BANGARRA DANCE THEATRE STUDY GUIDE FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY Bangarra Dance Theatre pays respect and acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet, create, and perform. We also wish to acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples whose customs and cultures inspire our work. INDIGENOUS CULTURAL AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (ICIP) Bangarra acknowledges the industry standards and protocols set by the Australia Council for the Arts Protocols for Working with Indigenous Artists (2007). Those protocols have been widely adopted in the Australian arts to respect ICIP and to develop practices and processes for working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and cultural heritage. Bangarra incorporates ICIP into the very heart of our projects, from storytelling, to dance, to set design, language and music. © Bangarra Dance Theatre 2019 Last updated September 2019 WARNING Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this Study Guide contains names and images of, and quotes from, deceased persons. Photo Credits Front Cover: Bangarra ensemble, photo by Daniel Boud Back Cover: Yolanda Lowatta, photo by Daniel Boud 2 INTRODUCTION CONTENTS Inspired by Bruce Pascoe’s award-winning book of the same name, Dark Emu explores the vital life force 03 of flora and fauna in a series of dance stories. Directed Introduction by Stephen Page, Dark Emu is a dramatic and evocative dance response to the assault on land, people and spirit. We celebrate this sharing of knowledge, the heritage 04 of careful custodianship, and the beauty that Bruce Using this Study Guide Pascoe’s vision urges us to leave to the children. 05 Contemporary Indigenous Dance Theatre 09 Bangarra Dance Theatre “The stain is deep in our chalk and until we can accept what the explorers 10 saw as part of the national story our The Power of Narrative debate of national origins, character and attributes is hobbled by ignorance.” 12 – Bruce Pascoe, Dark Emu Urban Pre-History 13 Aboriginal Agriculture 14 Aboriginal Aquaculture 15 The Economics of Collaborative Farming 16 Creating Dark Emu 18 Performing Dark Emu 19 Creative Team 20 Discussion Starters 21 Resources 3 USING THIS STUDY GUIDE Bangarra Dancers in in Dark Emu, photo by Daniel Boud The purpose of this Study Guide This Study Guide also proposes is to provide information and perspectives and provides CROSS CURRICULUM contextual background about the historical viewpoints sourced from PRIORITIES themes explored in Bangarra Dance a number of historians and writers Aboriginal & Torres Strait Theatre’s production of Dark Emu. about Aboriginal agriculture, Islander histories and cultures This Guide can assist teachers and aquaculture and land management. Sustainability students in thinking critically, and However, it is important to note in forming personal responses that Bangarra’s Dark Emu is a to the work. We encourage the creative interpretation of these GENERAL CAPABILITIES: audience to engage emotionally themes, breathing the essence of Intercultural understanding and imaginatively with Dark culture through the dance, design, Critical and creative thinking Emu, and to embrace the many music and sound aspects of the interrelated themes, stories and production. issues that are woven into this LEARNING AREAS: production. We hope you enjoy Dark Emu. The Arts English Humanities & Social Sciences Science 4 CONTEMPORARY INDIGENOUS DANCE THEATRE form, and are able to celebrate the Artists and leaders like Carole Y. PERSPECTIVES, resilience of Australia’s First Nations Johnson, Stephen Page, Frances people and their ancestors through Rings, Raymond Blanco, Vicki van VOICES AND the sharing of works that depict Hout, Gary Lang, and Marilyn Miller, Indigenous stories, cultures and are some who have paved the way. CULTURES perspectives. More recently Elma Kris, Deborah The concept of contemporary Brown, Yolande Brown, Daniel Riley, Indigenous dance theatre cannot It is important to consider the Mariaa Randall, Sani Townsen, Jacob be understood as a categorised language we use when talking Boehme, Ghenoa Gela, Thomas genre or a particular form because and writing about Indigenous E. S. Kelly, Joel Bray, and Amrita it exists as part of a continuum that cultures in the context of art: Hepi are contributing to the ever- responds to a diversity of culture when it is made, how it is made and growing critical mass of Indigenous and developing perspectives. Any where the source material comes contemporary dance in Australia. contemporary Indigenous dance from. The general application production that incorporates and understandings of the terms Building a skills base has been music/sound, design and other ‘traditional’ and ‘contemporary’ both a challenge and a significant conventions of the theatre will can be problematic when critiquing contributor to the development of inevitably have a deep purpose Indigenous dance theatre. By fixing Indigenous contemporary dance and and an essential spirit that is, and the term ‘contemporary’ to the dance theatre. The establishment will always be, about Aboriginal form, it could be argued that we are of training institutions like and Torres Strait Islander cultures. implying ‘post-colonial’, ‘modern’ National Aboriginal Islander Skills While drawing on traditional or ‘non-traditional’. Yet with many Development Association (NAISDA) stories and cultural ways of new works sourcing their inspiration Dance College in Sydney, and being, Indigenous dance theatre from the Indigenous cultures that Aboriginal Centre for Performing provides an important platform for have existed since ancient times, Arts (ACPA) in Brisbane, have Indigenous people. It gives voice to what is ‘traditional’ and what is been fundamentally important the experience of living in a modern ‘new’ can exist simultaneously. to increasing technical skills to world that experiences constant This is often expressed by saying support the creation of new works. change, where the threat to cultural Indigenous Australian cultures are Market development initiatives, identityis relentlessly present. the oldest living, and continuous the growth of touring networks, cultures in the world. and a range of strategic programs The growth in availability of to address identified gaps in the technical resources, an increasing infrastructure, have been and number of performance venues, FORM, continue to be critical to the growth and the proliferation of new arts and sustainability of this work. festivals and digital platforms, has ACTIVATION greatly supported the development From the mid-20th Century, of new Indigenous dance theatre, AND PROCESS contemporary forms of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander expression as well as the careers of the many One way of exploring the creative artists involved. As more emerged across all art forms and development of Indigenous dance began to infiltrate mainstream arts new work is created, support for theatre over the last three or four the infrastructure and training that programs that largely drew on decades is to trace the journeys of western cultures and/or western underpins these forms has also some of the artists who have been grown, resulting in a critical mass forms of presentation. By the significant contributors to that 1960s, young black theatre makers, of professional artists involved in development. It should be noted producing high quality productions playwrights, writers and actors were that while many opportunities have creating works that reflected their that increase the demand we been opened up for Aboriginal and currently see from audiences in culture in both the pre-colonial and Torres Strait Islanders to develop post-settlement worlds. Writers Australia and internationally. One in their choreographic work and of the most important outcomes of Kevin Gilbert and Jack Davis, and their leadership roles, the true force actor/directors Bryan Syron and these developments is the fact that behind this development has been more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Bob Maza were among some of the commitment and determination the black theatre makers who islander people are able to see their of the individual artists themselves. cultures reflected in this unique lay the foundation for the strong 5 Indigenous theatre scene that exists and written information is usually The concept of Country and Land for today. Novelist Faith Bandler, and second hand. Indigenous Cultural & Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander poet/artist/educator Oodgeroo Intellectual Property (ICIP) rights are people is extremely different. Noonuccal (Kath Walker) were also variously enshrined both Australian strong voices in the new wave of and international conventions and The spiritual dimension of Country Indigenous writers whose works statements, and are an important cannot be detached from the now form part of Australia’s rich safety net that seeks to ensure physical. Country can mean a and diverse literary landscape. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait person’s Land where they were wave of contemporary Indigenous cultures survive and thrive. born, as well as the sea, sky, rivers, artists that followed in the wake of sacred sites, seasons, plants and the Papunya Tula art movement in animals. It can also be a place of the 1970s has seen Aboriginal and COUNTRY, heritage, belonging, and spirituality Torres Strait Islander work acquired that is inseparable from the land. for major collections around the RELATIONSHIP Hence, the impact of displacement world, which command