NAISDA Dance College: “Ngalpun Mudth” -
Carriageworks Bay 20, 12 December -
“Our Home” (“Ngalpun Mudth”) was a joyous romp of an end-of-year performance. Co-ordinated by National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association Dance College (NAISDA) graduate and long-term affiliate, Raymond Blanco, the concert showcased 40 dance students and 10 choreographers drawn from various alumni, graduates and developing artists, plus a handful of “celebrity choreographers”, including Graeme Murphy and Frances Rings. There was not a moment to be bored, as Blanco kept the show and the dancers moving through their various scenes, strung together by the theme of carrying your cultural heritage, your home, with you where you roam.
The show’s name, “Ngalpun Mudth”, is in Kala Lagaw Ya language of Moa, the island where NAISDA held its 2013 cultural residency, and where the students were exposed to the culture’s arts and crafts: hunting, exploring and engaging with the community. And it is these traditional songs and dances, costumes and legends which Blanco has drawn upon and woven through the evening – notably the powerful group dances involving traditional marap bows and arrows, stamping and rhythms, singing and swooshy, grass skirts. A large dugong puppet, which features in the Moan legend of “Gelam and Usar”, is a palpable presence, and is skillfully manipulated by the cast during the transitions.
NAISDA Dance College is approaching its 40th anniversary. It began in the 1970s as a means of training indigenous Australians in the newly developed form known as contemporary Australian Indigenous dance, a fusion of western dance forms and Aboriginal and Islander dance, traditions and culture. Since then, the college and the form have come a long way.
In this production, one could see that the students are experiencing a broad spectrum of work through their training. Though the powerful, traditional dances will always be this reviewer’s preference, there were other stand-out pieces and performances, most notably Kristina Chan’s duet for two graduating Diploma students, Caleena and Taree Sansbury. Chan’s piece is sensitive and complex without being contrived, and highlights the sisters’ precision and physical security with one another. The Sansbury sisters also showed great assurance and performance flair throughout the evening.
Certificate IV students Czack Bero and Hans Ahwang are another pair to be highlighted. Both these dancers grabbed one’s attention immediately, and one’s focus stayed with them throughout. These two young men have the ability to translate the integrity of their work across all fields – as a true dance artist should do. And ultimately this is what an institution the likes of NAISDA needs to be teaching its students.
No matter what the genre, it is the integrity of performance and skill of execution, which affects our perception of dance. Although, on this evening, the majority of the students showed equal passion for their work, the men ultimately performed with greater skill and personality and clearly won the audience over, as evidenced by the whoops, cheers and whistles! Their bold sexuality clearly appealed to youthful members of the audience.
The evening was not lacking in opportunities to let the women shine, they just did not shine as brightly. I would like to see their youthful, feminine bodies pushed, honed, trained and developed to match their muscular male counterparts, and to bring to their performance, that same level of confidence, dexterity and assuredness.
- Emma Sandall
Top: Caleena and Taree Sansbury. Photo: Branco Gaica.