The Australian Standing Stones will be awash with red and black this winter solstice as locals gather to channel their inner Kate Bush for Glen Innes’ first-ever Wuthering Heights Day.
Organised by Shimmy in the Glen’s Helen Tucker and Lisa Wilson, the event invites people of all ages and abilities to recreate the iconic dance from Kate Bush’s 1978 hit Wuthering Heights in one of the region’s most distinctive locations.
While Wuthering Heights Day events have become a global phenomenon, this will be the first time Glen Innes has joined the fun.
“Lisa and I have often seen other people in other places doing it regularly,” Ms Tucker said.
“We have plenty of friends that do it and we were like, ‘We must do that one year, we must do that one year.'”
The idea gained momentum after a conversation with Standing Stones Management Board member John Rhys Jones.
“I said, ‘We’re thinking we might do that this year,’ and he just jumped for joy,” Ms Tucker said.
“He was like, ‘Yes, love it.’ And he said, ‘Please, can we do it with solstice?'”
The answer was an easy one.
“So we decided we would go with it.”
The quirky celebration traces its roots back to the United Kingdom, where a group of fans gathered in 2013 to recreate Bush’s famous music video in an attempt to set a Guinness World Record.
“Essentially it started in 2013 when a group in the UK decided that they would reenact Kate Bush’s dance from Wuthering Heights for a Guinness World Record of the most number of people dressed as Kate,” Ms Tucker said.
From there, the idea spread around the globe.
“Everybody just thought it sounded like such a good idea that it grew and it goes around the world.”
Ms Tucker believes the singer’s enduring popularity is helping attract a new generation of fans.
“I think people of a certain age certainly remember when the video came out and that it was a big deal,” she said.
“But I think the fact that her Running Up That Hill song was in Stranger Things, and of course with the Wuthering Heights movie coming out this year as well, it’s kind of even the younger people know about it.”
For those worried they might not have the dance moves, organisers have a simple message: don’t be.
“Not at all,” Ms Tucker said when asked if participants need dancing experience.
“We’ve also got some people who have already said, ‘I’m not up for the dancing, but I want to get dressed up and come anyway.’
“So it’s completely up to people as to how active they are.”
Participants are encouraged to wear anything red and black and simply enjoy being part of the spectacle.
“We’re just encouraging as many people as possible to come along and just to wear anything red and black so that they can be part of the colour.”
Free dance classes will be held at Glen Innes Town Hall in the lead-up to the event, with sessions scheduled for Tuesday, June 16 and Thursday, June 18 at 5pm, and Saturday, June 20 at 10am. Participants can attend one class or all three, and online tutorials are also available for those wanting to practise at home.
The festivities will follow the Standing Stones’ winter solstice activities, including the solar noon ceremony, before dancers take centre stage at midday.
“My plan is that we’ll actually do the dance and then we’ll probably play the Running Up That Hill song and run up the hill,” Ms Tucker said.
“And then come back down again, maybe take a few photos and then probably do the dance again.”
With organisers also hoping to capture drone footage of the colourful gathering against the backdrop of the Standing Stones, the event promises to be one of the more memorable ways to mark the shortest day of the year.
As Ms Tucker puts it: “We just thought it was a bit of fun.”
Wuthering Heights Day will be held at the Australian Standing Stones on Saturday, June 21, with dancing beginning at midday. Everyone is welcome.
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