NAISDA Dance College: “KAMU” -
Bay 17, Carriageworks, 26 November -
There was a supportive atmosphere in the theatre for NAISDA’s 2015 graduation performance of "KAMU". Directed by Frances Rings, “KAMU” gave a number of indigenous choreographers the opportunity to create short works on NAISDA dance artists. With the integration of so many artistic voices this program could have lacked unity, but the order in which the works were performed and the skilful way in which the ending of one piece blended with the beginning of the next one gave the illusion of a continuing thread holding them all together.
The first half of the program was stylistically grounded in more contemporary movement. Penelope Mullen’s Exhale shows a musical awareness that was reflected in the dynamic patterns and shapes mapped out by the Diploma and Certificate IV students who danced it. These are NAISDA’s most highly trained students, and although the overall standard was high, one dancer in particular stood out – a tall young man with a buoyant jump and elegant lines who sped through a series of fouette turns in one section. As the dancers were listed only in their certificate groups I cannot tell you his name but he certainly has a lot of talent and potential for the future.
Raymond D. Blanco’s Adthabau Apu is a lyrical work and was performed by the Certificate II dancers. Although they did not appear as technically confident as the older and more experienced students, as a group they committed to the aesthetic of the work and came off well. Adthabau Apu has strikingly atmospheric lighting in dark blue and a slightly smoky haze as well as an original soundscape by Heath Jeffrey featuring large drums played live at the back of the stage.
The last work before interval was To Close A Gap?, a piece of dance theatre utilising spoken words choreographed by Ian RT Colless and performed by the Certificate III dancers. According to the program it is part of a larger work envisioned for the future and although there are some visually striking moments with piles of paperwork being moved around and distributed systematically within dance, the spoken word elements were not delivered with enough clarity or volume.
The second half of the program was in some ways easier to make sense of than the first. Berthalia Reuben choreographed a work called Gur Ira Koskir (Women of the Sea) which utilises more recognisably Indigenous dance and costume, while the male dancers who perform in Sani Townson’s Thaganu Gath Aimiz manipulate a large fishing net which becomes part of the dance itself, whether connecting or constraining them. Dances from Wug Village, Moa Island ended the program on a joyous celebratory note with the ensemble performers singing and dancing in unison. According to program notes the origin of this work, choreographed mainly by Dujon Niue, stems from a cultural residency undertaken earlier this year by a number of NAISDA dancers and tutors to that very location, and it is a very positive aspect of such residencies if their fruits can be shown to a wider audience as they are in “KAMU”.
- GERALDINE HIGGINSON
Top: Exhale by Penelope Mullen, photo: Branco Gaica.