Muriel was born in Réunion island where she has embodied different rhythms and dance styles from a very young age, and has developed into a natural dancer, specialised in improvisation. Drawing from her skills, she took up the challenge to develop Maloya choreographies, which is originally an improvised art form, and decided to start a Maloya band in Australia and teach dance. Muriel has now completed her Doctoral studies at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) on the subject of Maloya dance and music.

Investigating a range of traditional dance techniques, Muriel’s residency focuses on the development of a dance syllabus for Maloya dance. Researching this originally improvised art form, born out of slavery on Réunion Island in the 17th century, Muriel aims to identify common movements across the practice of the dance to develop a contemporary model of teaching for professional dancers and community members with an interest in Maloya choreography, music and performance.

Image: Muriel Hillion-Toulcanon, 2020. Photograph by Nic Casta.