In shaping
his festival, Leo Schofield sought to illustrate what he describes as the identifying
marks of Australian culture: "young, energetic, expansive and quirky." Bangarra
Dance Theatre embodies all four. Since forming as an offshoot of the National
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Dance School just over a decade ago, Bangarra
has toured the world, drawing on 40,000 years of culture. And if "quirk" means
"an abrupt twist," it has those, too, in a repertoire as wide as the continent
that inspires it. As physical feats go, Bangarra's dance style will more than
hold its own during the Games, when the company premieres Skin. "It's very hard
on your quads, on your lower back," explains senior dancer Frances Rings. "It's
very grounded."
Meaning "to
create fire" in the Wirandjuri language of New South Wales, Bangarra have done
just that in the world of dance. With works such as Ochres and Fish, and with
moves as distinctive as "the spinifex" and "dead gecko," the company has fused
traditional ceremonial dance with modern stage savvy, making the Aboriginal
Dreaming tangible for contemporary audiences. One of its finest acts of alchemy
was a 1998 collaboration with the Australian Ballet, Rites, for which Bangarra
artistic director Stephen Page choreographed Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring
as a corroboree. "Most companies based on indigenous cultures never embrace
the sophisticated dance technique and stage design that Stephen has," says Jane
Hermann, director of the U.S. dance agency ICM, who signed Bangarra after seeing
Rites in New York City last October. "It gives a unique point of view by an
artist who lives in both worlds and allows us to see them through his vision."
In September
next year the company will embark on a seven-week North American tour, but Bangarra's
most important work is being done in its own backyard. "I think part of what
the arts is doing in Australia right now is driving reconciliation," says Schofield.
Bangarra has done its share by bringing non-indigenous dancers into the fold
and drawing audiences, both black and white, with a dance form that bridges
cultures. "Staying focused, staying honest to the vision," is Bangarra's mission,
says Page. The company regularly collaborates with other urban artists and musicians
but doesn't neglect its tribal links. Central to that is the work of cultural
consultant Djakapurra Munyarryun, from Arnhem Land, whose limber leaps are a
signature of the company on stage.
Commissioned
for the Olympic Arts Festival, Skin marries traditional and urban styles, men's
and women's business. The work's first half, "Shelter," begins with the sensuous
dances of women with digging sticks, and ends with the specter of mining. "The
inspiration for me is always the land and the stories behind the land," says
choreographer Page. Against the backdrop of a burned-out car, Skin concludes
with "Spear," confronting such issues as deaths in custody, alcohol abuse and
petrol sniffing. "We have to have tough goanna skins," Page writes in the program
notes, "so that we can survive and evolve through the next century." After "10
years of initiation," Bangarra has matured into one of Australia's cultural
elders. As well as unveiling Skin for the O.A.F., Page has choreographed "Tubowgule"
(tie-BAH-gool), the festival's Aug. 18 dawn-to-dusk welcome, and the indigenous
component of the Games opening ceremony, on Sept. 15. So where does he get his
creative energy? "I don't have any left at the moment," the Brisbane-born Sydney
Dance Company alumnus says with a puckish laugh. To help spread the workload,
Bangarra recently formed a skills-sharing alliance with the Sydney Swans Australian
Rules football team, which has a number of indigenous stars in its ranks. It's
all part of Bangarra's inventive embrace of the nation's culture at large. "We're
part of a contemporary Dreaming," says Page. And a thrilling work in progress.
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