In recent years, Lake Eyre has enjoyed a lot of publicity and notoriety due to three seasons of inflows from the north and east, events unlikely to recur any time soon with the looming El Nino in the Pacific. Thus, amongst the buzz of tourists in their trucks and site seeing planes in the air, it is entirely appropriate the Bangarra Dance Company bring us back to earth and the reality of the eternity of the area in their latest work TERRAIN.
As we know, Bangarra is our pre-eminent indigenous dance ensemble (though that title at times is perhaps limiting on its full impact on the Australian dance scene) and so this work is a very indigenous view of Kati Thanda (aka Lake Eyre) and indigenous issues generally.
To Jacob Nash’s massive rear art panels and David Page’s at times mesmerising and haunting music choreographer, Frances Rings has her large dancer gathering gracefully, movingly and convincingly take us through the Lake’s calling to country, the persisting struggle for land rights and both the subtle and stark features of the land especially when the waters flow.
Both the Shields and Deluge movements were highlights, the former for the men armed with shields and the latter as the finale for the whole company.
Like Lake Eyre, one of Bangarra’s enduring features is the continuity of its management with Stephen Page (Artistic Director) in his 12th year, his brother (the aforementioned) David very much a part of the family and even Rings has returned to the fold for this her sixth work for the company. That permanency produces a strength of purpose that come through in the performance, with all aspects of the TERRAIN production deeply woven together and the dancers on top of their games at about the mid-point of their Australian season.
Recent Comments