About us
Aha Ensemble is a disability-led, independent collective of diverse performance artists; who value authentic, immersive, participatory and contemporary movement practices. Working across Southeast Queensland and driven by an ethos of connection, curiosity, and care, Aha Ensemble use their bodies to explore representation, question value, and challenge assumptions about ways of being in the world.
This collective was initiated by Daniele Constance originally in partnership with Access Arts to provide professional development opportunities to artists who identify with disability. Since its inception in 2015, Aha Ensemble have presented original and devised contemporary performance works at: La Boite Theatre Company HWY (2021), Supercell Dance Festival (Brisbane Powerhouse, 2019), Metro Arts (2019), Undercover Artist Festival Online (Film, shown online 2020), Anywhere Theatre Festival (Metro Arts, 2016), Undercover Artist Festival (Queensland Theatre Company, 2015); artistic residencies supported by Institute of Modern Art (2022), La Boite Theatre Company (2021, 2022), Judith Wright Arts Centre of Contemporary Art (2021, 2022), Metro Arts in collaboration with Phluxus2 Dance Collective (2018, 2019).
Aha Ensemble is built upon the belief that integration and inclusive practices comes with collaboration from a diverse range of artists, is disability-led; and employs collaborative practices. Together, we as diverse artists delve into a rigorous collaborative and artistic process to re-contextualise the boundaries of performance practice. Aha performers’ individual practices include training and creating work across Brisbane, South East Queensland, nationally; and internationally in New York and Korea.
Ensemble members include: Kayah Guenther, Allycia Staples, Mitchell Runcie, Megan West, Tara Heard, Rebecca Dostal, Ruby Donohoe.
Director: Daniele Constance
Creative Producer: Emma-June Curik
Allycia Staples
Rebecca Dostal
Kayah Guenther
Mitchell Runcie
Megan Louise West
Tara Heard
Ruby Donohoe
Daniele Constance
Artist Biographies
RUBY DONOHOE
Ruby Donohoe is a performance maker and performer whose practice is rooted in the politics of encounter and in offering defiant acts of sensitisation. Engaging with artistic lineages from performance installation, interdisciplinary scenography and site-specific performance, Ruby uses intuitive collisions of text and somatic process-orientated movement to explore the intersection of body and environment. Informed by her experience as an epileptic dancer who wrestles with her body, the body is the starting place for all her work.
In 2019 Ruby worked with Dance North to deliver Tectonic (Bleach* Festival), performing in Explain Normal (Aha Ensemble) with its premiere season at Metro Arts, in-development for Therese Collie’s White China, and in-development with sculptor Dexter Ciprian or Not One, Not Two (NYC). Ruby has had the pleasure of working in New York, Japan, Vancouver, South Korea, and Australia with artists such as Anne Bogart and SITI Company (NYC), Doppelgangster (UK/AUS), Dance North, Dead Puppet Society (NYC/BRIS), Dairakudakan (JAP), HYPHEN (-) (KOREA), Kerith Manderson-Galvin, Lucas Stibbard, Margi Brown Ash, MKA: Theatre of New Writing, Strings Attached, Sarah Winter, Therese Collie, The Good Room, The Only Animal (CAN), Younes Bachir (SPN), and Zen Zen Zo.
Ruby was recently awarded the Access Arts Achievement Highly Commended to develop new theatre works in 2021, in collaboration with Jenni Large (Dance North).
KAYAH GUENTHER
Kayah’s practice crosses dance, theatre and film. He has had a wide range of experience working with Travers Ross, Philip Channells (Dance Integrated Australia) and Gavin Webber (The Farm) as well as Michael Hennessy and Sprung. Through the Screenworks ‘Createability’ program (2015) he collaborated with HW Collective to create the short film, The Battle which has been shown in 20 countries and performed live at SuperCell Dance Festival in 2018. Kayah was a participant of Accessible Arts’ Catalyst Dance Residency program and last year won a Young Regional Arts Scholarship to attend Impuls Tanz in Vienna. He is one of the 5 Australian male artists working with Paul Gazzola in the project titled ‘Of Boys and Men’. Kayah says communicating through movement is much easier for him than communicating verbally. "Dance is like a friend." Kayah's dance style is confident. It is more than movement in time to a beat; it expresses power, masculinity and his place in the world.
Kayah is set to premiere a new dance-theatre work Glass Child, with Gavin Webber and Kate Harman from The Farm, at HOTA in 2021.
ALLYCIA STAPLES
Allycia's passion for dance began with her involvement with Fitness and Dance on the Sunshine Coast when she was eight. Having been born with a rare chromosome deletion on the 18th chromosome, Allycia's prognosis was bleak due to the multiple physical and intellectual challenges the condition presents. In spite of this, she has continued to thrive, having benefited greatly from her involvement with dance and the performing arts. As a long-standing member of the Sunshine Troupe Inc - an all-abilities performing arts troupe, and the Aha Ensemble (an inclusive and participatory performance ensemble) she has had the opportunity to train, develop and perform in significant productions. She has travelled to Mont Dore, New Caledonia, as ambassadors for the Sunshine Coast Troupe's Sister City program in 2012 where they ran workshops for people with disabilities and last year Allycia was the recipient of Accessible Arts Australia's Catalyst Program at Carriageworks in Sydney. Allycia recently co-facilitated an inclusive dance workshop at AusDance Educators Queensland Conference at the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts with Daniele Constance (Director, Aha Ensemble).
Allycia was recently awarded the Access Arts SAFE grant and undertook training with Back to Back Theatre in Geelong.
TARA HEARD
Tara is an emerging performance artist based on the Sunshine Coast. She currently trains with Frank Theatre and is a core member of Aha Ensemble. In 2013 Tara wrote and performed in a solo work at 2high Festival (Brisbane Powerhouse) and has since performed in numerous productions on the Sunshine Coast and at Undercover Artists Festival, Anywhere Theatre Festival, Metro Arts and currently featured in 'Positive Exposure' a photographic exhibition on the Sunshine Coast. Tara is a survivor, living with acquired brain injury after a tragic accident when she was younger. She is a strong and passionate performer, with an uncanny ability to list the anatomical names for body parts and loves ACDC. During the first creative development, Tara titled Aha Ensemble's debut work 'Explain Normal'.
Tara is currently developing a solo theatre work in collaboration with Alicia Jones.
DANIELE CONSTANCE
Daniele is a participatory artist, performance maker and director with a strong focus on socially engaged art making practices. She creates artistic works that draw from direct experience and storytelling; using verbatim, documentary and contemporary performance practices.
Daniele has trained with artistic companies including: Force Majeure (Sydney), one step at a time like this (Melbourne), Ping Chong+Company (NYC), which has given her a strong and diverse embodied performance language, understanding of and continued practice with: dance theatre, physical theatre, participatory art, site specific performance, public art and engagement, large scale and long standing community arts projects.
Daniele has previously engaged in a formal mentorship (supported by Australia Council for the Arts) with Kate Sulan (Artistic Director, Rawcus) in inclusive performance practices, specifically supporting and developing her skills as a director and performance maker leading Aha Ensemble.
Daniele has presented independent performance works with: Footscray Community Arts Centre, Festival of Live Art, Melbourne Fringe Festival, Testing Grounds, La Boite Theatre HWY, Metro Arts, Supercell Festival of Contemporary Dance, Queensland Poetry Festival and Undercover Arts Festival.
EMMA-JUNE CURIK
Emma-June is a vibrant, driven creative producer and arts manager with a passion for live performance and community engagement across all disciplines – theatre, dance, music, cabaret, visual art, heritage, immersive arts and everything in-between. She is particularly passionate about the creation of accessible and inclusive live performance works, and invested in her professional development within arts and access.
Having held a variety of roles across 8 years of industry experience, she is equally confident in providing support to executive and programming teams as well as leading the development and delivery of diverse arts projects and initiatives. She has worked with HOTA, Gold Coast Pride House, James Morrison Academy of Music, QMF and Artslink among others.
She has an interest in developing partnerships between artists, stakeholders and business to achieve project outcomes and believe strongly in the inspirational nature of art and its importance in fostering individual expression and social cohesion.
MEGAN WEST
Megan is an emerging writer, performance maker and designer. She has trained with Zen Zen Zo, Margi Brown Ash, Access Arts and is a core member of the performance collective Aha Ensemble. Megan has performed at Undercover Artists Festival (Queensland Theatre Company) and Anywhere Theatre Festival (Metro Arts). Megan was a recipient of the Access Arts SAFE grant in 2016 to continue her artistic development as a performance artist.
Megan is currently undertaking a Bachelor of Design (Interior Architecture) at QUT in Brisbane and a recipient of the international exchange program which has taken her to Helsinki.
MITCHELL RUNCIE
Mitchell has established himself as a very passionate dancer, actor and performer through his work with the Sunshine Troupe, Access Arts and Aha Ensemble in Brisbane. In 2019 he was chosen to participate in an inclusive ballet project with the Royal Ballet in Brisbane – a highlight of his dancing career to date. Currently, Mitch spends a few days a week working at the Compass Institute Farm undertaking horticultural and cooking. Mitch also enjoys dancing, basketball and 10 pin bowling when not performing.
In 2019 he represented Queensland at the National Special Olympics in Melbourne and won a gold and silver medal for 10 pin bowling.
REBECCA DOSTAL
Rebecca is a force to be reckoned with. She is a Mother of four, a puppeteer, performer, producer, writer, costume maker and disability support worker.
She combines her background in fashion design and theatre with an ingrained love of poetry and storytelling.
She has performed and produced at Woodford Folk Festival, Anywhere Theatre Festival, Horizon and supported numerous independent theatre works in various roles.
Rebecca has been a apart of Aha Ensemble since its inception and played an integral role in providing support and access to our members.