scene die in Shepp,” Cal said.
“We knew we needed to continue this,” Maddie said.
“(Awaken Theatre Company) is definitely the reason we are studying professionally today.
“We wanted to make sure other young people still had those opportunities.”
Their debut show, What I Know Now, sold out its opening night. Developed over several months, the immersive production explored five themes — success, regret, love, loss and purpose — and was built around a series of recorded interviews with people aged eight to 60.
The audio from those conversations was layered into the soundtrack and helped guide the movement and choreography. The result is a non-linear performance with shifting tones and perspectives, designed to be experienced from close range.
Unlike traditional stage productions, What I Know Now placed the performers in the centre of the room, with the audience surrounding them, and dancers often just centimetres away.
“We wanted people to feel connected — not separated by a stage,” Maddie said.
“There’s no front.”
“We wanted the audience right there with us, picking up every detail — not watching from a distance,” Cal said.
The production featured a cast of 10 dancers and included original music, lighting and costume design.
More exciting projects are planned for later this year and into 2026, with the group inviting other young creatives, collaborators and supporters to get in touch.
“To any young people, young dancers in the area that are interested in being involved, we do have things coming up for the second half of the year and next year that we will be announcing to the public, very, very shortly,” Maddie said.
“We have plans, and we're very, very excited to be growing this community.”
“And if there's any other people who want to share services, want to donate to us, even want to collaborate with us, email us,” Cal said.
“We would love to expand our reach and get to know as many people as possible.”
Belong Dance Theatre is on Facebook and Instagram or can be contacted at belongdancetheatre@gmail.com
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