Bangarra Dance Theatre: Rethinking Indigeneity in Australia
A thesis by: Charlotte Schuitenmaker 10212795 rMA Art Studies
Supervisor: Dr. B. Titus Second reader: Prof. Dr. J.J.E. Kursell
University of Amsterdam 21/01/2019
CONTENT
INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………….. 3
1 – BANGARRA’S EXPRESSIONS…...…………………………………………9 1.1 – Dance and Indigenous Australia………………………………………9 1.1.1 – Dance and music as modes of expression…………………...11 1.1.2 – Dance and music as systems of authority…………………...14 1.2 – Contemporary dancing………………………………………………..15 1.2.1 – Contemporary dance: An Overview...... 15 1.2.2 – Bangarra’s dance…………………………………………….20 1.3 – Presenting Indigeneity………………………………………………...22 1.3.1 – Bangarra’s performances…………………………………….22 1.3.2 – Bangarra’s promotion………………………………………. 31
2 – REASSEMBLING BANGARRA: THE INSTITUTION AS AND WITHIN A NETWORK……………………. 34 2.1 – Bangarra’s establishment……………………………………………...37 2.2 – A Page family business: choreographer, dancer and songman………. 39 2.3 – The theatre…………………………………………………………… 45 2.4 – Audiences and tickets………………………………………………....49 2.5 – Institutions and modernity...... 51
3 – MESSAGES: THE POLITICS OF IDENTITY AND STORIES…………54 3.1 – Indigeneity as identity…………………………………………………55 3.2 – Contemporary storytelling…………………………………………….60 3.2.1 – Stories: past-present-future…………………………….…....64
CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………….……67
REFERENCES……………………………………………………….……….……71
2 INTRODUCTION
The Bangarra Dance Theatre Company is a Sydney-based institution that produces contemporary dance theatre shows inspired by Indigenous cultures in Australia. Carole Johnson, a dancer of African-American heritage, established the company in 1989, with Stephen George Page as Artistic Director since 1991. Page’s Aboriginal heritage stems from both the Nunukul people and the Munaldjali, a clan of the Yugambeh tribe in the south east of Queensland. Since 1992 the company has produced new shows almost annually and the team tours across the country. Besides performing in well-known venues in cities, the company initiates ‘Return to Country’ performances, which are free shows for Indigenous Australian people whose culture is performed in the shows. By performing contemporary dance shows based on Indigenous Australian stories, Bangarra challenges notions of Indigeneity and modernity. The Bangarra company claims its mission is “[to] create inspiring experiences that change society”1 and states:
Our dance technique is forged from over 40,000 years of culture, infused with contemporary movement. The company’s 16 dancers are professionally trained, dynamic artists who represent the pinnacle of Australian dance. Each has a proud Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander background, from various locations across the country. Our relationships with Indigenous communities are the heart of Bangarra, with our repertoire created on country and stories gathered from respected community Elders. It’s this inherent connection to our land and people that makes us unique and enjoyed by audiences from remote Australian regional centres to New York.2
Since Indigeneity in Australia is inseparable from politics, it is not hard to imagine what Bangarra’s mission to “change society” is based upon. An example of the company’s performances is Dark Emu inspired by Bruce Pascoe’s book of the same name, which deals with the - according to Pascoe - wrongly appointed tag of hunter-gatherers for pre-colonial Aboriginal peoples. In 2017, the show Bennelong dealt with the life of Woollarawarre Bennelong; an iconic Aboriginal person who was a member of the Eora nation and is considered to be one
1 Bangarra, “Our Company,” accessed 08-01-2018, https://www.bangarra.com.au/about/company. 2 Ibid.
3 of the key figures for the salvation of his community’s culture.3 Another example is the show Mathinna, performed in 2008, which presented the story of a young Aboriginal girl who was stolen from her parents and adopted into Eurogenic colonial society. In this performance, Mathinna represents the ‘Stolen Generation’ of Australian Aboriginal people and reflects on a time of extreme intolerance toward Indigenous peoples. Indigenous Australians have endured many acts of violence, such as exile and genocide since the arrival of the British in 1788.4 While Indigenous inhabitants have been living on the Australian continent for at least 40,000 years, Indigenous peoples only became legal citizens in 1948, taking another two decades before discriminatory laws against Indigenous populations were abolished.5 Protests and demonstrations for Indigenous Australian rights still occur regularly today, as Indigenous populations are subject to the ways and manners of the dominant Eurogenic settler-society. The clash between the dominant settler-culture and Indigenous Australian cultures evokes tension, which manifests in high rates of unemployment and substance abuse amongst Indigenous communities.6 Therefore, media often depict Indigenous peoples with negative connotations, resulting in an overall pessimistic attitude towards Indigenous cultures in Australia. Moreover, academic, and in particular, ethnographic discourse has portrayed Indigenous Australians as ‘primitive’ peoples, in comparison with the ‘modern’ settlers.7 Art historian Okwui Enwezor explains:
I would argue that there never was a pure modernity to which some other non-modernity suddenly became exposed. Because modernity was always double-sided, the “others” were always there. The “non-modern” had to be there from the beginning in order for modernity to define itself. (…) Contact was, and remains, the manifestation of the dark side of modernity. It is the attempt to dominate, to subjugate, to replace the life-world of the “non-
3 The Eora people belong to the area now called Sydney. 4 Corn, Aaron. “Sound Exchanges: An Ethnomusicologist's Approach to Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning in Collaboration with a Remote Indigenous Australian Community.” The World of Music (2009): 22-23. 5 Chesterman, John. Civil Rights: How Indigenous Australians Won Formal Equality. St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, 2005: ix. 6 Atkinson, Judy. “Violence in Aboriginal Australia: Colonisation and Gender.” Aboriginal and Islander Health Worker Journal Vol. 14, no. 2 (1990): 5-21. 7 Fisher, Laura. “The Art/Ethnography Binary: Post-Colonial Tensions within the Field of Australian Aboriginal Art.” Cultural Sociology Vol. 6, no. 2 (2012): 255.
4 modern” with the knowledge of the colonizer. This series of substitute experiences begins from the process of evacuation of – let’s call them “native knowledges.” Knowledges rendered as primitive, as underdeveloped, as relegated to the past, with no proximity to the future or the present.8
Here, Enwezor explains how modernity and what he terms as ‘native knowledges,’ are mutually exclusive. Bangarra, however, challenges this by establishing itself as a contemporary Indigenous company. This thesis will reflect upon the Bangarra Dance Theatre Company and the ways in which it advocates a rethinking of Indigeneity, a rethinking that includes modernity. Academic literature addressing Indigenous Australian performance practices often focuses on pre-colonial practices. Indigenous studies, therefore, lack attention on contemporary Indigenous Australian performance expressions, such as Bangarra’s productions. Very few authors have shown interest in these expressions, such as Peter Dunbar-Hall, Chris Gibson and Stephanie Burridge.9 Dunbar-Hall and Gibson’s book is a valuable resource for the purposes of this thesis. However, their publication provides an overview of different contemporary Aboriginal expressions, without providing in-depth analyses about how these contemporary expressions came into being and what processes underlie these contemporary developments. Furthermore, art theories – and among those, dance theories – often neglect non-Eurogenic arts practices. André Lepecki claims dance to have become crucial for ‘thinking [about], making, and curating visual and performance-based art’10, yet, this phenomenon is very ‘under-theorised’.11 Lepecki, however, has established himself as an important author on the subject. Based on his notion of contemporary dance, this thesis will examine what contemporary dance means for the Bangarra Dance Theatre. While the idea of art may be of Eurogenic origin, contemporary art’s organisations, such as Bangarra, demonstrate this outmoded idea of arts. Art theories by Howard
8 Enwezor, Okwui and Terry Smith, “World Platforms, Exhibiting Adjacency, and the Surplus Value of Art,” in Talking Contemporary Curating (Independent Curators International, 2015): 89-90. 9 See: Dunbar-Hall, Peter and Chris Gibson. Deadly Sounds, Deadly Places: Contemporary Aboriginal Music in Australia. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press, 2004.; Burridge, Stephanie. “Dreaming the Future: The Emergence of the Bangarra Dance Theatre,” Australasian Drama Studies 41 (2002): 77-89. 10 Lepecki, André, ed. “Introduction. Dance as a Practice of Contemporaneity.” Dance: Documents of Contemporary Art. London: Whitechapel Gallery, 2012: 14. 11 Ibid.
5 Becker and George Dickie are just as applicable to Bangarra’s practices, as other forms of art. This thesis emphasises the inclusion of a non-Eurogenic art expression – Bangarra - into the realm of art with the assistance of the Actor-Network-Theory by Bruno Latour. I argue that Bangarra’s art is not established by the choice of dance styles solely, but also by a network that constitutes an art institution. Latour explains a method for anthropological research, which focuses on networks, rather than on geographical boundaries or on specific domains. He states:
“[A network] designates a series of associations revealed thanks to a trial – consisting in the surprises of the ethnographic investigation – that makes it possible to understand through what series of small discontinuities it is appropriate to pass in order to obtain a certain continuity of action.”12
In the case of Bangarra, the network consists of musicians, dancers, audiences, organisers, media, and more. The Actor-Network-Theory also allows for the inclusion of non-human actors. This is relevant to the Bangarra company, as non- human actors, such as dance and promotion material, play a significant role in conveying the company’s messages. Moreover, specific groups of people have been dehumanised due to the binaries between the human and the non-human. As professor of Indigenous education Linda Tuhiwai Smith describes:
One of the supposed characteristics of primitive peoples was that we could not use our minds or intellects. We could not invent things, we could not create institutions or history, we could not imagine, we could not produce anything of value, we did not know how to use land and other resources from the natural world, we did not practice the ‘arts’ of civilization. By lacking such virtues we disqualified ourselves, not just from civilization but from humanity itself. In other words we were not ‘fully human’; some of us were not even considered partially human.13
By moderating the binaries between the human and the non-human through adopting the Actor-Network-Theory, this thesis aims to demonstrate processes that underlie the workings of Bangarra.
12 Latour, Bruno. An Inquiry into Modes of Existence: An Anthropology of the Moderns, transl. by Catherine Porter. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2013: 33. 13 Smith, Linda Tuhiwai. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. London and New York: Zed Books Ltd., 2013: 67.
6 Chapter one delves into Bangarra’s expressions: dance and promotional material. Dance plays a key role in the company, therefore, the first part of the chapter focuses on the relationship between dance and the Indigenous cultures the Bangarra company claims to represent. The aim is not to generalise about dance and Indigenous populations, but to demonstrate that Bangarra represents and shapes cultures. To recognise the importance of dance in Bangarra’s shows, it is necessary to have an understanding of the constructed cultures it represents. This thesis will then focus on contemporary dance and how Bangarra describes its dance as such. This thesis will trace the history of contemporary dance and its origins in Eurogenic high art traditions. This is followed by analyses of Bangarra’s dance performances and advertisements to demonstrate the intricateness of expressing Indigeneity and contemporaneity through performance and promotion. Bangarra expresses itself in terms of modernity. A defining characteristic of modernity, following Latour, is institutionalisation.14 Therefore, chapter two looks at Bangarra as an institution, as its institutionalisation, in addition to its dance and legitimises its status as a performance art company. To do so, this chapter describes the workings of significant human and non-human actors and how these function as an institution and a network. Chapter one will firstly focus on the company’s establishment to show its initial aims and goals. The chapter will then include a description of the agency of Page family, with Stephen Page as Bangarra’s creative director. This section will also include the dancers and the music. Furthermore, with the help of ANT, I will incorporate the workings of the theatres and how these enable Bangarra’s productions. I will then show how the audiences and tickets are part of Bangarra’s network and how these co-determine the company’s workings. The chapter will conclude this chapter by critiquing Latour’s notion of the ‘Moderns,’ which he describes as ‘Westerners,’ ‘Occidentals’ or ‘Europeans.’ 15 However, the institutionalisation of Indigenous dance is in itself already a process that plays with concepts taken for granted, such as ‘Occidental,’ ‘Non-Western,’ and now, ‘Moderns.’ The case study of Bangarra indicates that Indigenous peoples can also be ‘Moderns.’
14 Latour, Bruno. An Inquiry into Modes of Existence: An Anthropology of the Moderns, transl. by Catherine Porter. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2013: 13. 15 Ibid.
7 When having established the form of the performances and set out how and by which parties involved this form has taken shape, chapter three examines the role of the messages the company aims to convey. I will explore how Bangarra aims to reach its audiences, how the company affects the network of Sydney-based cultural institutions and where it positions its stories within political discussion. This chapter argues that contemporary Indigenous dance is an art form in which tradition, aesthetics and politics come together. This research focuses on the Bangarra Dance Theatre Company as a whole, i.e. it does not take one specific production as a case study. This thesis will use the company as a focus point, as the shows all claim to have a very specific message: to emancipate and advocate for Indigenous Australian cultures. I will, however, refer to certain shows to analyse the music and dance as examples. The aim is to facilitate a more inclusive approach in academic discourse, by focusing on Indigenous modernity, as well as modern Indigeneity.
8 1 – BANGARRA’S EXPRESSIONS
This chapter explores the ways in which Bangarra expresses itself.16 Firstly, I focus on ideas of ‘dance,’ as this is one of the central aspects of the Bangarra dance shows. An explanation of the dance traditions Bangarra’s dances are built upon enables analysis of Bangarra’s performances. The company’s contemporary Indigenous performances derive from dance traditions, therefore, their connoted meanings depend heavily upon these traditions. Before moving on to the relationship between dance and Indigeneity in Australia, and Bangarra in particular, it is important to note that defining dance reflects a problem that is central throughout this thesis. For example, at the end of the nineteenth century, the European dance tradition established itself as an autonomous art by breaking its deep connections with music, symbolism, and narrative. 17 However, there are many cases in which dance and music, for example, are inseparable.18 A universally accepted explanation of dance does not exist. This thesis, therefore, refrains from inquiring into merely one explanation of dance. In chapter one, section 1.1 explains dance according to the terms of several Indigenous peoples in Australia. Section 1.2 delves into European and U.S.A-dance developments to describe the emergence of the genre of contemporary dance. Finally, I will analyse how Bangarra presents itself through several performances and promotion materials in sections 1.3.1 and 1.3.2.
1.1 – Dance and Indigenous Australia
The Bangarra Dance Theatre Company depicts itself as an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisation. Indigeneity is the core theme of the company; the
16 I refer to the Bangarra Company as ‘it’ for grammatical reasons. I would like to stress that the stories being told are the stories of many people and are not able to be reduced as if they derive from a one- person’s perspective. 17 Lepecki, André, ed. “Introduction. Dance as a Practice of Contemporaneity.” Dance: Documents of Contemporary Art. London: Whitechapel Gallery, 2012: 18. 18 Small, Christopher. “Musicking — the Meanings of Performing and Listening. A lecture” Music Education Research 1:1 (1999): 12.
9 content of the shows, such as the dances and music, is inspired by Indigenous cultures and stories. A particular story is never performed without consent. Bangarra dancer and co-choreographer Yolande Brown addresses ‘the protocol,’ which is Bangarra’s first step into a new production: to ask permission to perform a community’s story.19 At other times, it is a community approaching Bangarra requesting the company to perform its story. The ‘Return to Country’-shows are those shows for which the company ‘returns’ the story and performs it in the community. These shows are free to attend and usually take place outside, on a basketball court or example. 20 Besides these performative aspects, the director and the dancers themselves are all of Indigenous Australian descent. Representing Indigenous cultures, and providing a platform for Indigenous cultures, is a central aspect of Bangarra. This brings up the question why the company aims to represent these cultures through dance. What made the company decide to tell its stories through the medium of dance? Therefore, section 1.1 reflects upon the role of dance in Indigenous Australian cultures. Before delving into this question in further detail, it is important to discuss the problem of representing First Nations peoples in Australia. Often, when referring to Indigenous peoples, and amongst them Aboriginal peoples in particular, it may seem as if we can speak of one homogenous group of people. Torres Strait Islander people distinguish themselves from Aboriginal people as they do not originate from mainland Australia but, there are many different Torres Strait Islander peoples and hundreds of different Aboriginal communities. Aboriginal cultures differentiate by regional areas, specific languages, and various religions.21 Robert Tonkinson writes:
The generic label ‘Aborigines’ is a colonial imposition, and Aboriginal identities have been shaped in contexts created largely by members of the dominant [settler-] society[.] (…) It was not until the late 1960s that a rapid growth in Aboriginal political consciousness and activism led to concerted attempts to forge a pan-Aboriginal identity and a ‘common-culture’[.]22
Awareness of the impossibility to speak about one ‘Aboriginal culture’ is therefore important. However, the political struggles Indigenous Australians deal with are of a
19 Yolande Brown, guest lecture at University of New South Wales, Sydney, 12-09-2018. 20 Luke Currie-Richardson, interview, Melbourne Arts Centre, 08-09-2018. 21 Tonkinson, Robert. “The Pragmatics and Politics of Aboriginal Tradition and Identity in Australia.” Journal de la Société des Océanistes Vol. 109, No. 2 (1999): 135. 22 Ibid.
10 similar nature amongst different Indigenous communities. These shared problems and the shared histories create solidarity amongst different Indigenous cultures, which generates a common sense of ‘Aboriginality’ or ‘Indigeneity.’ The Bangarra Dance Theatre Company clearly responds to the development of commonality between the various Indigenous cultures, as Bangarra refers to Indigeneity in general. Bangarra’s choice for depicting itself as an ‘Indigenous Australian’ company is highly political, as chapter 3 will discuss in more detail. While reading this thesis, bear in mind that Indigeneity refers to groups of people in Australia dealing with common political struggles, without generalising about Indigenous cultures. As it is impossible to gather information about the role of dance of every community, I will elaborate on just a few as examples only.
1.1.1 – Dance and music as modes of expression
A recurrent theme when discussing dance in connection to Indigenous Australian cultures is ‘law.’ For the Yolngu people, in northeast Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, the concept of law concerns a much broader range of ideas than the English concept of law. The Yolngu call the notion closest to the English word of law ‘rom.’ Besides law, the word ‘rom’ also epitomises the English ideas of ‘culture,’ ‘the way’ (in some form of a religious sense) and ‘correct practice.’ 23 The significance of rom becomes apparent when dealing with (land) ownership, family, traditions and ancestry, just to name a few important aspects to the Yolngu. 24 Australian ethnomusicologist Aaron Corn describes:
[The aspects mentioned above] are as relevant for Yol[ng]u communities today, as they were prior to sustained contact with Anglo-Australians starting in the 1920s. In keeping with their traditional epistemology, the Yol[ng]u cite their direct lineages from the metaphysical wa[ng]arr “ancestors” who initially named, shaped, and populated the sacred homelands of northeast Arnhem
23 Corn, Aaron. “Sound Exchanges: An Ethnomusicologist's Approach to Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning in Collaboration with a Remote Indigenous Australian Community.” The World of Music (2009): 33.; Keen, Ian. Knowledge and Secrecy in an Aboriginal Religion. Oxford: Clarendon, 1994: 137. 24 Corn, Aaron. “Sound Exchanges: An Ethnomusicologist's Approach to Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning in Collaboration with a Remote Indigenous Australian Community.” The World of Music (2009): 33.
11 Land as the fundamental rationale for their continuing ownership in this part of Australia.25
Since a tradition of writing down knowledge, as known in Eurogenic traditions, is unacquainted practice to the Yolngu, generating and transmitting information occurs through media other than writing. This is where dance comes in. Based on Howard Morphy’s book Ancestral Connections: Art and an Aboriginal System of Knowledge,26 Corn summarises:
In the absence of a scribal tradition of recording knowledge, Yol[ng]u law is instead codified in interconnected esoteric series of yäku “names,” manikay “songs,” bu[ng]gul “dances,” and miny’tji “designs” that are passed as property from generation to generation along with each homeland. Together, they function as title deeds that prove a clan’s ownership over its homelands by virtue of continuous ancestry, and when performed in ceremony, they provide a general framework for due process under ancestral law[.]27
Thus, when it comes to communication, ceremonial performances are to the Yolngu that what the written word is to Eurogenic societies. Moreover, not only are the performances a form of communication in the most direct sense of the word, the performances enact how to live on a particular piece of land and whom it belongs to. Therefore, the performances are also a form of documentation of established rules. This is also the case for the dance-song genre Junba, originating in the Kimberley region in the north of Western Australia. Junba is meant for public performances, during which the different cultural groups in the Kimberley come together. The different cultural groups distinguish themselves by means of different languages and cultural habits, therefore Junba “has been a primary mode of intercultural, interfamily and interpersonal communication since the genre was
25 Corn, Aaron. “Sound Exchanges: An Ethnomusicologist's Approach to Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning in Collaboration with a Remote Indigenous Australian Community.” The World of Music (2009): 33. 26 Morphy, Howard. Ancestral Connections: Art and an Aboriginal System of Knowledge. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991. 27 Corn, Aaron. “Sound Exchanges: An Ethnomusicologist's Approach to Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning in Collaboration with a Remote Indigenous Australian Community.” The World of Music (2009): 34.
12 created by Wanjina ancestors in the Lalarn or Lalai[, which means] ‘Dreaming’ [in] Ungarinyin and Worrorra languages respectively(…).”28 Dreaming, or ‘dreamtime’, is an essential concept in many Indigenous Australian cultures.29 Dreamtime manifests through songs, in which the lyrics of these songs refer to, or more concretely, explain, stories about Creation myths for example.30 The stories are always connected to a specific location, in which the event the story refers to, took place. Therefore, each story has its particular song, which thus relates the song to a specific location and contains instructions on how to live in this area; information on where to find food for example. When songs ‘travel’ through several locations and language groups, the ‘songlines’ (tracks across the land) are long. For those longer songlines, specific handover points are set up, at which one group of land owners has to hand over the song to the next group of land owners, which is indicative of where the land boundaries between different Indigenous cultures are.31 Junba repertories, in particular, document and perform activities of spiritual ancestors, such as the Wanjina ancestors. These activities are often concerned with, as described above, matters of the land and Indigenous law systems. Besides ancestral stories, topics ‘captured’ in Junba vary from mundane daily events, like fishing trips, to more serious happenings like cyclones and Captain Cook’s settlement in Australia.32 Ethnomusicologist Sally Treloyn states:
Today, the practice of Junba (…) has great significance for the communities that own and maintain these songs and dance traditions, affecting social and
28 Treloyn, S. and R. G. Charles. “Repatriation and Innovation: the Impact of Legacy Recordings on Endangered Dance-Song Traditions and Ethnomusicological Research.” Research, Records and Responsibility. Sydney: University of Sydney Press, 2015: 188. 29 Gibson, Chris, and Peter Dunbar-Hall. “Nitmiluk: Place and Empowerment in Australian Aboriginal Popular Music.” Ethnomusicology Vol. 44, No. 1 (2000): 51. 30 Moyle, R. M. in: Koch, Grace. “Music and Land Rights: Archival Recordings as Documentation for Australian Aboriginal Land Claims.” Fontes Artis Musicae (2008): 158. 31 Koch, G. “Music and Land Rights: Archival Recordings as Documentation for Australian Aboriginal Land Claims.” Fontes Artis Musicae (2008): 158-159. 32 Treloyn, S. and R. G. Charles. “Repatriation and Innovation: the Impact of Legacy Recordings on Endangered Dance-Song Traditions and Ethnomusicological Research.” Research, Records and Responsibility. Sydney: University of Sydney Press, 2015: 189.; Redmond, A. “Captain Cook Meets General Macarthur in the Northern Kimberley: Humour and Ritual in an Indigenous Australian Life- World.” Anthropological Forum Vol. 18, No. 3 (2008): 256.
13 emotional wellbeing, and articulating identity in relation to place, family and history.33
1.1.2 – Dance and music as systems of authority
As described in section 1.1.1, the performance practices by the Yolngu and Junba are communication methods through which law systems and land management information are explained.34 However, in 1788 when the British Empire “settled” in Australia, Indigenous people were not allowed to practice their cultural habits and languages anymore, including their music and dance practices. The new colonial government took over the country, and aimed at eliminating Indigenous cultures altogether.35 This caused many fights and protests, most often over land rights which involved Indigenous protest against mining activities of sacred Indigenous land.36 Although many Indigenous communities requested to stop the mining activities on their land, the government perceived the Indigenous law systems, which included documentation on land management, as ill-fitting to the dominant Australian law. 37 However, the poignant unhappiness amongst Indigenous communities over this decision forced a review of the policies by the Australian government. Now, around the 1960s and 1970s, Indigenous Australian land rights were allowed recognition and representation by newly established land councils. With this, Indigenous music and dance practices were now acceptable as evidence for their cases to reclaim land,38 as these practices are, themselves, documents of the regional rules about land ownership and the connections with Indigenous communities to it.39
33 Treloyn, S. and R. G. Charles. “Repatriation and Innovation: the Impact of Legacy Recordings on Endangered Dance-Song Traditions and Ethnomusicological Research.” Research, Records and Responsibility. Sydney: University of Sydney Press, 2015: 189. 34 Ibid. 35 Corn, A. “Sound Exchanges: An Ethnomusicologist's Approach to Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning in Collaboration with a Remote Indigenous Australian Community.” The World of Music (2009): 23. 36 Koch, Grace. “Music and Land Rights: Archival Recordings as Documentation for Australian Aboriginal Land Claims.” Fontes Artis Musicae (2008): 157. 37 Corn, A. “Sound Exchanges: An Ethnomusicologist's Approach to Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning in Collaboration with a Remote Indigenous Australian Community.” The World of Music (2009): 24-25. 38 Ibid.: 25. 39 Treloyn, S. “Flesh with Country: Juxtaposition and Minimal Contrast in the Construction and Melodic Treatment of Jadmi Song Texts.” Australian Aboriginal Studies Vol. 2 (2007): 92.
14 As a result of the developments concerning mining activities and Indigenous protest against these activities, performance traditions have gained juridical value, in addition to its already established social and cultural values as described in section 1.1.1. As shown in the examples of Junba and the Yolngu traditions, this juridical aspect was always inherent to the dance traditions. However, since the establishment of the land councils around the 1960s the juridical values were acknowledged by the dominant settler-society too. Not only is the role of dance to Indigenous populations determined by the extent to which it explains Indigenous Australian ways, as referred to on pages 11-14, it now supports Indigenous Australian peoples in their aspiration to reclaim land that was once theirs.
1.2 – Contemporary dancing
Dance occupies an undeniably significant role for many Indigenous Australian cultures. As explained above, Yolngu and Junba traditions show the extensive part dance rituals play in peoples’ daily lives. However, the historically described dance forms do not cover the dances performed by the Bangarra Dance Theatre. The fact that the above-described traditions, as well as the shows by Bangarra, are Indigenous expressions does not mean that both forms of dances derive from similar traditions. Besides a difference in traditions, there are also significant differences in the styles of the dances. This section will therefore research the notion of ‘contemporary’ and how Bangarra describes its dances as such. To understand contemporary dance as theatre dance genre, we will have to look into a few notable historical events that brought about contemporary dance, which finds its roots in Europe and the USA.
1.2.1 – Contemporary Dance: An Overview
The name of the genre contemporary dance inherently opposes the dance referred to as ‘traditional’ or ‘classical.’ The aversion to earlier dance genres is exactly what is at the base of the emergence of contemporary dance. I will therefore start with a short
15 history of classical ballet and modern dance in order to understand the development of contemporary dance. This section will start with the description of court dance practices, originated in the 17th century. Of course, ‘European’ dance consists of more than merely court dances. However, in chapter three, the status of the ‘high’ arts is a significant aspect of what Bangarra wishes to identify with. This is why the beginning of this section predominantly focuses on dance practices with a politically, high- valued status. In 17th century France, during King Louis XIV’s reign, classical ballet was flourishing as a dance genre in the courts, also referred to as ballet de cour. While in France the dance style was particularly ‘upcoming’ because of the King’s passion for dancing, classical ballet performances also took place in other European countries like Italy, England and Sweden.40 The Académie Royal de la Danse was founded in 1661, which was set up by a group of dancers wanting to install technical dance instructions in a systematic way. These instructions are still the core principles of classical ballet today.41 The Italian composer Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) incorporated classical ballet dances into his operas in Paris.42 Today, Lully’s music is still characterised by its rhythmical aspects, functioning for the ballet scenes. The dances became profoundly popular: to the extent to which the music for the ballet scenes became independent suites and by sharing ballet not only within the court, but for an audience in opera theatres as well.43 Ballet in, and outside of courts gained popularity, such as the ballets produced in the influential Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg and the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. In the late 19th century, famous ballets like La Bayadère, Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake were produced here. Typical stylistic traits and dance steps still immanent in today’s classical ballet, such as pas de deux, grand jetés (for men) and pirouettes (for women), derive from these works.44
40 Butterworth, Jo. Dance Studies: The Basics. London and New York: Routledge, 2012: 73. 41 Ibid. 42 Anthony, James R. Jean-Baptiste Lully and the Music of the French Baroque: Essays in Honor of James R. Anthony. John Hajdu Heyer ed. Cambridge University Press, 1989: xiii. 43 A suite consists of a series of musical compositions suitable for dancing. 44 Pas de Deux means dance step for two.; Grand jetés means big jumps.; Butterworth, Jo. Dance Studies: The Basics. London and New York: Routledge, 2012: 74-75.
16 Martha Graham (1894-1991) was a pioneer in establishing lasting techniques different from the classical ballet methods. Dance Studies professor Jo Butterworth describes Graham as having: “pioneered many of the teaching methods now considered the norm in modern dance education: the use of both parallel and turnout, contraction and release, floor work, spirals, fall and recovery.”45 Graham’s modern dance methods differ from the classical ballet style in many ways, like expressiveness, the usage of gravity and dance clothing. While in classical ballet the dancer is not to show facial expressions, the modern dancer is encouraged to be expressive, in the face as much as in the rest of the body. Art critic Eric Bently refers to the newly- appreciated focus on the face as realism, as opposed to anti-realism or formalism as found in classical ballet.46 This realism is also apparent in the usage of gravity; where classical ballet dancers should appear to almost fly (consider point shoes and high jumps), floor work is one of the core aspects of modern dance. Influential modern dancer Isadora Duncan (1877-1927) explains her aversion to classical ballet by stating:
The school of the ballet today, vainly striving against the natural laws of gravitation or the natural will of the individual, and working in discord in its form and movement with the form and movement of nature, produces a sterile movement which gives no birth to future movements, but dies as it is made.47
According to Duncan, in order to find the beginning of dance, one has to go to nature to remove oneself from restrictions to be able to move in harmony. 48 She then explains:
So it has been with civilized man. The movements of the savage, who lived in freedom in constant touch with Nature, were unrestricted, natural and beautiful. Only the movements of the naked body can be perfectly natural. Man, arrived at the end of civilization, will have to return to nakedness, not to the unconscious nakedness of the savage, but to the conscious and
45 Butterworth, Jo. Dance Studies: The Basics. London and New York: Routledge, 2012: 87. 46 Bentley, Eric. “Martha Graham’s Journey.” in What is Dance?, eds: Roger Copeland and Marshall Cohen. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983: 200-201. 47 Duncan, Isadora “The Dance of the Future.” in What is Dance?, eds. Roger Copeland and Marshall Cohen. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983: 263. 48 Ibid.: 262.
17 acknowledged nakedness of the mature Man, whose body will be the harmonious expression of his spiritual being.49
Deriving from the quote above, modern dance was on a quest to reach the most ‘natural’ way to dance. There was a belief that the lives of ‘civilized’ people had become too artificial and that dance was a way to get into direct contact with life. Dance was, as it happens, thought to be more primitive than media like literature or opera.50 Modern dance’s longing to go ‘back to nature’ resulted in dance pieces based on exoticism. Examples are Graham’s pieces such as Two Primitive Canticles, Primitive Mysteries, and Ceremonials. These dance pieces supposedly express “the need to reaffirm rituals in human lives”51. Spirituality played an essential role for Martha Graham to create dances. In her notebook she wrote: “That driving force of God that plunges through me, is what I live for.”52 Graham’s partner and pianist, Louis Horst, introduced her to other modern artists who were also inspired by non-Eurogenic societies, such as Wassily Kandinsky. As a member of the artistic group Der Blaue Reiter, Kandinsky was highly interested in art from New Caledonia and Malaysia for example.53 When Graham saw these exoticist, modern paintings, she stated: “I almost died from sheer excitement.”54 In the second half of the 20th century, a new dance approach emerged again in the USA, in which dancer Merce Cunningham (1919-2009) played an essential role. Although Cunningham started dancing in Graham’s company, his style actually differed very much from the style of Graham’s methods. Instead of focussing on strength and gravity, Cunningham based his style on agility and speed. While working in Graham’s company, he took additional ballet lessons at Balanchine’s School of American Ballet. He then started to mix modern dance and classical
49 Duncan, Isadora “The Dance of the Future.” in What is Dance?, eds. Roger Copeland and Marshall Cohen. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983: 263. 50 Bentley, Eric. “Martha Graham’s Journey.” in What is Dance?, eds. Roger Copeland and Marshall Cohen. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983: 198. 51 Butterworth, Jo. Dance Studies: The Basics. London and New York: Routledge, 2012: 87. 52 Martha Graham, in: Martha Graham, videorecording, published 20-03-2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH5fjgrXlzs. 53 Van der Grijp, Paul. Art and Exoticism: An Anthropology of the Yearning for Authenticity. Vol. 5. LIT Verlag Münster, 2009, 152. 54 Martha Graham, in: Martha Graham, videorecording, published 20-03-2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH5fjgrXlzs.
18 ballet.55 While this style is often appointed as contemporary dance, the lines between the different dance genres deriving from Europe and the USA roughly during the 20th century are blurred. To what extent should a style incorporate both classical and modern techniques to be considered contemporary? The conceptualisation of contemporary dance is problematic, as there is no strict technique solely dedicated to contemporary dance. However, the second half of the 20th century did bring about striking new dance methods which are significantly different from modern dance; instead of romanticising about ‘primitivism,’ as referred to in Graham and Duncan’s styles, contemporary dance styles often admit to incorporate dance aspects or (philosophical) ideas from non-Eurogenic cultures such as China.56 Improvisation and random-looking movements – movements that do not align with the music – are also elements that characterise contemporary dance.57 Nevertheless, these elements are all examples of possible aspects of contemporary dance, though not essential aspects. Moreover, finding an exact description of contemporary dance is complicated by the fact that contemporaneity is still occurring today. Therefore we may not be able to fully comprehend what is happening here as this style is still under development. In online Art platform Artsy, choreographer and dance theorist Moriah Evans is quoted to call the genre “a functional catchall” when one is working on dance in the current moment. 58 This alludes to an ‘anything goes’ attitude, in which contemporary dance is an assemblage of many different dance styles put together. Rather than an established set of techniques, contemporary dance may also be the term for an attitude towards dance. Though assembled by various techniques, as the above indicates its direct derivation from ‘European’ theatre dances, such as classical ballet and modern dance, indicates a link between contemporary dance and the ‘high’ arts. Established renowned avant-garde musicians and artists, such as John Cage – who worked with Cunningham, associate themselves with contemporary
55 Butterworth, Jo. Dance Studies: The Basics. London and New York: Routledge, 2012: 89-90. 56 Ibid.: 89. 57 Ibid.: 92. 58 Moriah Evans in: Natalie Cenci, “A Guide to Interpreting Contemporary Dance,” accessed 12-04- 2018, https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-guide-interpreting-contemporary-dance.
19 dance.59 The fact that contemporary dance performances often occur in prominent theatres, means that its audiences mainly consist of people able to afford the expensive tickets imposed in theatres as such.
1.2.2 – Bangarra’s dance
Concluding from the above, it is clear why Bangarra describes its dance as contemporary style-wise. The performers dance barefoot while bending their knees, and explicitly use the torso as the main source of strength. At the same time, these modern dance aspects alternate with quick dance steps, using velocity and agility. The combination of using strength as well as lightness clearly alludes to a contemporary dance style. This style references steps not deriving from classical ballet or modern dance, but steps that are also present in particular dances aforementioned, by Yolngu populations for example. The 2011 production Belong shows a group of dancers simultaneously stamping one foot on the ground a few times. This same dance step is shown in dances in the Makarata event in Milingimbi, land of the Yolngu people. Clearly incorporating aspects from non-Eurogenic dances is, as mentioned in section 1.2.1, another indicator of the contemporary dance style. But what does appointing the name of a genre mean for the Bangarra Company? First of all, the company promotes with its “professionally trained dancers.”60 The company’s ‘professionalism’ indicates modernity, related to Latour’s notion of institutionalism and the ‘Moderns’ described in chapter two. Professionalism, therefore, is highly related to contemporary dance, as most Bangarra dancers have obtained contemporary dance skills in ‘professional’ dance institutions, such as QUT (Queensland University of Technology). 61 Moreover, according to dance theorist André Lepecki, contemporary dance has gained more and more attention from the art world since the second half of the 20th century.62 He claims,
59 Tomkins, Calvin. The Bride and the Bachelor: Five Masters of the Avant-Garde. London: Penguin Books, 1968: 269. 60 Bangarra, “Our company,” accessed 13-01-2019, https://www.bangarra.com.au/about/company. 61 Luke Currie-Richardson, interview, Melbourne Arts Centre, 08-09-2018. 62 Lepecki, André, ed. “Introduction. Dance as a Practice of Contemporaneity.” Dance: Documents of Contemporary Art. London: Whitechapel Gallery, 2012: 14.
20 that this has something to do with the idea that contemporary dance is a re- affirmation of itself. Lepecki explains:
We could even venture, somewhat ironically (citing the title of a piece by the German/British artist Tino Sehgal, whose relationship to dance and choreography is quite direct), that the inclusion of dance in an artistic project today (whether an object, exhibition or performance) is that necessary gesture which allows it to affirm about itself: This is so contemporary!63
Bangarra’s eagerness to express itself through contemporary style makes sense when bearing the quote above in mind. Bangarra being an Indigenous company, it may be expected to perceive its productions in terms of Indigeneity, by having stereotyped and romanticised ideas about Indigenous peoples. As described in the introduction, generalising about Indigenous peoples is misguiding and excludes people living according to lifestyles deviant from stereotypical expectations. Contemporary dance however, pretends to be ‘no one’s’ dance style, or better, claims to be ‘everyone’s’ dance style, as explained in section 1.2.1. This style moves the focus from Indigeneity solely, towards modernity. This allows Bangarra to make the shows accessible to a global audience, and in particular, an audience that feels attracted to a Euro/North- American dance style, as chapter three reflects on more intensively.64 Moreover, the choice for this dance style may be perceived as a way of re- appropriating the genre, as it is not necessarily associated with Indigenous cultures. Modern dance distinguishes itself from classical ballet by a shift from formalism to realism by creating a style inspired by non-Eurogenic peoples. Contemporary Dance is a direct derivation of these styles and is therefore highly exoticist. This brings the question to the surface: “To what extent is contemporary dance a ‘Western’ cultural expression?” Bangarra’s formula of contemporary Indigenous dance shows that it is not necessarily ‘Western’ either; by ‘taking back’ a genre that is supposedly based upon ‘non-civilized’ peoples.
63 Lepecki, André, ed. “Introduction. Dance as a Practice of Contemporaneity.” Dance: Documents of Contemporary Art. London: Whitechapel Gallery, 2012: 15. 64 Corn, A. “Sound Exchanges: An Ethnomusicologist's Approach to Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning in Collaboration with a Remote Indigenous Australian Community.” The World of Music (2009): 29.
21 1.3 – Representing Indigeneity
Bangarra’s productions use the genre of contemporary dance to express themselves. This means that contemporary dance is used in order to perform certain stories, certain events and certain identities. The usage of contemporary dancing makes this phenomenon particularly interesting, because it breaks with the general conception of Indigeneity by performing in a style that has not been associated with Indigenous cultures per se. However, while on the one hand performing Indigeneity through contemporary dance is a form of de-romanticising, it demands stereotyping on the other so the audience can understand what is represented. Not only is this the case for Bangarra’s dance, but for its promotion material as well. This section delves into the concept of performativity and explains its implications; first with reference to three different scenes from several shows produced by the Bangarra company and furthermore, by analysing promotion material. These scenes and the promotion materials will serve as case studies.
1.3.1 Bangarra’s performances
Bangarra’s shows alternate between various stories of various Indigenous communities. Some shows, such as Corroboree, premiered in 2001, are based on narratives deriving from pre-colonial times. Other shows, such as Belong, premiered in 2011, are based on stories deriving from today’s Australian neo-colonial time. Though some shows are based on pre-colonial narratives, the contemporary dancing avoids the appropriation of an ‘authentic’ way of performing. On the other hand, as the below- described analyses will indicate, both pre-colonial and neo-colonial inspired shows may induce mystification of Indigenous Australian cultures. Summaries of shows use descriptions like “mood of the winds” 65 which indicates ‘mysterious’ and elusive phenomena. These phenomena are also performed through dance. The analyses that
65 Bangarra, “Belong,” accessed 13-01-2019, https://www.bangarra.com.au/whatson/productions/belong.
22 follow will indicate such tensions and problems by performing Indigeneity using contemporary dance. Performing does not just cover the art of dance. To speak about performance, I will include various (artistic) notions. Musicologist Christopher Small speaks about performing as a way of enacting a ritual. Aspects of this enactment include: “the making, the wearing, the exhibiting, the dancing, [and] the musicking.”66 These are the aspects I will focus on in the following analysis of the three scenes. Before delving into the analyses, a few remarks apply to all three scenes: The music in the scenes is electronically composed, using synthesisers and digital samples. Bangarra’s shows do, predominantly, exclude live music. The information described on the following pages is through personal observations of video recordings. My choice for analysing video recordings instead of live performances is based on the idea that video recordings could be analysed more accurately as there is the option of watching the videos several times. Moreover, footnotes include the links of the online videos, therefore, the reader may watch the videos too. The analyses illustrate an idea of what Bangarra performances entail and indicate the implications that come along with those. These descriptions illustrate examples of productions that both function as actors, and in which other actors, described in chapter two, take part.
Brolga – Corroboree (2001) The first scene I focus on is a part of the 2001 production Corroboree. Corroboree is inspired by stories of the earlier mentioned Yolngu people of Arnhem Land. The Bangarra website explains: “Corroboree explores the transformation of the human spirit, the relationship between Aboriginal people, creatures and the land, and what it is that unifies us as human beings.”67 Corroboree consists of three sections: Brolga (a bird living on the swamps of Arnhem Land), Roo (short for kangaroo), and Turtle. Brolga bases its story on an Indigenous system in which everybody receives a designated totem, depending on the specific clan a person belongs to. The Brolga is one of the many Indigenous totems around. The scene in this particular dance shows
66 Small, Christopher. “Musicking — the Meanings of Performing and Listening. A lecture” Music Education Research Vol. 1, No. 1 (1999): 16. 67 Bangarra, “Telling the Stories: Corroboree (2001),” accessed 08-04-2018, https://www.bangarra.com.au/youth-outreach/education/resources/brolga/telling-stories.
23 “the concepts of ceremony, connection and transformation between a human spirit and the spirit of a creature.”68 In this scene, one female dancer enters the stage. She dances to ambient music played by predominantly electronic strings. This is accompanied by samples of bird- and wind sounds. The electronic quality of the music alludes to modernity, which, therefore, is very much aligned with the contemporary dance style of the dancer. Meanwhile, an echoing female voice sings in Yolngu Matha.69 The Yolngu Matha is an apparent sign of Indigeneity in the performance. A pulsing clapping sound repeats itself throughout the scene. The imitation of acoustically-produced sounds alludes to traditionality., as opposed to ‘electronic-ness.’ The scene clearly refers to a remote landscape - far from urban areas - induced by the echoing sounds of the voice, the sounds of the wind and the emptiness of the stage. This setting could be expected from an Indigenous story given the stereotypical concept of a strong bind between Indigenous peoples and the land. After approximately a minute-and-a-half, didjeridus begin playing, whilst at the same time five more female dancers appear on the stage. Whilst the first dancer is dancing upright, appearing to ‘walk around,’ the other five dancers are holding both arms behind their backs, pretending to have wings. After a while the first dancer begins to mimic the ‘birds’ by dancing the same steps. Meanwhile an image of one of the dancers is projected behind the performers on stage. Again, the inclusion of technology illustrates modernity. Then another eight dancers enter the stage. Seven of them also have the appearance of a Brolga, while the eighth performer looks distinctively different. The Brolgas wear long, white dresses with feather ornaments, while eighth dancer wears a long, dark brown dress, her long hair down and she is wearing a dress. Instead of moving bird-like, she walks around as humans do. She is clearly performing as an Indigenous woman who watches over the birds.
68 Bangarra, “Brolga (an excerpt from Corroboree),” accessed 08-04-2018, https://www.bangarra.com.au/youth-outreach/education/resources/brolga/excerpt. 69 Yolngu Matha is the language spoken by the Yolngu people.
24 Nursery – Mathinna (2008) Mathinna is a story about an Aboriginal girl from the southwest of Tasmania, born in 1835. She was taken away from her family and brought into the home of a European upper class family. When the family had to go back to England, Mathinna was sent to an Orphan School in Hobart, only to be sent back to her ‘original’ culture a few years later. Here, she was not accepted because of her ‘white’ manners. Mathinna became lonely and died at the age of 21.70 Xylophone sounds construct the melody at the start of the scene Nursery. The ambiance reflects stereotypical aspects of ‘white people’s civilization,’ such as a furnished home and the sounds of a piano. Two female dancers are on the stage: one in a red dress, the other dancer in a green one. The skin colours of the dancers differ in an obvious way, which makes a clear distinction between who is performing the role of the Aboriginal girl (the dancer in the red dress) and who is performing the role of the European settler, which is played by dancer in the green dress who twirls around the dancer in red, handing her socks and shoes and dressing her. This clearly shows the power-relation between the adult female settler and the young Aboriginal girl. Around the two dancers, there are several attributes on stage, such as a dresser, a cradle and a piano. When the girl wears the shoes, she walks around uncomfortably looking at her feet, while the female settler begins ‘playing’ the piano. After this, the girl is seated and the female settler hands her a book. When they begin looking through it, a narrating voice appears in the music:
Dear Father I am good little girl. I do love my father. I have got a doll and shift and a petticoat. I read books not birds. My father I thank thee for sleep. Come her to se mee my father. I thank thee for food. I have got sore feet and shoes and stockings and I am very glad….71
After the ‘reading’ the female settler gives Mathinna a doll and directs her to go to bed. The scene ends when the girl steps into the cradle.
70 Bangarra, “Telling the Story: Mathinna (2008),” accessed 10-04-2018, https://www.bangarra.com.au/youth-outreach/education/resources/mathinna/telling-story. 71 This is a section from a letter in a fictional book by Richard Flanagan, based on Mathinna’s story.; Flanagan, Richard. Wanting. North Sydney: Random House Australia, 2008: 221.
25 While the female settler seems to feel perfectly comfortable at home – playing the piano and moving gracefully – the Indigenous girl walks around looking at her shoes, clearly not being in the ‘flow’ of the dance anymore. This disruption of the flow of the dance is important to reflect upon, as Lepecki claims the dance’s identity to be a state of ‘being-in-flow.’ A disruption of this flow performs a “betrayal of the bind between dance and movement.”72 However, as Butterworth describes in section 1.2.1, contemporary dance practices often thrive on such disruptions; The inclusion of such stilling movements in “contemporary choreography threatens dance’s own futurity”73, according to Lepecki. Apparently, such stilling movements are necessary in order to tell a story that, according to Bangarra, needs to be told. A dancer stilling a flowing movement alerts the audience to an uncomfortable situation; in this case the situation of an Aboriginal girl trying to position herself in an upper class English family. Clothing is another aspect that takes part in performing certain identities. As alluded above, the clothes play an important role in the establishment of who plays the European – performing an apparent ease – and who plays the Aboriginal girl – by performing displacement.
About – Belong (2011) About is a work that focuses on cultural practices by the Torres Strait Islander peoples. The traditional ways of life on the Torres Strait Islands are still present; such as fishing, sailing and star navigation, along with new economic and the technical developments European settlement introduced. 74 This is also the case for dance. Bangarra dancer and co-choreographer Yolande Brown explains how in the Torres Strait Islands, representation of what is seen, and sharing that, is a common practice. Torres Strait Islander peoples have a very ‘strict’ way of dancing, which most likely derives from the army. Dances often begin steps with the left foot for example, just like in the army.75 Bangarra describes:
72 Lepecki, André. Exhausting Dance: Performance and the Politics of Movement. New York and London: Routledge, 2006: 1. 73 Ibid. 74 Dudgeon, Pat, et al. "The Social, Cultural and Historical Context of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians." Working Together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health and Wellbeing Principles and Practice (2010): 27-29. 75 Yolande Brown, guest lecture, University of New South Wales, Sydney, 12-09-2018.
26 About expresses the choreographer’s personal cultural connection and continuing curiosity about the four winds (Gub) of the Torres Strait Islands. While the conventional western calendar of seasons (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter) are broadly determined by dates, the rise and fall of temperature and the noticeable changes to the landscape, it is the winds of the Torres Strait that are the seasonal forecasters for the people who live in this region. The behaviours of these winds guide the people in their daily lives, and the spirits of these winds inform the essential elements of their cultural life.76
The scene I discuss here is called Sager, which is also the name of the most turbulent wind of the four winds. At the start of this scene, orchestral strings play long, high- pitched tones, which transform into a slowly changing chord progression, insinuating ‘Western classical music.’ There is no beat or pulse. The music has, once more, an ambient quality – as a result of the absence of a beat and the long sustained string strikes – referring to modernity. At the same time, the orchestral texture strongly refers to ‘Whiteness,’ as the chord progression played by the strings refer to ‘Western classical music.’ Simultaneously, a deep, female voice in the background sighs deeply and echoes throughout the music. It sounds like a ‘voice from above,’ or an all- knowing voice, and may therefore illustrate the voice of an Elder, which highly alludes to Indigeneity. A male and a female dancer enter the stage, walking across it very slowly, as if something ominous may occur. White smoke appears and the male dancer leaves the stage. The slow movements and the white smoke refer to before- mentioned ‘mysteriousness’ about Indigeneity. This may result in mystification of Indigenous cultures in Australia. Eleven other dancers arrive on stage, doing jetés and pirouettes in two lines, while the first female dancer is not actively involved in the dance steps and keeps standing in the middle of the platform, in between the two lines of dancers. One part of the group of dancers runs off and on the stage, holding their arms in a diagonal line, which is reminiscent of a spear. The other dancers hold their knees bent together while making digging movements with their arms. In these few seconds of dancing, allusions to Indigeneity, through digging movements, and contemporaneity, through jetés, appear simultaneously.
76 Bangarra, “Exploring About (2011),” accessed 09-04-2018, https://www.bangarra.com.au/youth- outreach/education/resources/about/exploring-about.
27 All dancers appear on stage again to dance the same steps together, dancing steps that range from pirouettes with point toes to high jumps and digging gestures. All movements are in the ‘flow’ of the dance. This intricate mixture of traditional Indigenous dance movements and dance steps alluding to ‘European-ness,’ such as pirouettes, may refer to the practices described earlier of Torres Strait Islanders adopting elements from the settler culture. Though, it may simultaneously refer to Bangarra’s aim to undermine the binary between Indigeneity and contemporaneity. The female dancers wear semi-transparent light brown dresses; the male dancers wear brown and orange cloths wrapped around their waists. The performer standing in the middle of the stage wears a white dress, to represent dust and sand, as explained on the Bangarra website. Meanwhile, visuals of tree branches depicted in dotted and striped style are projected behind the dancers. This, together with smoke appearing on stage, clearly refers to a landscape. See image 1. Clothes represent animals and natural phenomena, like the wind, in terms of ornaments and earth-toned colours. This is the case not only for the dancers performing non-human entities, but for the dancers performing Indigenous peoples as well, referring to intimate Indigenous knowledge of, and alliance with, their land. Here, I wonder to what extent this is a practice of dehumanisation of Indigenous peoples. The clothes represent a binary between the human and the non-human. In the earlier described nursery scene, the intensively-coloured red and green dresses make an immediate reference to human ‘civilisation.’ However, Sager does not make a clear distinction between humans or non-human entities represented, in which the humans represented are Indigenous peoples. This indicates a strong difference between the depicted Indigenous people and the non-Indigenous people in Bangarra’s performances, which sustains the differentiation between ‘the Westerners’ and ‘the Others.’ As explained earlier, Smith argues for the imperialistic practice of dehumanising Indigenous peoples. Anti-colonial discourse, now, is (re)claiming humanity. Smith explains:
The focus on asserting humanity has to be seen within the anti-colonial analysis of imperialism and what were seen as imperialism’s dehumanizing
28 imperatives, which were structured into the language, economy, social relations and cultural life of colonial societies.77
Bangarra’s position is dubious in this discussion, as there seems to be an inherent tension within Bangarra itself as becomes apparent through this analysis. The company seems to be based on anti-colonialism, and simultaneously uses imperialistic ways to represent peoples. As Smith explains, phenomena such as language may contain dehumanising imperatives. The language, but more importantly, the performances deployed by Bangarra may do the same. Though, deploying imperialistic ‘language use’ by depicting certain peoples in certain ways may be necessary for the company’s aims, as chapter three will explain.
Image 1. Screenshot of the scene ‘Sager’ as part of the show ‘About’. From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyUEM2zZkP8.
The music in the performances plays an unmistakable part when it comes to performing identities. In general, Bangarra’s music tends to sound ambient with constructing the conditions of the scene, such as locations or cultures, as an essential task. The moments of the sounds of didjeridus arising or when voices singing in Indigenous languages appear, it is immediately recognisable: ‘This is Indigenous.’
77 Smith, Linda Tuhiwai. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. London and New York: Zed Books Ltd., 2013: 68.
29 And this is not all; acoustic sound references, such as hand-clapping and sounds of the wind refer to Indigeneity, as opposed to the electronically-simulated sounds of European instruments, such as violins or the piano. Apparently, stereotyping features of Indigenous cultures are necessary, even in a contemporary setting, to make sure the audience understands what the story is about. Chapter three expands on this further. Dunbar-Hall and Gibson state:
As with Aboriginal references to land, through which a continuum of ownership is expressed, music is used to sing the past into the present and the future. That some musical expressions from the past resurface in contemporary forms is partly an embodiment of this, and in this way music acts as a vehicle for statement of Aboriginal beliefs and ideologies.78
Dunbar-Hall and Gibson’s statement relates to the earlier discussed musical references to landscapes, nature and animals. There is a close relation between stereotyping and musical expressions from the past, as it is the continuum of these expressions that makes them typical. Just because specific expressions, such as the “icon of Aboriginality”79, the didjeridu, has been around for thousands of years, does not mean that these cannot be contemporary expressions either.80 What is at stake here is not Bangarra’s choice to ‘repackage’ Indigenous stories in a contemporary, seemingly Eurogenic style. It is not about how the content of the performances show rejections of Eurogenic ways, while at the same time adopting a seemingly Eurogenic dance genre. Instead, it is the audience, including myself, that is caught between the tension of the ‘traditional’ and the ‘contemporary.’ No matter how many stylistic aspects perform Indigeneity, Bangarra’s performances force the audience to perceive Indigeneity in terms of contemporaneity.
78 Dunbar-Hall, Peter and Chris Gibson. Deadly Sounds, Deadly Places: Contemporary Aboriginal Music in Australia. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press, 2004: 17. 79 Magowan, Fiona. "Playing with Meaning: Perspectives on Culture, Commodification and Contestation around the Didjeridu." Yearbook for Traditional Music Vol. 37 (2005): 80. 80 Moyle, Alice M. "The Australian Didjeridu: A Late Musical Intrusion." World Archaeology Vol. 12, No. 3 (1981): 325.
30 1.3.2 – Bangarra’s promotion
Media Bangarra uses for promotion are new media forms such as the website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube. Besides new media, Bangarra also uses posters and advertisements in newspapers, through which the company strongly promotes itself as an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisation. I will analyse two images used on websites, social media and as posters, which the company created to promote its next show, Dark Emu. The promotional material of Bangarra is a significant actor in Bangarra’s network of agents, as it functions as communication from the institution that is Bangarra, to its audiences. Like the dance scenes described above, the analysis of promotional materials, too, will show how Bangarra stresses its Indigeneity, as well as its contemporaneity, and the connotations that come with these terms. Images 2.1 and 2.2 serve to analyse the style of promotion.
Image 2.1- Promotion material for Dark Emu. From: www.sydneyoperahouse.com.
Image 2.2 – Promotion material for Dark Emu. From: www.canberratheatrecentre.com.au.
31 The Dark Emu production advertises with many more images. However, the more distinguished theatres used the two pictures above and they are therefore the most iconic ones (for instance, the Sydney Opera House uses image 2.1, and the Canberra Theatre Centre promotes with image 2.2). The images’ plain backgrounds focus the attention toward the dancers. The intricate postures of the dancers refer to a dance performance, instead of, for example, a spoken theatre show. The emphasis on dance is also supported by the patent visibility of the dancers’ muscles, stressing the physical complexity of the dances and the high level of athleticism of the performers. The clothing and bare feet refer to a modern/contemporary dance style, for which the ability to move comfortably overrides the importance of aesthetical values. The dancers photographed are Yolanda Lowatta and Daniel Riley. Daniel Riley is also cooperatively responsible for the choreography of Dark Emu as explained on the Bangarra website.81 Although the backgrounds of the posters do not seem to contain much information, there are references to significant phenomena such as astronomy. This is important for several Aboriginal communities; the positions of the stars, for example, are crucial to know the right times for harvesting certain foods.82 One constellation particularly associated with Aboriginal culture is the ‘Emu in the Sky,’ which functions as background in image 2.1. ‘Emu in the sky’ is a constellation of gas, which is visible as it is darker in comparison to the luminous Milky Way in its background. This ‘cloud of gas’, also called ‘dark nebulae,’ is what the name Dark Emu refers to and explains the dark background of both image 2.1 and image 2.2. The show Dark Emu is inspired by the book Dark Emu. Black seeds: agriculture of accident? written by Bruce Pascoe, a descendant of the Bunurong clan in the state of Victoria. Pascoe’s book shows evidence suggesting that Aboriginal people across Australia were not hunter-gatherers, as is proclaimed in many colonial literary sources. Instead, Pascoe claims, “[t]he evidence insists that Aboriginal people right across the continent were using domesticated plants, sowing[,] harvesting, irrigating
81 Bangarra, “Dark Emu,” accessed 03-05-2018, https://www.bangarra.com.au/whatson/productions/darkemu-2018. 82 Norris, Ray P., and Cilla M. Norris. Emu Dreaming: An Introduction to Australian Aboriginal Astronomy. Sydney: Emu Dreaming, 2009.
32 and storing- behaviours which is inconsistent with the hunter-gather tag.”83 As well as a re-telling of Aboriginal history, Dark Emu also tries to counter claims that have rationalised and legitimised the taking over of Aboriginal land by colonisers. The aesthetic composition and colour usage of the promotion materials alludes to contemporaneity, due to its plain and neutral, black background. The style is impersonal, which means it could be located anywhere and is not bound to a specific location or people, rather, it alludes to something global. This type of promotion is an accurate reflection of what Bangarra stands for, as it shows its contemporary form of expression throughout all aspects of the company. Yet, the posters are ‘humanised’ because of the incorporation of images of the dancers and the subtle reference to the ‘Emu in the Sky,’ which’ meaning is only recognisable for Indigenous peoples or those interested in Indigenous cultural articulations.
83 Bruce Pascoe, “Non-fiction,” accessed 03-05-2018, http://brucepascoe.com.au/non-fiction/. See also: Pascoe, Bruce. Dark Emu Black Seeds: Agriculture Or Accident?. Broome: Magabala Books, 2014.
33 2 - REASSEMBLING BANGARRA: THE INSTITUTION AS AND WITHIN A NETWORK
This chapter examines the institutional processes that underlie the operations of the Bangarra Dance Theatre Company, such as the performances described in chapter one. This will provide a closer understanding of why Bangarra operates the way it does. Academic literature on contemporary Indigenous Australian performances hardly focuses on the role of institutions, whereas I believe that research into the organisation of Indigenous performance practices has the potential to shed new light on the emergence and sustenance of these performance practices. As this chapter will discuss, Bangarra has visions and an institutional dimension contributing to these visions. As mentioned in the introduction, Bruno Latour refers to institutions as a useful starting point when researching "the Moderns".84 Bangarra as institution puts Indigenous peoples ‘on the map’ of Sydney, as part of the city's network of cultural organisations. Bangarra is, therefore, an institution of “Moderns” for “Moderns” (according to Latour, “Moderns” are “citydwellers”85) and challenges patronising views on Indigeneity. This, in turn, has consequences for notions such as ‘traditional,’ which is highly ingrained in locality, and ‘contemporary,’ which is associated with globalism. The connotations of those terms in relation to institutionalisation of Indigenous cultural organisations are what I aim to further explore in the following chapter, by focussing on the institutional dimension of Bangarra in particular. Concerning Indigenous performance practices in Australia, Dunbar-Hall and Gibson explain:
In the live music context, for example at festivals, divisions between ‘traditional’ and ‘contemporary’ music are not necessarily apparent or important, and music from the past and the present often coexist, occurring simultaneously within the same line-up, or within individual songs.86
84 Latour, Bruno. An Inquiry into Modes of Existence: An Anthropology of the Moderns. London: Harvard University Press, 2013: 28. 85 Ibid.: 22. 86 Dunbar-Hall, Peter and Chris Gibson. Deadly Sounds, Deadly Places: Contemporary Aboriginal Music in Australia. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press, 2004: 16.
34 Dunbar-Hall and Gibson rightly claim that applying Eurogenic concepts, such as ‘contemporary,’ to non-Eurogenic expressions are likely damaging. The authors do use the term ‘contemporary,’ but refrain themselves from the idea of a broken continuity of Indigenous music traditions between “the pre-colonial past and that of the present.”87 Of course, it is often impossible or irrelevant to draw a clear line between the ‘traditional’ and the ‘contemporary.’ In the case of Bangarra, however, I find the relation between contemporary and traditional (a connection simultaneously tense and smoothly-flowing) cultural articulations of high importance. This chapter explains, with regard to choreographer Stephen Page’s background for example, that ignoring the conscious decisions behind the choices for genres, types, styles, and so on, distracts research from discussing motives and thoughts behind specific projects. Colonialism has had and still does have, an extensive impact on Indigenous Australian cultural expressions, and many Indigenous peoples react to colonialism through these artistic expressions, of which Bangarra is a prime example. Dunbar-Hall and Gibson’s approach might turn its back to romanticising tendencies, as resisting a difference between pre-colonial and present-day cultural articulations avoids issues such as a quest for ‘authenticity.’ However, it also misses out on opportunities to focus on cultural expressions more cohesively. The institutional dimension of Bangarra is a significant part of not only what Bangarra does, but also a part of what it stands for and what this means in terms of ideals and goals. Not only the content of the shows but the institution and its accessory actors too, are determinative when it comes to the messages the company spreads. Promoting itself as contemporary and at the same time referring to Indigeneity means Bangarra still finds a need to refer to its ‘Otherness.’ Chapter one has shown how this manifests in performance through stereotyping for example. Chapter two shows how the referencing to ‘Otherness’ relates to Bangarra as an institution. As explained in the introduction, chapter two discusses the above- mentioned issues regarding Latour and in particular ‘Actor-Network-Theory'. 88 Latour debates the role of institutions, which are at the base of the current world we
87 Dunbar-Hall, Peter and Chris Gibson. Deadly Sounds, Deadly Places: Contemporary Aboriginal Music in Australia. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press, 2004: 16. 88 Also referred to as ANT.
35 live in “that has been forced to move into “The Economy[.]”89 I aim to find passages in the institution, the Bangarra Company, that, together, make up the network constituting Bangarra. 90 It is important to note that just revealing a network of connections is not enough. ANT emphasises the action(s) that proceed from this connection: the actors are actors because they act. Latour states:
It all depends on the sort of action that is flowing from one to the other, hence the words ‘net’ and ‘work’. Really, we should say ‘work-net’ instead of ‘network’. It’s the work, and the movement, and the flow, and the changes that should be stressed.91
By discussing the network of Bangarra, my aim is to examine the several agents that contribute to Bangarra’s projects and how these enable the company’s contemporary expressions. ANT is particularly useful as it enables the inclusion of non-human actors in a social discussion. Latour claims that whenever people associate themselves with objects, the objects “cease to be objects and (…) join the world of people.”92 This does not allow the objects to have agency, but are interpreted as merely “participants in the course of action waiting to be given a figuration.”93 However, as seen in the analyses in the previous chapter, non-human actors are significant components of the messages that Bangarra distributes. Features such as clothing, décor, and ephemeral actors such as the enacted story, are phenomena that take part in “chains of associations”94 . It is the associations – the above-mentioned actions – that point towards Indigeneity and contemporaneity and the complexities that come with that, in Bangarra’s operations. As chapter one of this thesis has shown, ‘performance’ refers to the dance, the music, the visuals on stage, which are the aspects referred to by Small as ‘musicking’ on page 23. It is worthwhile to mention that what I refer to as ‘performance’ consists
89 Latour, Bruno. An Inquiry into Modes of Existence: An Anthropology of the Moderns. London: Harvard University Press, 2013: 23. 90 Ibid.: 33. 91 Latour, Bruno. Reassembling the Social: An Introduction to Actor-Network-Theory. Oxford University Press, 2005: 143. 92 Latour, Bruno. “The Berlin Key or How to Do Words with Things.” Matter, Materiality and Modern Culture. Paul M. Graves-Brown, ed. New York: Routledge, 2000: 11. 93 Latour, Bruno. Reassembling the Social: An Introduction to Actor-Network-Theory. Oxford University Press, 2005: 71. 94 Latour, Bruno. “The Berlin Key or How to Do Words with Things.” Matter, Materiality and Modern Culture. Paul M. Graves-Brown, ed. New York: Routledge, 2000: 11.
36 of several (ephemeral) agents, as they all contribute to Bangarra’s operations as a whole. ‘Performance’ is by no means meant as one undivided agent. Art philosopher George Dickie refers to ‘content’ when discussing ‘that what is depicted’ in paintings.95 Following Dickie, but concerning dance theatre, for readability of this thesis I choose to conceptualise ‘that what happens on stage during a Bangarra show’ as ‘performance.’ That what is enacted, however, the story, I refer to as content. This chapter, however, focuses on the multitude of agents, which together constitute Bangarra. This does not mean that the performance aspects which enact the story are no agents; on the contrary: the performance aspects are the most apparent agents in the creative processes of Bangarra. These aspects are the things enabling an audience to experience a show. However, just because some agents are on the forefront does not mean that they are the most important and that they carry out most of the work. I have discussed the performances in chapter one, as this is the end product of what it is the institution works towards. Knowing what the performances entail enables to see what the actors, described in chapter two, bring into existence. This chapter, therefore, describes preparatory stages of the performance, and agents operative during those stages, too.
2.1 – Bangarra’s establishment
Carole Johnson (1940) is one of the founders of the Bangarra Company. Johnson, with African-American heritage, grew up in Philadelphia where she learned ballet in a black dance school, as institutions were segregated in the USA at the time. Later, she went to the Juilliard School of Music to study ballet and modern dance, including the Graham techniques, as explained in chapter one.96 In 1972, Johnson arrived in Australia during a transfer on her way to Asia; she became interested in the effects of colonialism in Africa and wanted to see its impact on Asia. During her short time in Australia, she was disappointed when she realised only black companies were keen to
95 Dickie, George. "What is Anti-Art?." The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism Vol. 33, No. 4 (1975): 420. 96 Carole Johnson, interviewed by Lee Christofis, session 2, National Library of Australia, Canberra. Recorded 07/08-02-2011, accessed 10/04/2018, https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-219727559/listen.
37 work with the dance group Johnson was travelling with. Racial segregation was apparent in Australia. Moreover, the touring group, led by Colombian modern dancer Eleo Pomare, was only appointed to theatres that were unsafe for the dancers. When Carole Johnson met Indigenous officer Jenny Isaacs, they organised a performance in Sydney for which a bus full of seats was reserved for Indigenous people to watch the show. Johnson felt that there was a connection between the dance piece and the Aboriginal audience, as she was of the belief they could relate to ‘black dance.’ Johnson’s reference to ‘black dance’ alludes to the problematic categorisation of dance being of and for dark-skinned people. However, her perspective seems to be based on her experience with segregated institutions in the USA. The fact that Bangarra builds upon this foundation makes its operations highly political, as this foundation is about the identification with marginalised and racialised groups of people. In the case of hip-hop for example, Aboriginal rapper Bex states that it makes him proud to see another ‘blackfella’ obtaining a powerful position and, therefore, to follow American hip-hop too.97 Shortly after Johnson and Isaacs’ show, Johnson started a dance workshop in the ‘Sydneyan’ suburb Redfern for Indigenous children called ‘the Dance Club.’ She became actively involved in Aboriginal rights activism. The Dance Club became a movement by people of colour working together, which, again, refers to Johnson’s political stance. Even though institutional racism was palpable, together with ballet and modern dancer Lucy Jumawan (1935), from the Philippines, Johnson worked on ‘ballet-infusion’ dance.98 This indicates a dance style based on the fusion of ballet, a Eurogenic though seemingly global dance style, and anything ‘other’ than that. This sustains the dichotomy between ‘the West’ and ‘the Other.’
97 In: Condie, T. “One-stop Muso.” Koori Mail, (26 March 2003): 36. In: Dunbar-Hall, Peter & Chris Gibson. Deadly Sounds, Deadly Places. Contemporary Aboriginal Music in Australia. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press, 2004: 123. 98 Carole Johnson, interviewed by Lee Christofis, session 1, National Library of Australia, Canberra. Recorded 07/08-02-2011, accessed 10/04/2018, https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-219727559/listen.
38 2.2 – A Page family business: choreographer, dancer and songman
These developments lead to the establishment of the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA) under the direction of Carole Johnson in 1976.99 Here Stephen Page obtained his dance degree in 1983. Two years after Johnson founded the Bangarra Dance Theatre Company in 1989, Stephen Page became her successor as artistic director and choreographer of Bangarra, which he still is today.100 It made more sense for an Indigenous person to lead the company, though he was not brought up according to ‘Indigenous’ ways. His training at NAISDA encouraged Page to ‘reconnect’ with his Indigenous heritage. He was brought up in the ‘urban environment’ of Brisbane and had never felt a close connection to his Indigenous heritage: which is that of the Nunukul people and the Munaldjali clan of the Yugambeh tribe in southeastern Queensland. He was a professional contemporary dancer in the Sydney Dance Company for several years, which Performing Arts theorist Cheryl F. Stock refers to as Page’s “grounding in professional mainstream dance.”101 Stock’s reference to ‘professional mainstream dance’ indicates a striking connection with, what I refer to as ‘contemporary dance’ in chapter one. The fact that Stock refers to contemporary dance as ‘mainstream,’ shows contemporary dance’s invisibleness. Stock clearly normalises contemporary dance, as it does not show ‘Otherness,’ like dance that refers to Indigeneity. It ignores the fact that contemporary dance is firmly grounded in Euro/American dance traditions, which have now become the global norm. Without having close ties to his Indigenous heritage, Page learns about traditional Aboriginal ‘ways’ from Djakapurra Munyarryun, who is a member of the Yolngu people from Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory.102 Page states: “He [Djakapurra Munyarryun] brings the cultural knowledge (…). He helps me rekindle
99 Cardozo, Geraldine. “NAISDA College for Indigenous Performing Artists Celebrates its 40th Anniversary,” The Daily Telegraph, published 13/04/2016, accessed 29/04/2018. https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/central-coast/naisda-college-for-indigenous-performing- artists-celebrates-its-40th-anniversary/news-story/1259b1e908bb4727858c19c2dbf31574. 100 Stock, Cheryl F. “Different Inflections: Intercultural Dance in Australia,” The Korean Journal of Dance, 57 (2008): 289-310. 101 Ibid. 102 ‘Ways’ refers to ‘rom,’ explained in section 1.1.1, page 11.
39 and awaken the spirit of what traditional dance and story is.”103 With Page’s own Eurogenic contemporary and classical ballet background, combined with knowledge passed down from Djakapurra Munyarryun, he intends to generate movements both traditional Indigenous and contemporary, as alluded to earlier.104 The style resulting from this blend of dances is what Bangarra refers to as contemporary Indigenous dance. In a short video-documentary Page describes:
How I see my style is that it’s very grounded-based, in terms of, if you know about traditional Aboriginal dance, everything evolves from the landscape and the environment. So when it’s to deal with the earth, you can’t escape to feel like there is this rock-solid “groundedness”-feel about your physicality. So it’s a really internal feel, which basically helps the focus in the dance. (…) I have certain dynamics in my style. (…) There is this animalistic feel about it as well, mixed-in with all my other contemporary dance knowledge.105
Page’s explanation of his Bangarra choreographies indicates his explicit decision of the incorporation of, as he mentions, both ‘Aboriginal’ dance aspects and contemporary dance. Page, here, follows the constructed binary of the ‘contemporary,’ which is not assigned a culture, and ‘traditional Aboriginal,’ which identifies ‘the Other.’ This shows how Indigenous contemporary dance, that of Bangarra, did not just come about, but is a specific derivation of Eurogenic dance practices – contemporary dance – and the inclusion of what Stephen Page interprets as Aboriginal. This deviates from Dunbar-Hall and Gibson’s earlier mentioned idea of divisions between ‘traditional’ and ‘contemporary’ being unimportant.106 While it is true that these expressions coexist simultaneously in Bangarra’s performances, it very clearly points to a fusion of different dance styles that each has its own connotations and significations. These are brought together to create a new hybrid. Though, this hybrid is founded on exoticism. Besides, there are clear parallels with Stephen Page’s cited description about his dance style and the content of the posters, described in section 1.3.2. His reference to ‘groundedness’ may relate to the dancers’ bare feet and poses bended towards the
103 Stephen Page in: Cassity, Jessica. “Ancient Australia Goes Modern,” Dance Spirit Vol. 6, No. 1 (2002): 24. 104 Burridge, Stephanie. “Dreaming the Future: The Emergence of the Bangarra Dance Theatre,” Australasian Drama Studies Vol. 41 (2002): 79. 105 Mahrer, Michelle, Director. Urban Clan: A Portrait of the Page Brothers and the Bangarra Dance Theatre, videorecording, Ronin Films, 1998. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyUWXM_8WAM. 106 See page 34.
40 ground, for example. Page’s description of the ‘animalistic feel’ is also connected to the comfortable-looking clothing; The irrelevance of aesthetics – a construction of ‘civilisation’ deriving from European Enlightenment – may be interpreted as a conscious disconnect from that of ‘civilisation’. As Smith claims in the introduction, the disqualification from civilisation means the disqualification from humanity altogether. Page’s reference to the ‘animalistic feel,’ combined with the lack of clothing, relates, therefore, directly to Smith’s statement. While often the choreographer is perceived to have authority over the dancers,107 Page instead sees himself as someone who is able to collaborate with a lot of people, such as the Bangarra dancers, who put their own energy into the performance.108 Their agency might be the most obvious of all actors and most visible when dancing in the shows. They are the ones presenting the choreography; the stories are embodied in the dances and introduced to an audience during a performance. However, one should not perceive dancers, as reflected on above, as mere instruments of the choreographer. Instead, these dancers have their influence on the dance pieces too. As Bangarra dancer Luke Currie-Richardson explains:
To use their [the dancers’] movements is the best way to get the best out of the dance. It’s not like ballet where our feet point the same way and our bodies are the same way. Our bodies are all a variety of shapes and sizes.109
Luke’s explanation about the dancers’ individuality relates to modern dancer Isadora Duncan’s claim, discussed in chapter one. Duncan expresses her aversion towards classical ballet, as it ‘vainly strives against the natural will of the individual.’110 Modern dance favours a dancer’s own movements and avoids ‘sterile’ movements. Therefore, Bangarra’s dance steps are carried out in every dancer’s own, unique ways. Luke affirms this when I noticed a scene in Dark Emu in which he made ‘snappy’ and sharp movements on every pulse of the beat. When he reacted pleased and said that that is “good to hear,” I asked if it was meant to be like that. He elaborated:
107 Franko, Mark. “Dance and the Political: States of Exception,” in Dance: Documents of Contemporary Art, ed. André Lepecki. London: Whitechapel Gallery, 2012: 147. 108 Mahrer, Michelle, Director. Urban Clan: A Portrait of the Page Brothers and the Bangarra Dance Theatre, videorecording, Ronin Films, 1998. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyUWXM_8WAM. 109 Luke Currie-Richardson, interview, Melbourne Arts Centre, 08-09-2018. 110 See page 17.
41 Yeah, each night it’s.. I think the good thing about Bangarra is that we have our freedom within the story. So there’s a structure there, but the way you interpret it each night can vary. And that’s the way I like to perform. I grew up like I said, playing sports. I grew up playing rugby league and basketball, and my dance technique I don’t feel like is there. I try not to rely on my dance technique I try to rely on my emotions. I try to rely on the story, I try to rely on everything.111
Here, Luke’s description relates strongly to ideals deriving from modern dance. Besides a dancer’s freedom to give his/her interpretation to dance structures, Luke refers to the focus on his emotions, rather than a strict dance technique. This relates to the encouragement of expressiveness in modern dance, described in chapter one.112 Many of Bangarra’s dancers have a background in Eurogenic dance traditions. Of course, this is one of the reasons the dancers are hired to begin with, but once in, it emphasises the contemporary dance style even more. Not only are the dancers expected to perform dance pieces choreographed by Page, but Page in turn must also create choreographies designed for, and inspired by, the individual dancers. The choreographer-dancer relationship becomes particularly blurred when the dancers take on the role as choreographer, which, for example, is the case for Bangarra dancer and co-choreographer Elma Kris. The scene Sager described in chapter one, section three, is part of the piece About. Elma Kris did the choreography for this piece as she grew up on Thursday Island, which is one of the Torres Strait Islands. The Bangarra website explains:
Living on Thursday Island as a child, Kris admired the way her parents talked about these four winds. She knew at a very young age that the winds played a central role in the daily life of the Islanders. In creating the work About, Kris wanted to explore the way the winds move and shape themselves in magical and mysterious ways, the way they paint the colour of the day and night, and how they orchestrate the conditions of the seas. Kris says, “They are like spirits swiftly passing by and merging with nature. They guide and nurture day-to- day life”. In creating this work Kris was able to journey with the winds and bring them to life through dance.113
In this piece, it becomes clear that Kris had more authoritative agency in comparison to Page, as her experience on Thursday Island would benefit the piece, dedicated to
111 Luke Currie-Richardson, interview, Melbourne Arts Centre, 08-09-2018. 112 See page 17. 113 Bangarra, “Exploring About (2011),” accessed 01-05-2018, https://www.bangarra.com.au/youth- outreach/education/resources/about/exploring-about.
42 the Torres Strait Islands. Deriving from the quote above, Kris translated her experience with the winds into dance. Section 1.3 describes a female dancer who is not in the flow of the dance, as opposed to the rest of the dancers, or the “corps.” This solo dancer is Elma Kris, clearly being the main dancer of the scene, indicating that this piece is personally based on her experiences and cultural knowledge. This is an important strategy, as Kris’ personal connection to the Torres Strait Islands demonstrates the locality of the performance. Although Bangarra identifies as an all-Indigenous Australian company, indicating a performance’s locality is also a form of negating generalisations surrounding Indigeneity in Australia. The theme of About, that is, the wind, strongly connects this dance performance to the Torres Strait Islands. Phenomena from nature, such as the sea and, in this case, the sky and the winds, are dominant themes within First Nations creation stories, as well as in today’s everyday life.114 This manifests in the building of wind breaks and constructing fish traps in the Torres Strait Islands.115 Moreover, as described in section 1.3.1, the use of digging movements refers to Indigeneity. However, jetés refer to contemporaneity. Here, the incorporation of such movements simultaneously connotes both Torres Strait Islander culture, as well as the adoption of what Yolande Brown describes as, “that what is seen,” being elements from the settler culture.116 The quote above emphasises why Kris was the obvious choice for choreographing this piece, as her heritage provided a deep sense of connection to both place and culture on Thursday Island. However, as the defined roles within the institution of Bangarra are set up differently (Page as choreographer, Kris as dancer), it explains the need for clarification of the different roles for this particular work. It also makes one wonder if the actors’ functions are installed for reasons other than their creative qualities. Would it have to do with the fact that Bangarra ‘belongs’ to the Page family, for example?
114 Art Gallery NSW, “An Introduction to the People, Culture and History.” Accessed 10-01-2019, https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/artsets/hav5uo. 115 McNamara, Karen Elizabeth, and Ross Westoby. "Local Knowledge and Climate Change Adaptation on Erub Island, Torres Strait." Local Environment Vol. 16, No. 9 (2011): 891. 116 See page 26.
43 Needless to say, the dancers, as well as the choreographers, have to work in close relation with the composer, or rather: with the music. Interestingly, Bangarra does not draw much attention to the musical side of the productions. There is no information about a composer or collaborating musicians on the Bangarra website, nor on their Social Media pages. Dance seems to play the central role in the company. But of course, there is no Bangarra dance theatre performance without music. It seems like former composer or ‘songman’, as referred to the music-maker in many Indigenous cultures, David Page (1961-2016) shaped Bangarra’s musical language. David Page, who was Stephen Page’s older brother, had the same upbringing as Stephen and had therefore not much knowledge about his Indigenous heritage. A third Page brother, Russell (1968-2002), was a Bangarra dancer as well. Dance theorist Stephanie Burridge claims:
From 1991, the combination of Artistic Director/Choreographer Stephen Page, the original music composed by David Page and the dancing of the late Russell Page has been the basis for the innovative, distinctive company that is Bangarra Dance Theatre today.117
David ‘set the tone’ for the music of Bangarra. He graduated from the Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Music at Adelaide University, where he studied “saxophone, voice, composition and song”118. David, too, was affiliated with NAISDA, where he was Music Producer, among other things. David’s friend and singer Christine Anu describes his musical style as “really fresh and melody driven whilst blending in traditional tribal sounds.” 119 This, once more, indicates David’s specific implementation of ‘Indigenous’ sounds into music that is not appointed a name – merely ‘melody driven’ – indicating the false idea of neutrality. This refers to the ‘invisibleness’ of Eurogenic cultures, as these have been the cultures pointing out ‘Otherness.’
117 Burridge, Stephanie. “Dreaming the Future: The Emergence of the Bangarra Dance Theatre,” Australasian Drama Studies Vol. 41 (2002): 84. 118 Morris, Linda. “Bangarra Dance Theatre Shattered by Death of Composer David Page,” Sydney Morning Herrald, published 29-04-2016, accessed 01-05-2018, https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/dance/bangarra-dance-theatre-shattered-by-death-of- composer-david-page-20160429-goi4tn.html. 119 Anu, Christine. “Christine Anu on Remembering David Page: He was a Warm and Wise Soul,” SBS, published 09-05-2016, accessed 01-05-2018, https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2016/05/09/christine-anu-remembering-david-page-he-was- warm-and-wise-soul.
44 While two of the three Page brothers have passed away, it is still important to take them into consideration regarding their agency, as they have left their mark in the creative network of Bangarra and have played a significant role in contributing to the company's success today. David alone has received many awards, such as the Deadly's Sound Awards.120 The three brothers are perceived as greatly talented and are big names in Australia’s creative industry, which may stimulate the company’s promotion. Their position is of particular significance considering Bangarra’s identity as an Indigenous institution. The Page brothers carry authority having Indigenous heritage, while knowing how to employ their authority in a contemporary institution like Bangarra because of their education derived from imperial institutions. This is what literary analyst Mary Louise Pratt describes as ‘transculturation.’ Transculturation, a term coined by sociologist Fernando Ortiz in 1940, in Pratt’s words, is used to “describe processes whereby members of subordinated or marginal groups select and invent from materials transmitted by a dominant or metropolitan culture.”121 In Bangarra’s case, this transmission by a dominant culture is Bangarra’s adoption of institutionalisation, based on Eurogenic principles, by Indigenous people. A dialogue between the dominant settler culture and the marginalised Indigenous populations may be enabled when this transmission is employed.
2.3 – The theatre
Other significant agents are the venues that Bangarra performs at. To stick with the example of Dark Emu, Bangarra performed at the Sydney Opera House, Canberra Theatre Centre, State Theatre Centre of WA (Western Australia) in Perth, Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) in Brisbane and the Arts Centre
120 Morris, Linda. “Bangarra Dance Theatre Shattered by Death of Composer David Page,” Sydney Morning Herrald, published 29-04-2016, accessed 01-05-2018, https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/dance/bangarra-dance-theatre-shattered-by-death-of- composer-david-page-20160429-goi4tn.html. 121 Pratt, Mary Louise. “Arts of the Contact Zone.” Profession (1991): 36.; Ortiz, Fernando. Cuban Counterpoint, Tobacco and Sugar. Harriet de Onís (transl.) Durham: Duke University Press, 1995.
45 Melbourne.122 These theatres are known to host a range of performing arts, from ballets to symphony orchestra concerts and from cabarets to rap concerts. One thing these acts have in common is that they are renowned venues in Australia, and, apparently, amongst ‘experts’ in the performing arts field. Here, it is the presence of certain forces, such as gatekeepers, that help render an artwork’s ‘value’, as a process of cultural authorisation happens through the linkage of particular agents. The fact that Bangarra performs in these well-known theatres means that gatekeepers perceive it as art that meets certain standards. It is these gatekeepers that are agents of power, as they often have control over the programming of acts. This is where the issue of institutional power comes into play. Once ‘through the gate’ by acquiring a place as part of a venue’s program, it almost automatically appoints the performance as worthy of its obtained place in the theatre. Bruno Latour states:
Using a slogan from ANT, you have ‘to follow the actors themselves’, that is try to catch up with their often wild innovations in order to learn from them what the collective existence has become in their hands, which methods they have elaborated to make it fit together, which accounts could best define the new associations that they have been forced to establish.123
The actor in question, in this case, one of the famous theatres Bangarra performs in, opens its doors and expands the already existing network of Bangarra. Moreover, both the theatre and the institution of Bangarra now become part of each other's networks, which sets up reciprocity of and for both institutions. As explained above, the fact that the Bangarra company performs in iconic theatres determines a certain ‘quality standard’ for the dance company. However, the same goes for the theatre. Since Bangarra is a big name in Australia's performing arts scene and their shows tend to be sell-outs, theatres are keen to host Bangarra shows in their venues. Bangarra has certain qualities that appeal to the theatres. Qualities such as contemporaneity, artistic complexity and professionalism that are mutual to both the theatres and Bangarra. However, some of Bangarra’s qualities complement the theatres, such its Indigeneity and ‘Otherness.’ These complementary qualities enrich
122 Bangarra, “Dark Emu,” accessed 03-05-2018, https://www.bangarra.com.au/whatson/productions/darkemu-2018. 123 Latour, Bruno. Reassembling the Social: An Introduction to Actor-Network-Theory. Oxford University Press, 2005: 12.
46 the theatres. This, again, makes the theatre appealing for audiences, as programming an Indigenous company gives the theatre the status of being inclusive. Earlier mentioned George Dickie is known as a pioneer when it comes to focusing on what he calls, the “social framework in which particular works are embedded[.]”124 Similar to Small’s notion of musicking, Dickie discusses the concept of art in reference to the social world constituting the art, such as the institutions, and taking into account all those involved. Art theorist Arthur Danto (1923-2013) had already coined the term ‘artworld’ in 1964, by which he means a world of artistic theories.125 Dickie, however, interprets the term differently; he states:
“the artworld,” consists of a core of creators, presenters, and appreciators which is surrounded by critics, theorists, and philosophers of art. The creators are the painters, writers, actors, and the like. The presenters are museum directors, gallery managers, musicians, actors (in a different role from that mentioned just above) and so on. The appreciators are the museum-goers, concert-goers, theater-goers, etc. In addition to all these personnel there is the machinery required to present works of art: museums, concert halls, art galleries, theaters, walls of houses, etc. All of these persons and machinery interact to establish and maintain the institution that is the artworld.126
Dickie, here, acknowledges the role of art ‘within’ a certain world, and that it is exactly this world realising the art, whatever that art may be. He avoids trying to find ‘generalising observable characteristics’ of pieces of art that would make him understand why it is art, and declares that it is the institution determining when ‘something’ is called art.127 Dickie’s focus on the interaction between persons and machinery that constitutes an institution is particularly relevant. This relates to ANT’s emphasis on the importance of the “human - non-human associations,” or, “a ‘person-machine interface’”128. This association shows the powerful phenomenon of
124 Dickie, George. "What is Anti-Art?." The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism Vol. 33, No. 4 (1975): 419. 125 Danto, Arthur. "The Artworld." The Journal of Philosophy Vol. 61, No. 19 (1964): 581. Here, Danto states: “It is the theory that takes it [an artwork] up into the world of art, and keeps it from collapsing into the real object which it is (in a sense of is other than that of artistic identification).” And: “It is the role of artistic theories, these days as always, to make the artworld, and art, possible.” 126 Dickie, George. "What is Anti-Art?." The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism Vol. 33, No. 4 (1975): 419. 127 Dickie, George. "What is Anti-Art?." The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism Vol. 33, No. 4 (1975): 419. 128 Latour, Bruno. “The Berlin Key or How to Do Words With Things.” Matter, Materiality and Modern Culture. Paul M. Graves-Brown, ed. New York: Routledge, 2000: 11.
47 the institutionalisation of art, as, without machinery such as a theatre, there would be no institution, and therefore no art. This is what Bangarra does very convincingly. It is partly because of its institutionalisation that the company is programmed and can be a part of other, powerful, (performance art) institutions. While the institution is an organisation of and by people, it is the physical attributes that facilitate this, being the theatre building itself (whichever theatre that may be), which contributes to Bangarra as a whole. The theatre provides a space bringing people– dancers, audience, critics, caterers, and so on- together before, during, and after the show. Architectural theorist Albena Yaneva and Bruno Latour dedicate an article to architecture from an ANT point of view, which explains:
[W]e should finally be able to picture a building as a moving modulator regulating different intensities of engagement, redirecting users’ attention, mixing and putting people together, concentrating flows of actors and distributing them so as to compose a productive force in time-space. (…) [A] building appears to be composed of apertures and closures enabling, impeding and even changing the speed of the free-floating actors, data and resources, links and opinions, which are all in orbit, in a network, and never within static enclosures[.]129
In Greek, where the term ‘theatre’ originates from, theatre translates to ‘theatron.’ This means ‘place for looking,’ indicating the importance of not only the perception but also of the place that makes the perceiving possible.130 Interestingly, is it art sociologist Howard Becker who plays a particularly influential role with his ideas on the concept of ‘Art Worlds.’ Becker claims an ‘Art World’ to consist of a network of people and organisations enabling the creation of art, whatever that particular ‘world’ may perceive as ‘art.’131 In the case of Bangarra, the art is contemporary Indigenous dance. Becker’s interactive network includes people providing materials for artists, distributors, consumers, teachers and the artists
129 Latour, B. and A. Yaneva. “‘Give Me a Gun and I will Make All Buildings Move’: An ANT’s View of Architecture.” In Explorations in Architecture: Teaching, Design, Research, ed. R. Geiser. Basel: Birkhäuser, 2008: 87. 130 Balme, Christopher B. The Cambridge Introduction to Theatre Studies. Cambridge University Press, 2008: 1. 131 Becker, H. S. “Art Worlds and Social Types.” American Behavioral Scientist Vol. 19, No. 6 (1976): 703-718.
48 themselves.132 The main advantage of Becker’s idea of ‘Art Worlds’ is that it involves the organisational and collaborative factors in the conversation about art. While previous ideas about art have mainly been focusing on the creator of a piece, like its ‘core' or ‘centre',133 think about the composer for music, the choreographer for dance, and so on, which shift the attention and conceive an art piece as a more collaborative work, made possible by many people rather than just one creator. This relates to the earlier mentioned connection between Bangarra choreographer Stephen Page and the Bangarra dancers for example. The agency, therefore, is acknowledged to lie with every contributing person and network of persons. The ‘art world’ theories by Dickie and Becker both make a case for art as a collective concept rather than an individual one. Dickie’s theory, however, still suggests a hierarchical structure between the ‘core’ contributors – the creators, presenters, and appreciators – and surrounding agents such as art critics, theorists, and philosophers. This hierarchy seems less important in Becker’s theory, which implies that the network as a whole enables the existence of art. But while Becker’s ‘Art World’ focuses on the sociology of art, with particular attention to its highly collaborative qualities, non-human actors are not a part of his theory. Therefore it is interesting to compare Becker with Dickie, as Dickie takes the ‘machinery’ into account, like museums and concert halls, which is applicable to Bangarra as well.
2.4 – Audiences and tickets
The theatre also contributes to the audience’s aesthetic and theatrical experience. For example, what is the distance between the seats and the stage? How does the architecture of the theatre define the acoustic quality of the music? But simultaneously, it is the role of the audience that “make[s] the theatrical experience
132 Cluley, Robert. "Art Words and Art Worlds: The Methodological Importance of Language Use in Howard S. Becker’s Sociology of Art and Cultural Production." Cultural Sociology Vol. 6, No. 2 (2012): 201-216. 133 Cook, Nicholas. Music: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: University Press, 2000: 24.
49 happen.”134 Earlier mentioned performance art critic Eric Bentley explains the relation between performers and audience, in which the role ‘played’ by the audience seems equally important as the roles ‘played’ by the performers. Bentley claims: “The theatrical situation, reduced to a minimum, is that A impersonates B while C looks on.” 135 While this highly simplified idea is certainly not always applicable to performances, it does shed light upon the importance of the audience, whose crucial task is: “the willing suspension of disbelief’ and acceptance of the make-believe.”136 To this I would add, though, that it is not only the performers who are part of the audience’s make-believe, but also the attributes of the stage and the music, which are crucial components. Regarding audience, a striking aspect of Bangarra is the different audiences it addresses. The ‘regular’ shows attract a more ‘commercial’ audience, that is, people who can afford a (somewhat expensive) ticket. The price of a standard ticket in the Arts Centre Melbourne, for example, is $81.00 AUD (which converts to approximately €52.00). Having said this, compared to other dance productions performing in Melbourne’s Arts Centre, Bangarra’s tickets are reasonably priced. Tickets for shows by the Australian Ballet for instance range from $40.00 up to $265.00.137 Besides the regular shows, Bangarra organises ‘Community Nights.’ During community nights, people with Indigenous Australian heritage, or people actively involved with Indigenous Australian communities, can visit the productions for a reduced price. These shows are performed in the same theatres as the regular shows, though the theatres' websites do not display the community performances. One can only obtain a community night ticket through the Bangarra website.138 The costs of the reduced tickets are not visible on the Bangarra website either. The only
134 Balme, Christopher B. The Cambridge Introduction to Theatre Studies. Cambridge University Press, 2008: 2. 135 Bentley, Eric. The Life of the Drama, New York: Atheneum, 1965: 150. 136 Balme, Christopher B. The Cambridge Introduction to Theatre Studies. Cambridge University Press, 2008: 2. 137 Arts Centre Melbourne, “Dance,” accessed 16-06-2018, https://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/en/Whats-On/Dance. 138 See for example: Arts Centre Melbourne, “Dark Emu,” accessed 16-06-2018, https://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/whats-on/2018/dance/dark-emu.; Bangarra, “Community Performance,” accessed 16-06-2018, http://www.bangarra.com.au/whatson/community-performances.; The Bangarra website advertises a community night on September 5th, 2018. This is not visible on the website of Arts Centre Melbourne.
50 information that suggests cheaper tickets are available is indicated under the subheader ‘Community Performances.’ This webpage states: “Bangarra’s community ticketing program provides the company with a way to connect with those who share the rich culture and history that is sewn through our storytelling.”139 What is given away is one of the sponsors of Bangarra, the Balnaves Foundation, which implies to support Bangarra because of initiatives like the community nights. As is explained:
The Balnaves Foundation is proud to support Bangarra’s commitment to ensuring that their inspiring, authentic and positive work is accessible to all. Through a series of special performances for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, we hope to respect and honour the community relationships that are the foundation blocks of Bangarra.140
Although Bangarra takes pride in the fact that the Community Night initiative exists, further information on the project is limited. This makes it seem like a very exclusive concept, for which the company does not want to get into trouble regarding the presumably advantageous ticket regulation for Indigenous Australians. Worthwhile to ask then, is the question whether or not this well-intended, exclusive initiative to attract Indigenous audiences to the shows, is at the same time a process of dividing different audiences?
2.5 – Institutions and modernity
Chapter two has thus far delved into the institutional side of Bangarra by describing the roles of the most significant actors constituting the institution’s network. Every contributing actor plays a role essential for the company’s productions. This is achieved by collaborating with each other and working towards agreed-upon goals. Goals may include creating posters, selling tickets, or choreographing a dance work, depending on the agent’s particular function. The institution, consisting of a network of these collaborating agents, has agency as a whole regarding conveying a message to the world ‘outside of’ the
139 Bangarra, “Community Performance,” accessed 16-06-2018, http://www.bangarra.com.au/whatson/community-performances. 140 Ibid.
51 company. Nevertheless, the idea of sending messages to the world that is not included in Bangarra’s institution does have problematic implications, and as boundaries become blurred; where does the institution stop? All agents influence Bangarra, yet they are not necessarily part of the institution. They are, however, part of Bangarra's network. Agents, who are crucially involved in the institution, but not part of it, are for example, the audience and the theatres. They are part of the bigger network however, which is connected to the institution. Non-institutional actors may perceive Bangarra in a certain way; that is to say, the company certainly does not validate a stereotypical view on Indigeneity. Chapter one of this thesis discussed this issue in terms of dance and performance. Now, chapter two argues that there is more to Bangarra than just the performance of dance, as there are many factors that contribute to its status as an institution. As described in section 2.3, the company performs in (inter)nationally recognised theatres. This attracts an audience being able and willing to purchase tickets, as described in section 2.4. Bangarra, therefore, obtains the status as "one of Australia's leading performing arts companies"141. Although Bruno Latour’s ANT is a valuable tool for this chapter, it does leave room for discussion. Latour argues that one should focus on institutions when researching the Moderns. The question is, then, does Bangarra being an institution make the dance company modern? Following Latour’s argumentation, it does. However, it is also Latour who claims the ‘Moderns’ to be the ‘Occidentals,’ the ‘Europeans,’ even, which consequently implies that Indigeneity is something of the past, or in conflict to modernisation. 142 As this thesis shows, Latour’s notion of Moderns seems inaccurate, as Bangarra is stuck in the middle; it does not belong in Latour's idea of the ‘Moderns,’ yet being institutionalised it does not belong to the ‘Others.’ As science and cultural theorist Robin Boast explains:
Due largely to frustrations with (…) or the complete insignificance of these [imperialistic] institutions to the community, indigenous museums and cultural centers are creating their own centers of collecting, performance, and presentation. They are increasingly giving up on the academy as the
141 Bangarra, “About,” accessed 17-06-2018, http://www.bangarra.com.au/about/company. 142 Latour, Bruno. An Inquiry into Modes of Existence: An Anthropology of the Moderns. London: Harvard University Press, 2013: 13.
52 accumulator of voices and appropriating the technology of museum to their own ends.143
Though in the form of a performance art institution rather than a museum, Bangarra sheds light upon the idea that boundaries are more nuanced than the contemporary/traditional dichotomy, although they are still important for the formation of identity. Being Indigenous Australian, urban, and descended from numerous areas of the world, Bangarra is a newly formed identity with the self- proclaimed term ‘Urban Clan,’ established by its institutionalisation.
143 Boast, Robin. “Neocolonial Collaboration: Museum as Contact Zone Revisited.” Museum Anthropology Vol. 34, No. 1 (2011): 67.
53 3 – MESSAGES: THE POLITICS OF IDENTITY AND STORIES
If we look at the evidence presented to us by the explorers and explain to our children that Aboriginal people did build houses, did build dams, did sow, irrigate and till the land, did alter the course of rivers, did sew their clothes, and did construct a system of pan-continental government that generated peace and prosperity, then it is likely we will admire and love our land all the more.144 – Bruce Pascoe ~ Chapter one of this thesis focuses on the performative aspects of Bangarra. The second chapter focuses on the agents enabling Bangarra’s productions. Now, in this chapter, I will interpret the messages that Bangarra conveys through their performances and institutionalisation, in terms of its relation to its audiences, its political position, and its cultural significance in Australia and beyond. What messages does Bangarra convey to whom? Bangarra’s messages bear multiple meanings for various audiences, such as Indigenous communities and members of the Australian settler-society. This chapter focuses on Bangarra’s way of operating in general, through its performance style and institutionalisation, and not just at one particular story of one performance. To answer these questions, one of the notions chapter three delves into is ‘identity.’ As we have seen in the two previous chapters, Bangarra takes on titles such as ‘Urban Clan,’ ‘Indigenous Contemporary’ and ‘Black dance.’ These titles bring up certain questions: why does the company insist on taking on generalising titles? Using generic identifiers, such as ‘urban,’ ‘Indigenous contemporary’ and ‘black,’ seems paradoxical, as explained earlier; there are over two hundred different Indigenous communities in Australia. And what about proclaiming itself as ‘urban?’ Aren’t many of Bangarra’s stories based upon ancestral narratives from before colonial times and, therefore, before urban centres? I will reflect upon these notions with reference to the works of Stuart Hall, Cressida Heyes, Kevin Robins, and others, to explain the politics of identity formation. By reflecting on these authors’ ideas, I aim to show how taking on certain identities and stories plays a significant role in Bangarra’s aspirations to express itself through the mediums of dance, the theatres, and more.
144 Pascoe, Bruce. Dark Emu. Black Seeds: Agriculture or Accident? Broome: Magabala Books, 2014: 129.
54 Furthermore, I discuss the type of messages Bangarra passes on. For this discussion, one of Bangarra’s dancers Luke Currie-Richardson gives an insight on what stories Bangarra tries to tell, not only through dance itself, but also through the earlier described distinction in tickets and audiences. As Luke describes, for certain audiences, Bangarra is one of their first introductions to Indigenous cultures. It reaches those types of audiences because of the theatres the company performs in. For others, it is a way to (re)connect to one’s own culture or background, and again for others, it is an opportunity to see a contemporary interpretation of a story deriving from one’s own heritage.145 Besides audiences, Bangarra also tells stories to the people who are actually part of the company, such as the dancers. This is another aspect Luke reflects upon. What does it mean to be part of a successful Indigenous dance company as an Indigenous person and what are the struggles when one has to tell a story based on someone else’s narrative?
3.1 – Indigeneity as identity
As mentioned earlier, Bangarra appointing itself as ‘Indigenous’ is striking from several points of view. If, as claimed in section 1.2.1, contemporary dance claims to be dance ‘for all,’ why the apparent need to identify itself as ‘Indigenous?’ This same question applies when referring to the type of institution; following on from my claim in chapter two that Bangarra operates like any other ‘modern’ institution, why does the company still distinguish itself by stressing its Indigeneity? Sociologist Kevin Robins states:
Identity is [sic] to do with the imagined sameness of a person or of a social group at all times and in all circumstances; about a person or a group being, and being able to continue to be, itself and not someone or something else. Identity may be regarded as a fiction, intended to put an orderly pattern and narrative on the actual complexity and multitudinous nature of both psychological and social worlds. The question of identity centers on the
145 Luke Currie-Richardson, interview, Melbourne Arts Centre, 08-09-2018.
55 assertion of principles of unity, as opposed to pluralism and diversity, and of continuity, as opposed to change and transformation.146
Again, we find many contradictory, but simultaneously, clarifying notions in Robins’ ideas on the possible experiences of identity in relation to Bangarra. First of all, it may seem contradictory to hold on to the identity of an ethnic group if focusing on Robins’ idea of identity as a continuation. By acclaiming Indigeneity as identity, one might wonder in what ways Indigeneity has been continued. What makes Bangarra Indigenous? The answer may seem self-evident, but it is also problematic. Focussing on the idea that approximately 70% of the company is Indigenous, that is, 70% of the people working for Bangarra have Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander heritage, may be an obvious way to categorise its people.147 This, however, is a highly essentialist way of thinking and excludes to consider people’s actual day-to-day practices and experiences. It also does not mean that this 70% of Bangarra’s employees all live or have lived according to Indigenous ways. What Indigenous ways even are is another question unanswered. There is no unequivocal answer, partially due to the fact that there is, again, such a vast amount of different Indigenous populations living in Australia. The notion of the diversity of Australia’s Indigenous cultures seems not to be recognised when promotion materials, such as the earlier described poster ads and ticket policies, refer to the umbrella term ‘Indigenous.’148 However, the risks of a tendency to focus on unity instead of diversity, and to focus on continuity instead of change and adaptations, may be a small price to pay. Holding on to an identity will most likely bring the company advantages as well. Robins points out the collective qualities of the notion of identity. A collective identity could be formed by a common homeland, for example. Moreover, Robins claims: “the group has sought to maintain its culture – its heritage, memories, values, character, particularity, and uniqueness – through time, and to deny the reality of historical change and discontinuity; positive value was placed on the continuity
146 Robins, Kevin. “Identity.” In New Keywords. A Revised Vocabulary of Culture and Society, Tony Bennett, Lawrence Grossberg and Meaghan Morris (eds). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2005: 172. 147 Yolande Brown, guest lecture, University of New South Wales, Sydney, 12-09-2018. 148 See sections 1.3.2 and 2.4.
56 between generations and on the moral force of tradition.”149 What is important here is the idea of belonging. The emphasis on culture that is ‘supposed’ to belong to a homeland is what all Indigenous cultures in Australia have in common and which therefore unites them. In that regard, Indigeneity is inseparable from politics in Australia. Bangarra dancer Luke Currie-Richardson explains: “we all suffer as one.”150 Identity, here, may be a shared experience. This is when identity becomes a key aspect, especially for a company powerful enough to represent its cultures in a considerably public sphere. Bangarra’s operations are not fully accessible to the public, as the tickets for most of the shows are only affordable for certain groups of people, and the cheaper shows, like the community shows and regional tours, are only accessible for those strongly affiliated with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islands heritage. Indigeneity is that which is opposed to the dominant settler society in Australia. It is an umbrella term for those groups of people who do not have the full rights to their own home country. Identity, here, embodies “strategies of differentiation,” which, “[depend] on the creation of frontiers and borders in order to distance and protect itself from the imagined threat of other cultures.”151 This type of identity formation is based on fear and anxieties, which in Bangarra’s case could be interpreted as the fear of fully losing Indigenous cultures due to the reign of settler cultures. Section 3.2.1 reflects on this. Though, as stated above, there are contradictory aspects about identifying an entire company through one overarching term, it is a clever, if not necessary, way to communicate with the world. Stuart Hall’s infamous assertion that “identity is like a bus!”152 indicates that conveying and conceiving cultural practices in terms of identity may also be a fruitful way to understand culture. Hall discusses identity regarding a structure, which is motivated by powerful forces, even though one might not be aware of these forces. Identity has a “social logic;” it constructs a person or group who/that acts or behaves in the world. Hall explains his bus-metaphor by elaborating:
149 Robins, Kevin. “Identity.” In New Keywords. A Revised Vocabulary of Culture and Society, Tony Bennett, Lawrence Grossberg and Meaghan Morris (eds). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2005: 173. 150 Luke Currie-Richardson, interview, Melbourne Arts Centre, 08-09-2018. 151 Robins, Kevin. “Identity.” In New Keywords. A Revised Vocabulary of Culture and Society, Tony Bennett, Lawrence Grossberg and Meaghan Morris (eds). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2005: 174. 152 Hall, Stuart. “Fantasy, Identity, Politics.” In Cultural Remix. Theories of Politics and the Popular. Erica Carter, James Donald and Judith Squires (eds). London: Lawrence & Wishart, 1995: 65.
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Not because it [a bus] takes you to a fixed destination, but because you can only get somewhere – anywhere – by climbing aboard. The whole of you can never be represented by the ticket you carry, but you still have to buy a ticket to get from here to there. In the same way, you have to take a position in order to say anything, even though meaning refuses to be finally fixed and that position is an often contradictory holding operation rather than a position of truth.153
In relation to Hall’s quote above, identity could be interpreted as a concept to hold on to and to make sense of one’s self or to one’s group in a world full of chaos and unpredictability. Even though in many instances a Bangarra employee would not completely fit into the idea of its ‘fixed’ identity, the bigger structure of the suggested identity may give one a sense of, as emphasised earlier, belonging. Furthermore, Hall explains that within a discourse, identities create histories, constructed by that certain discourse.154 This idea of making history is a crucial part of Bangarra’s politics, as it aims “to inspire and to change society.”155 The company obviously wishes to make statements and uses its position to do so. Its identity is a tool to claim that position within discourse. This discourse could take the form of the discourse of (performing) arts, of the network of cultural organisations in Sydney or Australia, or academic discourse, amongst others. Focussing on the political position of Indigenous peoples in Australia, Bangarra’s identity may be suitably reflected through identity politics. Philosopher Cressida Heyes links identity to a political position of a social group. She explains identity politics as:
[A] wide range of political activity and theorizing founded in the shared experiences of injustice of members of certain social groups. Rather than organizing solely around belief systems, programmatic manifestos, or party affiliation, identity political formations typically aim to secure the political freedom of a specific constituency marginalized within its larger context. Members of that constituency assert or reclaim ways of understanding their distinctiveness that challenge dominant oppressive characterizations, with the goal of greater self-determination.156
153 Hall, Stuart. “Fantasy, Identity, Politics.” In Cultural Remix. Theories of Politics and the Popular. Erica Carter, James Donald and Judith Squires (eds). London: Lawrence & Wishart, 1995: 65-66. 154 Ibid.: 65. 155 See page 3. 156 Heyes, Cressida. “Identity Politics.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Published 23-03-2016, accessed 28-09-2018. https://seop.illc.uva.nl/entries/identity-politics/.
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The company’s emphasis on its Indigeneity may therefore not necessarily be seen as just an inherent quality or trait, rather, its foundation is based on a political reaction to Australia’s history of invasion and its current (neo-)colonial society. Indigeneity in Australia is a term for all Indigenous Australian peoples as a united community because of their aspiration for recognition. To perform a story deriving from an Indigenous community different from the performer’s community is therefore still a way to empower Indigenous peoples in Australia in general. Luke Currie-Richardson explains:
I want to be dancing about my community and maybe that day will come one day, but each day we are doing another community’s story. And they are all important because we all suffer as one, we all succeed as one. (…) If you empower one community, that community is stronger, the Indigenous community of Australia is stronger.157
Based on the principles Bangarra is built upon, but especially during a show, Bangarra aims to embody all Indigenous Australian communities, even though the content of the shows alternates between various narratives of various communities. The moment of a performance is the moment of Indigeneity ‘taking up’ a certain space, which automatically means it penetrates its way into (semi-)public discourse. For over 200 years recognition of Indigenous peoples has been denied, but every time an Indigenous body acts through a powerful medium or a medium of high status, is a moment in which the Indigenous Australian population reclaims that space, and, therefore, authority. Political philosopher Sonia Kruks emphasises the idea of recognition: “What makes identity politics a significant departure from earlier, pre-identitarian forms of the politics of recognition is its demand for recognition on the basis of the very grounds on which recognition has previously been denied (…).”158 This may also explain why Bangarra does not choose to be an inclusive company, that is, an ‘all-Australian’ company. Indigenous peoples have not been acknowledged because of their differences from European settlers (may it be through skin colour, lifestyles, clothing, etcetera), and it is through these differences that
157 Luke Currie-Richardson, interview, Melbourne Arts Centre, 08-09-2018. 158 Kruks, Sonia. Retrieving Experience: Subjectivity and Recognition in Feminist Politics. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2001: 85.
59 Bangarra now aims to reclaim that acknowledgement. “The demand is not for inclusion within the fold of ‘universal humankind’ on the basis of shared human attributes; nor is it for respect ‘in spite of’ one’s differences. Rather, what is demanded is respect for oneself as different.”159 This is exactly the type of difference that the performances and the various types of tours, combined with different ticket prices, are based upon. As stated in chapter two, encouraging the participation of Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Island people by enabling free shows or lower ticket prices probably does sustain a differentiation between various types of audiences. However, Bangarra seems to proudly do so. It is a way of privileging those who have been, and still are, oppressed, even if it is just for a 1,5-hour show. Referring to geographer Doreen Massey’s idea of the antagonism to ‘outsiders’, Bangarra is a company in which dominant power- relations are reversed which makes the white person the ‘outsider,’ and only if this outsider is privileged enough to buy a ticket, s/he may attend the show.160
3.2 – Contemporary storytelling
As described in chapter one, storytelling plays a crucial part of many Indigenous cultures. This storytelling takes the shape of performances and includes educational information on maintaining the land, spiritual knowledge, cultural practices and more. The performances are expressed in many forms, such as dance, music, poetry, and body art. These practices have existed since before colonisation and are often sacred. However, the secret quality of certain performances has not stopped colonisers and/or anthropologists from attending, and sometimes recording, ceremonies. And even if a white audience was welcome to attend an event, according to Indigenous studies -and theatre theorist Maryrose Casey, the language of the performances was
159 Kruks, Sonia. Retrieving Experience: Subjectivity and Recognition in Feminist Politics. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2001: 85. 160 Massey, Doreen. “A Global Sense of Place.” Space, Place and Gender. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1994: 147.
60 most likely not translated into another language, and the performances were, in most cases, not adapted in order to make them more comprehensible for outsiders.161 This is a crucial difference from the Bangarra performances and ways of promotion, which are meant for outsiders, or better: anyone able to attend the shows. It is partially because of this difference I stressed the distinction between the terms ‘traditional’ and ‘contemporary’ in chapter two, as opposed to Dunbar-Hall and Gibson who declare this distinction as irrelevant. However, valuable notions become clear by focussing on the targeted audience of Bangarra, compared to the audience of a sacred community performance. For conveying a message, the audience ought to understand what is being performed. This requires stereotyping, as reflected on in chapter one, section three. Stereotyping is not necessary when performing for an audience that understands the symbolic meaning of gestures, musical phrases, sounds, colours, words, etcetera. A key aspect here is the process of translation. After asking Luke about stereotyping in the theatre, he explains:
Me, personally, I don’t have a problem with it. If I am to give myself to an art form, to give myself to the choreographer, and the story, and I need to play it to a tee, then I would play whatever it is that I need to play. I have a say in that, as a dancer, the writer has got the pen, and I am just the words. He makes the words up, I don’t get to pick and choose what word I am writing. If I come down to a full stop, with an exclamation mark “back off” then that’s it. (…) So my perspective is I will play whatever I will have to play if that’s what the story needs.162
Besides, the translation of a certain story is never done without consent. As described in chapter one, Bangarra works via a protocol in which Bangarra asks a community to perform this community’s story.163 The earlier described Return to Country shows are examples in which it is both the story, embodied in dance and music, and the way the institution operates that constitutes the message. It is not only about the meaning of the performance, but also about the fact that the performance takes place in a remote community, for free,
161 Casey, Maryrose. Telling Stories. Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander Performance. North Melbourne: Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2012: 12-18. 162 Luke Currie-Richardson, interview, Melbourne Arts Centre, 08-09-2018. 163 Yolande Brown, guest lecture, University of New South Wales, Sydney, 12-09-2018.; See also page 10.
61 on a basketball court.164 The Return to Country initiative is a different way of dealing with performance art that is acknowledged as art due to its status and place in the earlier discussed ‘art world.’ This has two explanations. First of all, by asking for a community’s consent, the style of the performance (the dance, the music, the set, etcetera) is not an appropriation of Indigeneity. It only uses those aspects that the community allows Bangarra to use and is therefore not stolen. While the show is not necessarily produced for this community, as this chapter reflects on later, it, at the same time, is also not merely produced for anyone but the community. After one or two years (depending per production) of touring, the company returns a contemporary interpretation of that community’s story. The second explanation of how Return to Country challenges the way of dealing with art, is that this initiative takes the art form off the stage and, literally, brings it ‘into the bush.’ It is a form of critique on the Eurogenic conception of art that heavily relies on institutionalisation. While, as discussed in chapter two, Bangarra’s institutionalisation is one of its strengths as this is exactly what makes it a powerful institution, it also sheds light upon art still being art while not being experienced in a formal ‘art’-setting, such as a theatre. The fact that Bangarra’s storytelling is targeted at a broader audience compared to traditional storytelling has, as section 3.1 shows, a lot to do with the company’s political agenda. Instead of telling ancient Dreaming stories, Bangarra’s performances may include post-invasion stories. This most obviously manifests in the performance of scenes in which Indigenous people are trapped by colonisers, which is an example from the Dark Emu production. This is a direct way of pointing fingers to people likely to be amongst the audience in the theatres. Luke explains:
I think that what Bangarra does well is that we are in contemporary establishments, you know, we’re not the Indigenous busker at the street at Circular Quay. We’re performing where the white community comes in, [such as] Malcolm Turnbull – with his wife – the Prime Minister.165
When I asked if he was talking about the status of art here, he elaborates:
164 See also page 10. 165 Luke Currie-Richardson, interview, Melbourne Arts Centre, 08-09-2018.; Malcolm Turnbull was Australia’s Prime Minister from 21-09-2015 until 24-08-2018. Scott Morrison had only replaced him for less than a month at the time of the interview with Luke.
62
Arts in general, yeah. (…) I could go back to DOBBY and the stuff that he raps about. It isn’t booties and whores, it’s political, black struggles. It’s intellectual lyrics of the arts that have the power to do. Sports as well, you know, we tell these stories on the mediums, we take stories overseas. And perfect example: even then when we met the people downstairs, with that Scottish lady and English man, they’re the people we’re trying to get to. We’ve been fighting the fight for 200 plus years, but it’s not until we have Europeans on our side and we’ve got to start getting people to understand the part of Indigenous people being first nations people. Bangarra can definitely do it. Bangarra is definitely doing it.166
It becomes clear the Bangarra productions are predominantly aimed at a ‘white’ audience. The tools the company uses to reach this audience is the level of professionalism institution-wise, which allows Bangarra to perform in venues like the Opera House in Sydney, but also by adopting the contemporary dance style. Philosopher Marshall McLuhan’s ‘The medium is the message’ could not be more applicable; he states: “This is merely to say that the personal and social consequences of any medium – that is, of any extension of ourselves – result from the new scale that is introduced into our affairs by each extension to ourselves” 167 . The medium - whether one chooses to focus on the theatre as a medium, or the dance or the music as mediums – regulates the message as a whole. Once ‘in’ the theatre, the tool Bangarra uses to convey messages is its Indigenous identity, which is expressed in dance, music, costumes, and so on. The usage of traditional Indigenous stories may therefore be seen as a means by which the performances are marketed to a non-Indigenous audience. However, the company’s methods of obtaining the stories is an ethical way of operating, which makes use of Indigenous stories, but at the same time aims to empower Indigenous communities. Still, there are concerns about ways of framing Indigenous arts. According to cultural theorist Fiona Nicoll, labels such as ‘political’, ‘traditional’, ‘contemporary’, and ‘urban’ – as applied in this thesis, too – are manifestations of “white institutional
166 Luke Currie-Richardson, interview, Melbourne Arts Centre, 08-09-2018.; DOBBY is an Indigenous-Filipino Australian Hip-hop artist whose music advocates for Indigenous rights in Australia.; The Scottish/English people Luke refers to attended a performance of Dark Emu and came up to Luke after the show to express their admiration. 167 McLuhan, Marshall. “The Medium is the Message.” Understanding Media. The Extensions of Man. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1964: 7.
63 decisions”168 . However accurate, I often find this idea problematic, because, yes, ‘white’ settlers have been, and still are, forcing their categorisations on to Indigenous art. However, this does not mean that these categorisations are just European. These categories and systems are adopted and used by Indigenous peoples too. Indigenous peoples have taken ownership of certain Eurogenic structures. This does not make them less Indigenous either. As art historian Sibyl Fisher claims: “‘urban’ artists who use new media or engage in ‘contemporary’ issues have been misunderstood as somehow ‘corrupted’ and ‘less Aboriginal’.” 169 The adaptation is, in many cases, merely one of the consequences of colonisation, and the reality of hybrid ways of living as a result of it.
3.2.1 Stories: past-present-future
The force of performance is neither in the motivating intentions nor in the expected purpose or end, but in the thing itself: it is a ‘doing’ which, by accomplishing itself in the event, in the very single act of production and reception, submits a specific truth to a happening.170
Based on musicologist Vladimir Jankélévitch’s notion of experiencing music, anthropologist Franca Tamisari rightly advocates the ‘doing of’ performance, which she claims to have agency within itself, not just because of its representations. This is an important element of Bangarra. The stories it tells ought not to be disregarded, but the fact that Bangarra exists and produces performances is a valuable message in itself. It shows that cities in Australia, as well as theatres, or theatre arts, are not just for non-Indigenous people; it is about Indigenous people taking control again over their lost spaces. Artist and curator Djon Mundine states: “Over the last 200 years we have lost that control and are only now possibly regaining our own statements and history.
168 Nicoll, Fiona. “Aboriginal Art – It’s a White Thing: Framing Whiteness.” The Art of Politics The Politics of Art. The Place of Indigenous Contemporary Art. Fiona Foley (ed), Southport, QLD: Keeaira Press, 2006: 2. 169 Fisher, Sibyl. “Fluent in Venice: Curating Australian Aboriginal Art Beyond the ‘Urban/Desert’ Paradigm.” Interventions Vol. 17, No. 6 (2015): 805. 170 Tamisari, Franca. “Against Domestication: The Art of Encounter.” The Art of Politics The Politics of Art. The Place of Indigenous Contemporary Art. Fiona Foley (ed), Southport, QLD: Keeaira Press, 2006: 65.; Jankélévitch, Vladimir. Music and the Ineffable, transl. by Carolyn Abbate. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2003: 78.
64 The racism of economics, the racism of geography and institutional racism continue to operate to contest our attempts in this regard.”171 An Indigenous-run institution does not only try to affect ‘outsiders,’ but it offers an opportunity to Indigenous people to actually be part of (one of) their cultures. Yolande Brown refers to Bangarra as a platform for Indigenous people, which at the same time provides a way for non-Indigenous people to see it and to learn from it.172 This platform, therefore, does not only empower that community, which a running performance is based upon, but it also enables Indigenous people to perform. It is a way for Bangarra dancers to belong too, as is referred to before on page 53. It is as a step in the right direction towards Mundine’s vision of an artistic and cultural landscape in which “Aboriginal artists, art curators and art writers more centrally steer the discussion, definition and interpretation of our own culture.”173 This interpretation may also take the form of a metaphorical bridge. The late David Page, former Bangarra songman, states:
It is more about identity, and they are the bridge between a culture that we thought was lost.. and then finding.. And then on the other side of the country there is this true identity, you know, full-blood Aboriginal, and we are part Aboriginal. So connecting that bridge, that’s what those stories are about.174
David Page, here, distinguishes between, what he calls, people with a ‘true Aboriginal identity,’ or ‘full-blood Aboriginal’ and those who are ‘part Aboriginal.’ Though essentialist, Page’s way of thinking suggests that some people lost a ‘true Aboriginal identity,’ which Bangarra enables to find back. This way, Bangarra is also a way of preserving Indigenous culture, even though it may not be in the most ‘traditional’ form, or in the most ‘traditional’ setting. For Indigenous peoples who identify themselves as both Indigenous and at the same time live a life they find suitable for
171 Mundine, Djon. “Aboriginal Art – It’s a White Thing.” The Art of Politics The Politics of Art. The Place of Indigenous Contemporary Art. Fiona Foley (ed), Southport, QLD: Keeaira Press, 2006: 57. 172 Yolande Brown, guest lecture, University of New South Wales, Sydney, 12-09-2018. 173 Mundine, Djon. “Aboriginal Art – It’s a White Thing.” The Art of Politics The Politics of Art. The Place of Indigenous Contemporary Art. Fiona Foley (ed), Southport, QLD: Keeaira Press, 2006: 58. 174 David Page, in: Mahrer, Michelle, Director. Urban Clan: a portrait of the Page brothers and the Bangarra Dance Theatre, videorecording, Ronin Films, 1998. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyUWXM_8WAM.
65 the urban environments of neo-colonial Australia, Bangarra is a way to reconnect to their Indigeneity. Luke confirms this idea:
It comes to the point where Elders and traditional lawmen, they come to us and the next generation: all they’re interested in is the social media (…), the Beyoncés and the booty-popping and stuff like that and they’re not really taking the interest in their stories. So who is there to pass that on to? And then it’s our job to think then ‘ok well, yeah we’ll take this and we’ll embody it and we’ll tell your story,’ because it’s one way of keeping the culture alive. And even, see in DOBBY’s music, have you heard his new EP? It’s like a welcome song. He has got the traditional language in there and he starts rapping and that’s another way of keeping culture alive you know. Without that recording, he has got a recording of language, traditional language that.. it might be from his community, and I think it is, but, that’s another piece of material that goes into the vault and goes ‘hey, this is a traditional language.’ It is the same here, like we have, not so much this show, but in Bennelong there was some traditional language, and Nyapanyapa as well there’s traditional language in there. That’s another piece of language that we can put into the vault. That won’t die with us.175
Bangarra provides, for its members as well as its audience, an encounter with an Indigenous performance art form through contemporaneity, which Fisher refers to as ‘nowness’ and through presence, or, ‘hereness.’176 Notions such a ‘now’ and ‘here’ shows that Indigenous cultures are alive and are not just novelties, and that there are people today willing to fight to sustain Indigenous Australian cultures by means of contemporary performance art.
175 Luke Currie-Richardson, interview, Melbourne Arts Centre, 08-09-2018. 176 Fisher, Sibyl. “Fluent in Venice: Curating Australian Aboriginal Art Beyond the ‘Urban/Desert’ Paradigm.” Interventions Vol. 17, No. 6 (2015): 803.
66 CONCLUSION
This thesis has discussed the operations of the Bangarra Dance Theatre. By focussing on a contemporary Indigenous company like Bangarra in an academic setting, I aimed to show the significance of this cultural establishment. This is highlighted through the combination of methodologies and theoretical starting points from the fields of (ethno)musicology and art theories. A focus on contemporary performance art in a professional institution advocates for a more inclusive approach towards Indigenous cultures in Australia. Meanwhile, it opens up discussions on art itself, which is often believed to be a European concept. However, Bangarra shows that the reality is far from this assumption. Bangarra’s main mode of expression is dance, specifically, Indigenous contemporary dance. As discussed before, the medium of contemporary dance may not be a phenomenon directly associated with Indigeneity. However, as we have seen in chapter one, this idea is exactly what Bangarra challenges. Dance, and performance in general, is a highly valued system in many Indigenous cultures. During ceremonies, music and dance performances take place which express local systems of land management and ways of traditional life. Many Indigenous groups employ oral traditions to transfer knowledge, such as storytelling through music, dancing and performing. Bangarra’s use of dance as a mode of artistic and cultural expression is a product of the significant role of dance in Indigenous cultures. Moreover, the style of contemporary dance is no random choice. Deriving from European classical ballet, modern dance introduced new ways of performance dance in which floor work, bent knees and movements from the core of the body were emphasised. These movements contrast directly with classical ballet, which focuses on elevation, pointed toes and agility. By appropriating dances of ‘non-civilised’ peoples, modern dancers incorporated the ‘new’ techniques into European and North American dances. Non-Eurogenic peoples were believed to be purer and live closer to nature, which was, according to modern dancers, what dance was about. Influential dancers like Martha Graham and Isadora Duncan brought these ‘new’ movements on to the stage.
67 Contemporary dance is a term that arose in the second half of the twentieth century, which does not seem to bear the negative associations with the ideology of primitivism in the way that modern dance does. Though, because contemporary dance is a direct derivation of modern dance, its exoticist foundation cannot be denied. Contemporary dance is a mixture of dance styles deriving from any part of the world. It is believed to be an ‘anything goes’ style, however, its base methods rely heavily on techniques adopted from classical ballet and modern dance. Bangarra’s dance style strongly resembles contemporary dancing style in terms of techniques, but also the incorporation of traditional Indigenous dance movements. Bangarra’s dance could be seen as contemporary dance, as well as Indigenous Australian dance. Contemporary dance performed by a fully Indigenous dance team enables the re- appropriation of a seemingly Eurgenic style of dance. Besides taking ownership of a dance style, Bangarra also adopts an imperialistic way of operating, which heavily relies on institutionalisation. This is also called transculturation. In a world amongst the ‘Moderns’ “that has been forced to move into the Economy”, in Bruno Latour’s words, there is a trust in institutions. The connections between numerous agents, all of whom take on their own roles and thereby constitute the institution, make cultural authorisation happen. It is the roles that are assigned to them making the agents act in a certain way, and therefore bringing Bangarra in a position in which it is able to carry out authority. This authority is realised by the linkage between, for example, the dancers and the choreographer. The dancers all have Indigenous heritage, which is important as they are the face of the company. They are all trained dancers, whether it is in traditional Indigenous dance styles or dance styles deriving from Europe or the USA. The choreographer, Stephen Page, is another key agent in the company. His Indigenous heritage is from the Nunukul people and the Munaldjali clan of the Yugambeh tribe, while being brought up in an urban environment and being schooled in contemporary dance. His experience as a professional dancer, combined with his family background in which three sons have been part of Bangarra, validates the company’s professionalism. Not only human entities carry out agency. Promotional material, such as images on posters and on Bangarra’s website, occupy space on streets and on the
68 internet. This reflects Bangarra’s position in a globalising world, in which it is eager to take part. While it forces ‘outsiders’ to perceive the company as Indigenous, and therefore being localised in Australia and having connections to local communities, it also performs on the same stages as Igor Stravinsky’s ballets. This is what gives the company prestige amongst significant agents in the art world, such as theatre programmers. These programmers, in their turn, are responsible for booking the company, which encourages Bangarra’s success. The combination of contemporary dancing and the institutionalisation of an Indigenous-run company enables Bangarra to convey messages in a way which is understandable to global audiences. This is another reason the company takes on contemporary dance, as promoting traditional Indigenous dance would probably not reach a global audience. It is predominantly Indigenous peoples in Australia who understand traditional Indigenous Australian dancing. Besides, contemporary dance is a strategic choice of dance style, as trying to re-enact traditional dance moves – moves not ‘repackaged’ through contemporary dance – would be appropriation. Contemporary dance also allows Bangarra to perform the Indigenous stories from certain countries apart from the dancers’ communities. Performing in a contemporary style shows that the company respects the differences between traditional performances and the Bangarra performances in terms of function and therefore likes to differentiate from traditional dancing. Simultaneously, by adopting contemporary dance Bangarra is able to translate traditional stories for an audience not necessarily acquainted with Indigenous cultures. Another significant element to convey messages is to hold on to one steady identity, which is Indigeneity. As has become clear in several parts throughout this thesis, it is impossible to talk about Indigenous people as one homogenous group. Bangarra, as paradoxical as it seems, actually portrays itself as an Indigenous company. Again, this is a strategy in order to make its stories understandable for a global audience, and therefore, attracting this audience. The loss of a home country and the political struggles since this loss are that what bring Bangarra associates together. Holding on to antagonism against ‘outsiders’ is part of Bangarra’s strength in, again, transmitting ideas. The company’s identity formation is highly political and this is precisely why this group of people identifies with one umbrella term: Indigenous.
69 It is about the taking of centre stage by those who have been oppressed because of their difference from people of Eurogenic backgrounds. Bangarra shows that this time, the centre stage is taken not despite these differences, but because of it. The messages coming forth are not just about, as stated as main proposition in the introduction of this thesis, advocating for, and emancipating the communities which the stories are based upon. Besides the wish to create a positive view on Indigenous peoples in Australia, an important element is also the preservation of culture. For many of the dancers, dancing the stories is a way of connecting to their own cultures, or to learn about the cultures of fellow communities. Bangarra’s mode of preservation is shared preservation, as the stories are made accessible to ‘outsiders’ and shared amongst a global network of people. Furthermore, the stories are shared amongst those younger generations of Indigenous peoples whose connections to their cultures have become strained, repackaged in a contemporary expression as an attempt to reawaken an interest in Indigenous Australian cultures. Finally, Bangarra is an institution for those who fall between categories. As we have seen in chapter two, Latour distinguishes between the ‘Others,’ who have been objectified in the academic field of anthropology, and the ‘Moderns,’ who now, according to Latour, should be studied. However, Bangarra brings together those who do not necessarily live according to traditional Indigenous ways, but who are Indigenous nonetheless. Bangarra is a way of belonging, too: to belong to an Urban Clan. In one way or the other, Bangarra encourages a rethinking of Indigeneity in Australia: reinforcing the idea that Indigenous peoples can do anything non- Indigenous Australians can do; that modernity is Indigenous too, and that ever- evolving processes of modernisation can proceed while simultaneously supporting and embracing, rather than destroying, traditional ways of life.
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77