CORROBOREE
Commentary by Stephen Page, Artistic Director
In Corroboree I
wanted to explore the transformation of the human spirit, the
relationship between Indigenous people, creatures and the land
and what it is that unifies us as one. Corroboree is about challenging,
awakening and cleansing the spirit.
I think the Olympics affected me a lot. Working
with a thousand Indigenous people, all the elders trusting me
to take their stories and put it on that ground, bringing black
clans together, gathering in our own backyard. I think we, as
a black nation, need to get together and work sacredly to develop
a new language that speaks to the 980 different clans around the
country. I believe that's what Bangarra is committed to doing
- building a foundation, a strong spiritual philosophy that people
can work from to tell whatever dreaming they want, in whatever
medium.
The Bangarra family is always inspiring me, as
well as my peers doing work in other mediums, like visual art,
film and theatre that has a strong Aboriginal consciousness. There's
a good clan of us, we're the next elders - us mob that come together,
we talk and inspire each other. It's a great medicine, as it has
been for thousands of years.
There's a wonderful trust and exchange with the
audience of a Bangarra performance. We guide you on a journey.
It's a meeting of the urban social, traditional dreaming and pure
abstract dance - that's why we can speak to all peoples. Passion,
emotion and respect - this is what people have to have to survive,
its got to be part of the human immune system. If you are honest
to the process it will naturally attract those people who want
to listen.
Corroboree
is a conscious awakening of the spirit, it's challenging the political
arena and it's about just being good young artists that take on
the responsibilities and disciplines of maintaining this evolving
storytelling. Bangarra is living the dreaming; it's the dreaming
becoming in front of our eyes.
A JOURNEY THROUGH THREE DREAMINGS Brolga (Gudurrku)
Brolga is inspired by an ancient dreaming.
It's about a young girl who goes to a sacred ground and transforms
from human to Brolga. It's the original swan lake.
I was inspired by a visit to a Brolga plain with
Djakapurra in Dhalinbuy, in
NE Arnhem Land where the fresh water meets the saltwater - it's
a place from which I draw my vivid creativity. The story also
has David and Steve's
music and their work with Djakapurra
with traditional songs at its heart.
In Brolga, we start with two figures,
one is a traditional spirit (Djakapurra)
and the other is a young girl (Frances
Rings). She enters the sacred ground that belongs to the brolgas,
she plays, she mimics, and she discovers the sensuality of the
Brolga. But she has to learn to respect the secret Brolga knowledge.
The traditional spirit guides and protects her on this journey.
It could be that he has set her a challenge for her journey to
initiation as a woman.
And then he sings her to sleep, he calls her
back to another realm in her dreaming, another time, and prepares
her spiritually for the ritual painting. She emerges with the
totem markings of the Brolga. She is transformed.
Roo (Garrtjambal)
In Roo I wanted to develop on themes
we explored in Spear from Skin. Roo
deals with urban men who have had their social and religious values
taken away from them and they've survived. Men who are victims
of social dilemmas - whether it's part of the stolen generation,
child abuse, domestic violence, substance abuse.
We see a line up of men who are about to be convicted;
they are being interrogated about who they are. There's a lot
of strong language and violent outbursts. What we want to do through
the next twenty minutes is cleanse them before their exterior
selves go into confinement, give them the tough skin to service
out their punishment. The mist is their state of cleansing, they
wash off the stolen generation X painted across their chests and
their spirits are called back to the bush, to the Red Kangaroo
meeting ground.
In the next section called Hunt we explore
the energy of the hunt, the difference between Aboriginal and
white ways of hunting, the relationship between hunter and prey.
Joe's lighting is a character in itself and so is the music; the
sweep and stab of the 4WD spotlight, the fear, the startled creature,
the music pounding like a heart, like an engine, a killing machine.
This is followed by a section called Skinned
which is partly about the raw meat and what it means to the people
but it's also about being tortured, being burnt, things being
taken away from you, that pain and woundedness.
Today we live in a society where no one can hide,
we are all hunted, and everyone is identified whether we like
it or not.
Turtle (Waru)
Turtle's my favourite. This is my tribute
to the Torres Strait peoples and the beautiful, melodic water
that surrounds this country and what the Pacific means to people
in general.
Turtle is also a tribute to the founding
Torres Strait Island members of Bangarra - Jensen Warasum, Pinau
Ghee, Percy Jakonia and Albert David whose work has always been
an inspiration. And Peggy Misi who is with the company now, she's
the next generation, my Torres Strait Island consultant creatively.
I talk to Peggy about a myriad of stories, about the island, about
the water and she just laughs at me and says "you just dream and
we'll see what happens". Torres Strait Island people celebrate
differently to Aboriginal people. Aboriginal stories are quite
earthbound, whereas Torres Strait Islander song and dance is obviously
inspired by the water.
 | Photo: Danielle Lyonne |
In Turtle we start with this wonderful
visual of sand pouring from the roof onto three bodies that represent
the mother turtle. She goes to her sacred territory and digs to
lay her eggs. All the choreography is close to the ground.
This is followed by a section called Hatch,
which captures the energy of the baby turtle. Some survive and
some don't and there are thousands of them, racing down to the
water. Kasa Kab is a traditional play dance that celebrates
the turtle.
Then comes Aigudau Tonar, where the dancers
are all oiled and they slide to the music. This represents the
meat, the delicacy of the turtle and the egg which is great bush
medicine. We explore the sensuality of food, the gourmet, the
feast.
Aigudau Tonar is followed by a Torres
Strait rhythm dance, using seed pods as rattles. This percussive
dance depicts the thriving energy of the Torres Strait people.
Koi Maluya is a beautiful song that celebrates the wind
and the sea and the different patterns on the turtle shells.
Turtle ends with the death of the elder
mother turtle, but it is almost like she is newborn, we cleanse
her spirit to awaken again - the cycle continues.
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