Unaipon (2004)

Presenting Unaipon

The production of Unaipon is created as three sections – 'Ngarrindjeri', 'Science', 'Religion' – woven together as a complete production. Each section offers aspects of Unaipon’s life and work, telling an interconnected story of the rich cultural fabric of this man’s life, his thirst for knowledge and his vision to use knowledge to create a better world for his people.

NGARRINDJERI 
In the beginning
Sister baskets
String games

SCIENCE
Motion
Four winds
Power

RELIGION
­‘Wonderful is the soul of man. A capacity for the Great Spirit of the Eternal God’. David Unaipon, 1924.

 

Excerpts from the production Unaipon in this resource.                               

NGARRINDJERI 
In the beginning
String games

SCIENCE
Four winds
Power

RELIGION
Religion

how do the dances tell the story

Storytelling through dance is a unique form. As audiences experience the performance, they connect immediately – both emotionally and intellectually. Every second is alive with meaning, including the silences and moments of stillness.

Dance is a universal language and as an art form it is constantly evolving. Invariably it involves other disciplines – music/sound, design, technology – and is informed by imagination and all the embodied knowledge of the artist involved.

The creative team worked collaboratively, and together with the dancers they have created a dance theatre ‘telling’ of this powerful story of David Unaipon – a story of intercultural connection, worlds of knowledge, and the human spirit’s unyielding quest to understand the world we live in, and validate the reason we are here.