Over the course of the evening, the audience were guided through a diverse range of performances from musicians, poets, storytellers and rappers, all in the name of love.

Held in The Old Treasury in the heart of the CBD, Heartbreak Dance started with Australia’s first lady of funk, the ineffable Odette Mercy, who burst onto the stage with the vibrant yet casual demeanour we have come to expect from one of Perth’s most experienced front-women.

Complemented perfectly by the tight musicianship of her band, The Soul Atomics, Mercy’s massive voice began the night with a sentimental and soulful numberHeartbreak, urging the loved and loveless in the crowd to take things slowly.

This wasn’t representative of the evening itself, as her introduction was swiftly followed by local guitarist and songwriter Owen Hopwood, touching on that suspended feeling of being kept waiting by the object of your affection.

Local comedian Tien Tran then hit the mic to take us on a personal journey through the misfortunes of his love life, a wonderful and often humorous parable, to conclude that sometimes love needs a leap of faith.

The massive voice of Clare Nina Norelli then provided a hugely moving rendition of En Vogue’s 1996 hit Don’t Let Go.

Somewhere in between, Odette advised the crowd that heartbreak causes a physical reaction best cured by manual labour or heavy lifting. So she invited the audience to their feet for 10 seconds of wild dancing to release any pent-up tension in the heart strings.

The evening took an interesting turn with one of the heartbroken ladies of the audience invited to the stage to be “crooned” to by three local rap vocalists: DVS, Rae and Kid Deus. Each one did his best to impress the forlorn lover with promises of diamonds, wine, walks on the beach and KFC. In the end, the MC, Rae, with the big heart and voice of gold won the prize to escort the slightly embarrassed woman back to her seat. Perhaps hip hop has a way to go before it is the language of love.

The audience was then blessed by local poet and hip hop artist Mathas, whose extraordinarily moving and concise depiction of the flood of emotions that naturally come during a messy break up left the crowd in a silence of self reflection. This was complimented by another local, story teller Lawrence Ashford, whose story of a partner who he neglected to such an extent that the fire of her life was doused, left the room in a cold silence. With perfect comedic timing, he revealed that his accomplice over the years had been a struggling auto-mobile, which broke the tense atmosphere with a euphony of laughter.

The evening came to an apt close with Chris Collan, another fantastic voice from our fair city, and Odette sharing the stage for a final cry of the heart.

Each act played an integral part in the Heartbreak dance and with the help of The Soul Atomic’s steady grooves, painted a textured portrait of love in all its manifestations. Everyone left the room feeling a little more ready for the battleground of love.