Steampunk Vagabonds is a Shellharbour-based dance troupe which may be very familiar to Kiama residents through performing at nearly every local festival including Folk by the Sea for four years. The dancers were a highlight of the Diagon Alley event at Gerringong Library recently, as well as Sussex Inlet’s Viking Festival.

Most recently, the troupe performed at the Steampunk Victoriana festival in Goulburn on the weekend of 14-15 October 2023.

Starting out at the Astarte Studio Belly Dance & Fusion Studio, the all-women troupe has become a feature at every festival they appear, with their story-rich and prop-enhanced original dance offerings, often involving elaborate and original choreography designed specially for one-off performances.

The performances have a variety of styles but Steampunk, Magic Tea Party and Gothic Seven Seas are the most popular. Gothic themes are present in all performances using flags, and specially made props such as giant octopuses up to 10 metres in size.

The troupe formed in 2017 and has ten key members. They have been performing regularly around the Illawarra and beyond ever since.

Kylie ‘Astarte’ is the principal dancer, creative director, principal dancer and spiritual embodiment of the Steampunk Vagabonds and choreographs most of their very original dances.

Kylie said, “All the dancers have a background in belly dance/raqs sharqi, folkloric dance and world fusion styles. Inspiration is drawn from history and mythology, but sometimes we have to cross time, space and genres to choreograph a specific event.”

All the original dances give the sense of telling a gothic story through the medium of dance. “I would love to see the core troupe evolve through expanding our set lists and repertoires so we are able to provide greater variety and also continuing to raise the quality of our performances,” Kylie added.

The Astarte Studio is currently offering online classes in belly dance and is contactable at their website at https://www.bellydanceshellharbour.com.