20th year Black coffee

One of the absolute highlights of our history was Black Coffee, which premiered in 2009 during the Adelaide Fringe Festival, and was a sold out season.
It was the first time we created a concept show like this, which featured a 10 piece jazz band, 14 dancers, 2 actors, and a front of house team in character and costume (including a roving ‘cigarette girl’ selling snacks. There was jazz dance, contemporary dance, storytelling, and an amazing audience.
Marion Cultural Centre let us install a purpose built, 1950s style bar, and band sconce (thanks to my cousin Craig from Woodform Furniture, who built the set).
Set in a 1950s jazz club, the show featured jazz standards from the fifties and earlier played by the Charlie Horst Jazz Orchestra (formed especially for the project), classic theatre jazz interspersed with vignettes of contemporary dance, quirky characters, unexpected scenes emerging from the audience, and hot coffee supplied by sponsors Vittoria Coffee.
It was a massive undertaking and a huge success, one that was repeated five years later with Soul Night at the Cinnamon Lounge (set in a 1970s soul club).
Dancers included Kirsten Alexander, Jenny Allard, Joel Anderson, Nadya Baryshnikova, Lia Cocks, Catie Cullen, Kirsty Duncan, Louise Durrans, Melissa Hill, Karen Humphreys, Jo McDonald, Kelly Moritz, Chelsea Nickels, Dan Turbill. Actors included Eddie Morrison and Brendan Blue.
The band featured vocalists Simone Lee, Sandy Millburn, and Paul Richardson, guitarist Steve Long, Dave Blackmore on double bass, Nick Weston on piano, Greg Nightingale on drums and percussion, and a fabulous horn section with Chris Koto and Matt Bald on trombone, Brendon Hill on trumpet, and Dave Ross on saxophone.