Perth Festival isn’t just about theatre, film and music. It’s about new experiences, healing, sharing, and cross-cultural collaboration. The BhuMeJha Project is a unique offering in this year’s program. It’s an experience spanning several hours, inviting audiences to witness Indigenous and Indian peoples and cultures unifying in message and thought. Through sound, song, a smoking ceremony, storytelling, dance, food and more, The BhuMeJha Project celebrates the coming together of communities to share in conversation.
Sukhi Shetty is a dancer with over 25 years of experience in dance and choreography. She has worked on a wide range of collaborative community projects across Western Australia and will perform in The BhuMeJha Project as the group’s senior dancer. I spoke with her about the project’s development and what it offers its audience.
Hi Sukhi, thank you for chatting with Magazine 6000. You’re about to perform in a new work as part of Perth Festival, The BhuMeJha Project. Can you tell us how you came to be involved in this work and what your role is?
My involvement has been from the creation of Chitambara. As people of Indian heritage living in Australia, we keep finding similarities between the cultures of India and Indigenous Australia. My spiritual guru Swami Shantanand Saraswathi and Noongar elder Uncle Ken Colbung had immense respect for each other and sealed this connection between Us. This connection and curiosity led to ChitAmbara commencing a program in 2022 that sought to introspect the coming together of creativity, the arts and cultures of Gondwanaland (the southern hemisphere connected by land: India, Africa,Southeast Asia and Australia). My role has always been creative.
The BhuMeJa Project in development.
What has the show’s development process been like? How has the work evolved as you’ve been working on it?
It all started with an immersive Residency in 2022, Re-Searching Gondwana, where artists and thought leaders from across Gondwanaland were brought into a space of meaningful connection and creative interaction . The BhuMeJha Project is one of 3 independent projects that were born from the 2022 Residency. In 2024, we brought the team together for a Creative development and showcase here in Perth. This led to the work being programmed for Perth Festival 2026, which is very exciting for us as a community of artists who have practiced our culture and art on this land for decades now. Our process has always been centred around curiosity and the unknown. Learning , finding and experiencing is what this process has primarily been for us. So as the work evolves, it is like knowledge – the more you delve into a subject, the more you realise that there is more to learn. We are still exploring, still learning.
The work is described as “not just a performance. An expression.” How does this idea manifest in the work itself?
What is a performance? 
RASA is an important component of Indian Art. The deeper essence or flavour that is evoked in the audience watching a performance. So the “performance” on stage is not about entertainment, or showcasing skill, or telling a story in a structured way. It is more an expression. An expression that feels raw, personal where the musicians and dancers share a little bit of themselves in creating a space for meaningful experience with the audience. The work itself leans into the river stories from Whadjuk Bhoodjar and India, but without getting trapped in the stories itself. Instead the raw sounds of music from ancient cultures and dance interwoven with contemporary thought brings about a coming together of a performance work that may seem genre-less.
For those attending, there’s a schedule to the event, which is quite a unique feature. What can you tell us about the different experiences you’re guiding the audience through?
We hope to invite our audience into an experience, rather than to simply attend a performance. The immersive experience should stimulate all your senses! The schedule is designed to weave people into the ceremony, making them part of the experience rather than to simply be spectators. Imagine a journey through different spaces and sensations – where nature, ritual, sound, scent, art, and food all come together to create an exciting immersive vibe. There are essentially 3 parts to the event. A period of arrival where the guests are invited to engage with different activities in a beautiful nature setting and with the simple intention of aligning to the present moment. The main performance experience then occurs as the sun sets. And finally a celebration under the stars, almost like a community corroboree. While the performance experience itself is my main focus for the event, I am personally very excited about the DJ set with a specially curated meal under the stars as the post performance celebration.
The BhuMeJa Project in development.
What is that experience like for you as a performer, being part of not just one element of the performance but multiple? Over your 25 years of dancing, have you experienced something like this before?
As a performer each performance has a different feel even if the content remains the same each time you perform. The ability to completely surrender to the present on stage and to be carried by the experience is what I hope to have and look forward to again. I have been dancing for many years now, and there is something particularly special about dancing in his land. I am honestly looking forward to being on stage, in nature as the beautiful WA sunset occurs.
The work brings together many people from different backgrounds and incorporates multiple cultures. Why is this strong element of inclusion important in a work like this?
This beautiful blend of artists and cultures is such a positive point of this show. It’s like adding different colours to a canvas – the final picture is vibrant and rich and yet the process begins with a deep dive into the unknown together. Choreographically we are creating a shared language through art, where everyone is seen, heard and represented. It brings all our diverse perspectives together sparking creativity. I feel ChitAmbara has done wonderful work by bringing together artists of such high caliber from within Australia and Internationally into a space of such deep creativity, trust and understanding. I feel the work that has been put in and the relationships that have been built since 2022 are the anchoring points upon which The BhuMeJha Project is finding its wings. I am excited, honored and thankful to be a part of this team.
The BhuMeJa Project in development.
Can you tell us a bit about the creative team and who you’re working with?
The musicians on this project are the dream team!! They are the heartbeat of the show. If there is one reason I would recommend anyone to come to this show, it will be to experience the coming together of 3 amazing musicians from the cultures of Indigenous Australia, India and Malaysia respectively. Their artistry and camaraderie truly is something that I have not witnessed before. The dancers are Boorloo based with training in the Indian classical dance forms. They come from all walks of life. The young ones are first generation Australians that bring a fresh energy that is well complemented by the more seasoned performers who have years of experience. I feel there is a beautiful mix of styles and perspectives in the group. Most importantly, we are working very closely with Noongar elder Uncle Noel Nannup who brings such a meaningful perspective to the entire offering. His philosophy on everything is a continuous reminder of the value systems that emanate from our own culture. We have been on a very special journey with Uncle Noel over the years leading to this, which includes a camping trip on country and many shared community events.
Finally, what are you most looking forward to audiences experiencing?
We hope they experience a few hours that transcends beyond the everyday noise and distractions. An opportunity to breathe, connect, and maybe even tap into something deeper within yourself, where the usual buzz fades away. A moment to just be present – with the music, the dance, nature and people.
The BhuMeJha Project is presented by ChitAmbara and Perth Festival. It runs from Feb 21-22.