An aboriginal word meaning ‘up’ or ‘upwards’

Commissioned for the Amy Johnson festival Yira is a piece inspired by Hulls famous female aviatrix.

A young girl dreams of how it must feel to fly to achieve great things, to defy gravity to feel freedom and to enjoy a view of the world most people will never see. A young Amy Johnson is flying like Wendy from Peter Pan, being thrown and lifted in the space with precision, swooping down like a plane but never touching the floor. Representing the ambition of a young girl and the freedom of flight, as Amy grows up she meets her husband Jim Mollinson and we see their journey through life as pioneering pilots setting new records and challenging each other to go further and faster each time.

The piece has a running time of 10 minutes and is created with a view to use a new young local dancer in each place it is performed.