Chorographic Fusion between Contemporary Dance and Indigenous Movement in Bangarra Dance Theatre

Native American art forms have been dwindling in the past few years. Even though they have been decreasing, some tribes gather still to continue traditions. Art forms such as dance, pottery, and weaving have been passed down from generation to generation. There are many different types of dances including war dances, grass dances, and rain dances. Each dance has its own meaning and represents something unique. Native American dance is a creative way to tell a story, share values, pass down traditions, and communicate traditions of their ancestors in the 21st century.

The artistic director of the Bangarra Dance Theatre, Stephen Page noted of the spiritual aboriginal dance of ochres, the following, “As substance ochre has intrigued us. Its significance and the myriad of purposes, both spiritual and physical has been the driving force behind this collaboration. The portrayal of each colour is by no means a literal interpretation, but the awareness of its spiritual significance has challenged our contemporary expressions.” This quote tells us that the traditional use of ochre within aboriginal culture is important and significant and the portrayal of each colour within the dance is not a literal interpretation but rather the portrayal of each colour does not uphold exact meaning but shows us contemporary

The dance Ochres consists of different sections namely; White, Black, Yellow and Red. Steven Pages cultural background reflects his choreography throughout the Red piece in Ochres and this can be seen through the various movement and non-movement components used.

What was also very interesting is the shame indigenous people have against their own culture. Especially the children, which Boori describes he saw when preforming in classrooms all over Australia. Children that think they are not really an Aboriginal because they do not life in the outback, do not play the traditional instruments and do not look like the stereotypical aboriginal. Therefore they are more ‘white’ which means that they are normal. This is very similar to black people outside Australia, the mind-set exist that looking white and acting white is considered better. This creates a negative stereotypical version of aboriginals, which goes together with ignorance. For example how Boori describes the reactions of the children in the classrooms he had visited. One chid expressed that after the performance of Boori, he was not afraid anymore of aboriginals. Or other child asking him when he started becoming an aboriginal, I thought this was interesting because it shows how this child, like some children of aboriginal descent, see only one stereotypical abstract of an indigenous person. They only have this figure in their mind, which is that aboriginals are not civilised or educated. A person that is always half naked and plays traditional aboriginal instruments. That is why some children of aboriginal descent try to remove themselves from everything that is linked to the Aboriginal culture, because if you do not act like an

“Dancing Out the Difference: Cultural Imperialism and Ruth St. Denis’s Radha of 1906” was written by Jane Desmond. In her dance career, she was a modern dancer and choreographer. Desmond is now a Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies and Anthropology at the University of Illinois. “Dancing Out the Difference: Cultural Imperialism and Ruth St. Denis’s Radha of 1906” was published in 2001 as a part of Moving History/Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader.

“This performance draws upon both ‘traditional and contemporary arts and cultural practice. The integration of… contemporary performance art and modern theatrics to form of cultural hybridity.”

Given that this “visit” was more like a virtual experience, I was still able to access a couple of my senses, just as if I was at the actual exhibition. Through the use of anecdotes and detailed images, I am able to see all of the personal experiences an individual had while practicing a particular dance and what it meant to them. In this exhibition, there are ten different dances displayed, including the: Yup´ik Yurapiaq and the Quyana (Thank You) Song Dance, Yakama Girl’s Fancy Shawl Dance, Cubeo Óyne Dance, Yoreme Pajko’ora Dance, Mapuche Mütrüm Purun, Tlingit Ku.éex ' Entrance Dance, Lakota Men’s Northern Traditional Dance, Seminole Stomp Dance, Hopi Butterfly Dance, and finally, Quechua Danza de Tijeras (Scissor Dance). All parts of the exhibit were insightful, but the two that sparked my interest the most were the Yup´ik Yurapiaq and the Quyana (Thank You) Song Dance and the Quechua Danza de Tijeras (Scissor Dance).

Dance has always been the focal point in which Africans are able to let free through movements of emotion. In this essay I will discuss the history of African Dance and its importance to the African Culture. Also will be discussing the general information of African dance, the different types of African dance and the ones that I like the most. Dance in the African culture is something that cannot be taken advantage of in the African Culture because it holds such a strong meaningful moment at the time of any occasion.

In most ancient civilisations, dance was an important component in temple rites. In ancient Egypt, priest and priestesses would perform stately movements mimicking significant events that had occurred, such as war and famine. Bangarra Dance Theatre’s 2008 original production of Mathinna evokes the calamity, confusion and prejudice experienced by the members of the Stolen Generation. The performance is inspired by the true story of a young Aboriginal girls’ journey between the traditional lives of her ancestors to her western colonial adoption. In response to Bangarra’s production, Dance Critic Neville Wright composed that “Mathinna is a powerful dance work that I believe should be seen by audiences across Australia. It successfully educates and informs modern audiences about the hardships and horror that the Aboriginal people endured during what was a very shameful period of Australian history”. The following report will investigate the validly of this quote by evaluating three separate sections of the performance.

Contemporary Australian theatre mainly focuses on the reflection of the ‘real’ Australia and communicating to the audience real and modern issues/ideas that respond to the social climate and community. Australian theatre practitioners use various performance styles, techniques and dramatic conventions to help portray their ideas to their audiences and make them feel a particular way to the ideas presented in a play. Without the use of these styles, techniques and conventions it wouldn’t be possible for the practitioners to emphasise their ideas.

The stage travels, and outbursts, many swirling, dazzling colors, followed by a stampede of footwork accompanying the sound of the mariachi. Envision it. Mesmerizing isn't it?

Aboriginal art has many inspiring aspects such as the link that it has to the past of Aboriginal people, kinship the dreaming, land and reconciliation. Charlie Colbung is the artist behind a large beautiful acrylic painting exhibited in the Plantagenet community resource centre, in Mount Barker Western Australia. Colbung’s painting is called ‘Past to Present’ and represents the journey to reconciliation of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. Full of depth, texture, colour and numerous artistic elements to entice audiences to engage and analyse his lovely art work as well as critically reflect on the art and the meaning behind the painting. Charlie Colbungs painting Past to Present is a beautiful example of Aboriginal art work.

Australian Dance is highly diverse in form and geographical distribution but it uncovers a continuous captivation with the body, the place, popular culture and the multicultural society.

Sally Banes is an American writer and dance historian and critic. She is also a professor of theater history and dance studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Banes has written multiple books and contributed to many documentaries and films. The book Moving History / Dancing Cultures, which Banes contributed to, includes the article “Choreographic Methods of the Judson Dance Theater”. This book was published in 2001.

There are eight individual and unique classical dances in India. Each has its own distinctive dance movements, make-up, and costumes. The classical dance forms that have developed in India all have set rules which have been followed traditionally over the years. This set of rules that the classical dances follow is called the Natya Shastra. This is the ancient text that all Indian classical dances obey by in order for them to be called a “classic”. The eight forms that have succeeded in reaching the conventions of the Natya Shastra are: the Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali, Kathak, Manipuri, Odissi, Mohiniyattam, and Sattriya. Among all eight of these dances I argue that Bharatanatyam is the most elite form of all these dances