Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Wednesday 22nd October 2014
Bangarra Dance Theatre has brought its newest production,
Kinship, to Adelaide's Dunstan Playhouse. The production contains two separate performances,
Brolga, and
ID, both choreographed by Artistic Director, Stephen Page. The first dates back to 2001 when it was one of three parts in a work called
Corroboree. the latter dates to 2011 as a part of
Belong.
The brolga is a large, mostly pale grey bird, with stilt like legs, a long neck, large beak, and a bright red colouring on the head. It is a member of the crane family, which can stand as much as 1.3 metres tall and is known for its elaborate mating dance. It is found extensively across northern and north eastern Australia, including the wetlands of North East Arnhem Land, where this work is set. This is the home of the Yol?u people, and the words that form part of the music are in their language.
In
Brolga (Gudurrku), a girl is born and assigned the brolga as her personal totem. Kathy Baingayngu Marika is a Yirrkala elder and cultural adviser to the company and it is she, sitting alone that begins the work, calling the girl into existence. The girl, Tara Robertson, grows and goes to find the brolgas feeding grounds, observing them and mimicking their movements in her dance. She has not yet learned the secret knowledge of the brolgas and when one of the males seduces her, she succumbs. This contravenes the accepted protocols, and the elder brolgas take her aside and admonish her. She is eventually accepted into the flock and turns into a brolga.
There is great beauty and grace in this work, which draws on contemporary western dance as well as traditional dance. It also includes a section with a traditional dance from Arnhem Land. Tara Robertson gives a truly remarkable performance as the girl engaging in her learning, discovering how she fits in with the flora and fauna of the country, as well as with the land itself. The rest of the company give strong support and contribute fine individual performances to this excellent work.
The second work,
ID, as the title suggests, looks at identity, but the Aboriginal community has a very different idea of what makes a person an Aboriginal compared to the way in which Europeans view such things about themselves. Europeans might say that they are English, but mention that they have a Scottish heritage, without identifying as Scottish, or that they are one sixteenth French on their mother's side. We even give up our citizenship of one country and become citizens of another completely changing our identity. They are external assessments that we use to define our identities.
Australian Aboriginal people define themselves by what is inside. Fractions or percentages are irrelevant, one either is, or is not, Aboriginal. This fundamental difference is why the various Australian authorities have so much difficulty in their dealings with indigenous Australians, and why they have elaborate, yet still flawed, three part tests to try to determine whether or not they will consider a person to be Aboriginal.
Where the first work looked to the past and the idea of personal totems, the second part looks at defining oneself and ones culture in the 21st Century, as well as how and where one fits into such a diverse, multicultural society. In nine sections, various aspects of identity are explored, some dramatic, some poignant and some humorous. We see everything from the notorious, and far too numerous Aboriginal deaths whilst in police custody, to the children of Class 7B, fooling around as they get ready for a class photograph, and smearing their faces with Vegemite, a popular Australian food spread, so that they all present skin of the same colour to the camera.
This is a highly thought-provoking work in which the individuality of the performers is brought to the fore, allowing each to express ideas in their own personal ways. This diversity could be seen as an expression of that same struggle to find a group identity in the currently divisive climate, something that they move towards throughout the work.
There is superb work from all of the dancers in this performance. The music, from David Page, and also
Steve Francis joining him in the first work, is captivating and contributes much to the performances with a mix of traditional instruments, voices, electronics and natural sounds. Light5ing is also a very important element, with Joe Mercurio responsible for the first work and Matt Cox for the second, with sets by John Matcovik and Stephen Page for Brolga, and Jacob Nash for ID providing further influences.
This is yet another wonderful production from Bangarra Dance Theatre, and the two contrasting works will leave you thinking, and talking about them, long after the final curtain has fallen.
If you have never seen a Bangarra performance, then you owe it to yourself to attend this one while you can, but hurry as it ends on Saturday. Those who have seen them before will need no urging whatsoever, and have probably already booked their tickets, anyway.
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