Hayley Allen-Freeman is inviting Wagga to get its ‘Kate Bush on’ for The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever. Photo: Chris Roe.
Dancer Hayley Allen-Freeman wants Waggonians to slip on a gauzy red dress and dance off the winter chills en masse to Kate Bush’s ethereal 1978 classic, Wuthering Heights.
For the first time, Wagga Wagga will join in the worldwide phenomenon dubbed, The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever.
While Kate Bush twirled and high-kicked her way across England’s Salisbury Plain in the iconic video clip, Hayley hopes to get 100 red-frocked dancers together on the lawn outside the Civic Theatre on 20 July.
“Honestly, it is just one of the most beautiful experiences for people from all walks of life, just getting together, dressing up and getting their Kate Bush on!” said Hayley with a laugh.
The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever started in 2013 in the UK with a ‘happening’ at the Brighton Fringe Festival where around 300 Kate Bush look-alikes gathered to set an unofficial world record.
Since then, the annual event has gone global with thousands gathering in cities and towns around the world to recreate the floaty performance.
The craze began with Shambush’s The Ultimate Kate Bush Experience in the UK in 2013. Photo: Shambush.
In past interviews, Kate Bush has explained that the high-pitched singing and ethereal dance were designed to portray the ghost of Cathy, the ill-fated protagonist of Emily Bronte’s Gothic novel that the song is named after.
In the video, Kate dances dressed in a billowy red dress, a wide black belt, stockings, a choker and a red flower in her long brown hair, capturing Cathy’s unquiet spirit as she haunts the mind of her volatile former lover Heathcliff, begging to be let in from the cold.
The costume featured in the second version of the Wuthering Heights music video that became iconic and has remained a popular choice for fancy dress over the past four decades.
Kate Bush started the red dress craze in the second version of the music video for Wuthering Heights in 1978. Photo: Kate Bush.
Hayley first encountered the phenomenon while she was passing through Sydney with her mum in 2018.
“It actually happened by accident because we stopped in Newtown to give the dogs a bit of a walk at the park,” she explained.
“There were all these fabulous folk dressed alike in these red dresses and wigs and there were whole families with men, women and little kids and people of all ages and so Mum and I decided to stay and have a look.
“Ever since then, every year they’ve had it on, I’ve been there doing it too; it’s so addictive!”
To help Wagga join the Kate Bush craze, Hayley is offering free ‘wuther’ classes with her Luxe Dance Studios and she will lead the participants through the moves on the day.
“We are offering complimentary dance classes for anyone who would like to learn the dance, or even if you know it and you just want to brush up,” she said, adding that costumes were mandatory.
“We want everyone to get dressed up as much as they can on the day. It just looks amazing and even some of the men get very close to what Kate Bush is wearing in the video with their long wigs and lots of red.
“It’s all about having some fun and it’s for all ages, all abilities and all walks of life.”
The event is part of Wagga City Council’s ‘Fresh’ program and you can register for free.
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