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Dancescapes in Dialogue: an Exploration of Indigenous Australian and Indian Classical Dance Ontologies

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Dancescapes in Dialogue: an Exploration of Indigenous Australian and Indian Classical Dance Ontologies Dancescapes in Dialogue: An Exploration of Indigenous Australian and Indian Classical Dance Ontologies Sidha Naayaki Pandian National Centre for Indigenous Studies The Australian National University A thesis by creative works submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of The Australian National University Canberra, June 2019 © Sidha Naayaki Pandian 2019 All rights reserved Statement of Originality I hereby declare that to the best of my knowledge and belief this is an original work by Sidha Naayaki Pandian and has not been previously submitted for any degree or examination at any university. Signed: ------------------------------------ Sidha Naayaki Pandian Date: 7th June 2019 ii Acknowledgements Hari Oṃ I wish to acknowledge Australia’s First Peoples upon whose lands this thesis emerged, and I pay my respects to all elders past and present. To the foremost Director of the National Centre for Indigenous Studies (NCIS) at the Australian National University (ANU), Professor Michael Dodson, your wisdom and generosity will not be forgotten. Thank you for believing in me. To the current Director of NCIS, Professor Asmi Wood, thank you for your constant friendship and guidance. My dearest supervisory panel – Dr Diane Smith, Dr Katerina Teaiwa and, Chair, Dr Bill Fogarty – I’m extremely grateful for all the inspiration, love and knowledge you have showered onto me and into this thesis. Thank you for taking turns to be my pillar of strength during the toughest moments of this PhD. Your commitment and perseverance through these years have led me to this point and cannot be forgotten. My heartfelt thanks to Jacob Ong and all my colleagues and staff at NCIS for all your friendship and support – I am grateful to have met each and every one of you. To my parents Rajendra Pandian and Vasundara Devi, my partner Arun Kumar, and children Rajendrakanya and Hrishikeshwar – Thank you for your unconditional love and understanding throughout this thesis. I also wish to express my gratitude to my dear relatives in Australia, Singapore and India and to everyone in Shivafamily, Temple of Fine Arts International and Sarasawati Mahavidhyalaya, Perth. My heartfelt namaskāram to Srimati Kamakshi Mami and Steve Wantarri Patrick, Jampijimpa for giving me the gift of ‘dance’ and so much more in this life. May I continue to impart your wisdom. To the late Uncle Ken and Master Gopal, Thank you for giving me a chance to dance again through this thesis. Last but not least, my pranāms to you dear Swamiji – my silent witness, inspiration and guide; akhaṇḍa maṇḍalākāram vyāptam yena carācaram tat padam darśitam yena tasmai śrī gurave namaḥ. iii Abstract This ‘Thesis by Creative Works’1 investigates the ‘same but different’ performative ontologies, or ways of being, between Indigenous Australian and Indian classical dancescapes. The term ‘dancescape’ refers to the emotional, intellectual, corporeal, spiritual and other ineffable experiences potentially encountered in dance. A multi-source research approach was used to examine numerous ‘dancescapes in dialogue’. As such, the thesis comprises both a written dissertation of 44,883 words and a series of videos with a total running time of 39.61 minutes. These integrated elements capture and re-present personal memories and improvisations of the different dancescapes over the period of the thesis project. The visual and written narratives articulate the philosophical and metaphysical ideas that emerged through creative collaborations between the two broad dance cultures; particularly between the South Indian classical dance genre, Bharatanatyam, and Noongar, Warlpiri and Yolŋu dance practices. Acknowledging the geographic and genetic links between India and Australia and its peoples, this thesis determines significant ontological resonances between present-day expressions of Indigenous Australian and Indian classical dance. I discuss how these affinities reside in similar movement vocabularies and dance techniques that enable performers and viewers to connect and renew their ties with the sacred and sentient environment. Through Vedic-Hindu performative lenses, I also suggest that Indigenous Australian dance practices deeply resonate with the aspect Nṛtta or ‘pure dance’ as discussed in the Nāṭyaśāstra—an ancient scripture on dramaturgy, written by Bharatamuni.2 My thesis further declares that such traditions of dance continue to engage in ways of speaking and listening to the earth by striking, digging, sliding and grazing feet upon sentient soil. Thus, the thesis highlights ‘dancescapes in dialogue’ as a systematic and multi-source method of unearthing, sharing and renewing Indigenous knowledges in this contemporary age. 1 The policy guidelines for the thesis by creative works is available at: https://policies.anu.edu.au/ppl/document/ANUP_003405. 2 The thesis refers to the author Bharata with the added suffix muni (sage). iv Table of Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................... iii Abstract ..................................................................................................................... iv List of Figures .......................................................................................................... viii Dancescapes in Dialogue: Videos ............................................................................ viii Glossary A ................................................................................................................. ix Glossary B ................................................................................................................. xi Prelude ..................................................................................................................... xiii The Waugle and the Cobra ......................................................................................... xiii Beginnings on Boodjar ................................................................................................ xvii Reconnecting Gondwana Cultures .............................................................................. xx Chapter One: Introduction Re-Searching Gondwana ............................................. 1 Gondwana Connections ................................................................................................. 2 Ancient Lands ..................................................................................................................................... 2 Research Background: Sources of Creative Inspiration .............................................. 4 Speaking to Country ........................................................................................................................... 4 Dialoguing Cultural Perspectives ........................................................................................................ 5 ‘Re-imagining Gondwana’ .................................................................................................................. 6 Research Questions and Hypotheses ........................................................................... 6 Conceptual and Theoretical Framework ...................................................................... 9 Dance .................................................................................................................................................. 9 The ‘Dancescape’ ................................................................................................................................ 9 ‘Dialoguing’ ....................................................................................................................................... 11 Sklar’s Approach to Dance ............................................................................................................... 12 Abhinaya ........................................................................................................................................... 13 Research Methods ........................................................................................................ 13 Literature and Performance Reviews .............................................................................................. 13 Writing Autoethnography ................................................................................................................ 14 ‘The Visual’ Method in the Creative Component ............................................................................ 15 ‘Dancescapes in Dialogue’ ................................................................................................................ 17 Thesis Narrative ............................................................................................................ 17 Chapter Two Dancing Histories—Indigenous Australia ........................................ 20 Perspectives of Dance .................................................................................................. 21 Dance is… .......................................................................................................................................... 21 Indigenous Perspectives of History .................................................................................................. 22 Indigenous Australian Dance ....................................................................................... 27 Early Performative Encounters .......................................................................................................
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