Araluen Arts Centre: 
Desert Hothouse | Saturday Pass
DESERT HOTHOUSE: Unleashing three urgent and dynamic new dance works.
Six years in the making, GUTS' most ambitious project to date arrives. DESERT HOTHOUSE will unleash three urgent and dynamic new dance works alongside each other in a bold, multi-platform dance event staged across the theatre, gallery, and Aviation Museum forecourt of the Araluen Arts Centre precinct in Mparntwe/Alice Springs.
This triptych of performances - territory by Frankie Snowdon, White Lies by Katina Olsen and Public Property by Madeleine Krenek - are powerful, urgent and thematically intertwined. Dissecting and questioning some of the most pertinent conversations in contemporary Australia, they explore sovereignty, self-determination, control, empathy, and mythmaking.
Developed and performed through the minds and bodies of an all female and non-binary group of dance artists, Desert Hothouse has been shaped with rigour, joy and creative integrity alongside a nationally recognised team of 26 exceptional artists, creatives, and arts workers.
For this exclusive full day offering, thought leader Erica McCalman will curate a rigorous program of public talks and events - audiences will engage not just with performance but with curated conversations, shared meals, and informal gatherings that deepen understanding and celebrate connection.
Desert Hothouse is more than a performance season - it’s a communal moment to process the present and imagine a more empowered, interconnected future.
To read more about each show please visit:
https://www.gutsdance.org.au/projects/desert-hothouse
Gallery
Creative Team
Choreographers & Performers: Katina Olsen, Frankie Snowdon and Madeleine Krenek
Collaborating Performers: Ash Musk, Karlia Cook, Bella Waru, Kady Mansour, Tara Robertson
Sound Composition/Design: Serina Pech and Anna Whitaker
Lighting, Spatial and Set Design: Jen Hector
Design Consultant for Public Property: Elliat Rich
Video Artist: Samuel James
Live Videography for Public Property: Ivan Trigo Miras
Dramaturge: Ash Musk
Dramaturge and Creative Consultant for territory: Amala Groom
Creative Producer: Frances Robinson
Production Management: Triptic Event Management
Thought Leader: Art Oracle, Erica McCalman
Creative Consultant: Ping Flynn
Secondments: Vivienne Hargreaves (lighting)
Previous contributors
Choreography and performance: Samakshi Sidhu, Luci Young
Dramaturgy for territory: Declan Furber-Gillick
SUPPORTERS AND PARTNERS
Desert Hothouse is presented by GUTS Dance // Central Australia in partnership with the Araluen Arts Centre. Desert Hothouse is assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body. GUTS Dance is supported by the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation and receives funding from Creative Australia through the Australian Cultural Fund.
GUTS Dance also receives organisational funding through Arts NT and Future Generations Australia.
Dates
Times
Sat 1 Aug (Full Day Pass)
10.00am | Opening event
11.30am | Performance: territory
2.00pm | Performance: White Lies
3.30pm | Long table shared meal
6.30pm | Performance: Public Property
Full details of Saturday public program to be announced.
Prices
Adult
$100
Concession
$90
2026 Araluen Member
$90
Genre
Location
Extra information
Online ticketing is available up until one hour prior to the performance.
For ticket purchases after this time, please visit the Araluen Box Office or call us on (08) 8951 1122.
Accessibility
Warnings
Nudity & loud sound.
Booking Fee
For this event, a one-off service fee of $2.50 per transaction applies on all purchases online. All ticket prices include GST.
