Did someone say fine dining, wine and a cultural cruise?

Posted on 16 February, 2023

Driving is out. Boats are in. Hop aboard the Australian Dance Party’s Culture Cruise for an exclusive half-day art immersion to some of Canberra’s premiere cultural institutions (Psst! You’ll be wined and dined as well).

Meet Culture Cruise, the unique Canberran experience where you’ll explore the National Museum of Australia and the National Portrait Gallery through a four-hour-long interactive storytelling, music and dance experience, complete with wine and lunch at Water’s Edge.

Whether you’re a regular visitor to our cultural institutions, haven’t stepped foot in one since your Year 6 school camp, or are simply visiting Canberra, you’ll be swept away into a new world as stories are revealed about the beautiful ancient lands of the Ngunnawal people.

“Live performance is an incredible way to connect with audiences beyond the facts and the face value, it really engages in the sensory experience of our humanity,” says Alison Plevey, Party Leader and Director of Australian Dance Party, Canberra’s premier contemporary dance company.

“We all have bodies so that kind of kinaesthetic connective power and bringing them into the experience, not just sitting back and watching it, but letting them feel it as well—it’s sort of like this is some smorgasbord of sensations that we’re hoping to offer that goes much further than just sitting back and witnessing something.”

As part of your Culture Cruise ticket, you will be treated to two lake cruises with a talented performing guide, three dance and live music performances, and access to the Who Are You and Great Southern Land exhibitions which will bring new layers to your understanding of Canberra.

“We’re excited to explore this show and the way it interacts with the national cultural institutions, including the NPG and the NMA and trying to find a way that we might connect these experiences through performance; also learning how to enliven the spaces around the National Triangle and utilise the lake. We really feel that Lake Burley Griffin is under-utilised in terms of the experience of Canberra,” says Alison.

Along the journey you’ll also enjoy wines from Mount Majura Vineyard whilst onboard and indulge in a two-course fine dining lunch at Water’s Edge, all included in your ticket.

Culture Cruise just a preview of the tidal shift towards more interactive opportunities presented by the Australian Dance Party.

With each Cruise hosting a bespoke and cosy 28 guests in total, make sure you scoop your tickets now.

For now, make sure you get a ticket to one of the two sessions up for grabs, which are limited to a bespoke and cosy 28 guests, and set sail on a journey that will let you experience Canberra’s art and cultural offering through a new lens.

Photography: Gupi De Zavalía. Costume design by Aislinn King.