For dancer and choreographer, Lucky Lartey, being an African-born dancer in Australia has come with its own complexities. Lartey felt at times restricted by what he could perform and what audiences expected from him in his works and performances.
Lartey, who was born in Ghana and has called Australia home for 13 years, has decided to tackle this subject in his 2022 production, 'Exoticism', where he collaborated with Sri Lankan dancer, Vishnu Arunasalam.
“In collaborating with Vishnu, it was a shared challenge we have as artists from minority cultural backgrounds,” Lartey explains. “There is always an expectation about what you should look like and what you should do and present, and that’s what I wanted to challenge in this work. I wanted people to learn to have an open mind when they work with us.”
Three years on and the duo are presenting the work with an upcoming performance in Brisbane, and Lartey explains how the reception has shifted from when they first debuted the work. “The reaction in 2022 is so different to the reaction so far in 2025. People still enjoyed the work back then, but they found it confronting. The work doesn't necessarily look at colonisation, but how English is the dominant language, and what that looks like for you if you don’t speak like that, and how I'm challenging contemporary dance and looking at why do we have to relate that to ballet and classical dance, and not another style of dance. The reception was different, but today you can see how the world has come a long way.”
“I guess it’s because people are more open and more understanding and are also more conscious of what is going on around them, and with social media people are seeing more new styles of dance as well. Just because I’m not doing classical ballet, doesn’t mean I’m not that good of a dancer – there’s now this shift in public consciousness.”
'Exoticism' is an exploration of exotification and contemporary masculinity, which delves deeply into the collective lived experience of people with diverse backgrounds. Lucky and Vishnu reclaim their identity while deconstructing and reconstructing the notion of what diverse contemporary work is expected to look like.
Lartey hopes 'Exoticism' will continue to inspire audiences to see change. “ I am hoping that audiences seeing this show will be inspired. It's different, it's a work that celebrates all our cultures and it's to open your mind. This is a work celebrating dance and visual art and seeing it all come together. It has something for people who are fans of dance, music and visual art and they will be inspired by this work and the message.”
Following 'Exoticism', Lartey is working on a brand-new production to premiere later in the year.
“I am working on an exciting new project premiering in September, which is a collaboration. It’s a circus show exploring the same themes around dance and music and how it is a part of everyday celebrations, like where I am from, soccer is big, and every time something big happens there is dance and music and chanting and so I’m creating this sort of a tribute to that and exploring very African dramatic parts, and through fabrics, sounds, the lighting, it’s going to reflect the modern and old patterns.”
'Exoticism' plays Queensland Multicultural Centre on 20 June, as part of BEMAC Live.
