 |
| Karra Ban in "Marrow" |
MARROW Australian Dance Theatre, Canberra Theatre Centre
Playhouse.
Choreographed by Daniel Riley – Artistic Associate: Brianna
Kell
Project Elder: Major “Moogy” Sumner AM – Production &
Lighting Design: Matthew Adey
Costume Design: Ailsa Paterson – Composition & Sound
Design: James Howard
Production Manager: Ninian Donald – Stage Manager: Katya
Shevtsov
Technical Manager: Ellen Demaagd
Canberra Theatre Centre Playhouse: July 31- August 1, 2025.
Performance July 31 reviewed by BILL STEPHENS
 |
| Dancers of ADT in "Marrow" |
Over the course of a week, Canberra audiences have had the
pleasure of viewing two productions by major indigenous dance companies,
Bangarra Dance Theatre and Australian Dance Theatre. Both companies strove to
express aspects of the indigenous experience through dance, and both companies
called upon cultural collaborators to assist in this mission.
There was particular excitement surrounding this visit of
ADT because its current Artistic Director, Daniel Riley, rose to his present
position, through a career trajectory which took in training with Canberra organisation
QL2 Dance, and a distinguished professional dance career as a dancer with
Bangarra Dance Theatre.
The publicity for ADT’s production described the work as
imagining a new shared future for our nation.
Even though disappointed
at the failure of the Voice referendum, which occurred during the creation of Marrow,
Riley stated in his program notes that he was keen to use the opportunity
offered by Marrow, “to feel, very deeply, what a different version of an
Australian experience might be, and to dream in a different direction”.
His work commenced in pitch blackness with a pounding drum setting the mood and timing. As the lights slowly rose to reveal a smoky backdrop, a single dancer marched aggressively around the perimeter of the stage to the driving drumbeat. Two more dancers joined him and then two more, until all the dancers were marching around the stage.
Marrow is very much an ensemble work, and the dancers were Joshua Doctor, Yilin Kong, Zachary Lopez, Karra Nam, Patrick O’Luanaigh and Zoe Wozniak.
Ultimately, structured patterns dissolved as the dancers transitioned
into smaller groups, executing dynamic individual acrobatic movements and
variations.
Smoke figured prominently in the production, which was expected, as the
publicity had described Marrow as a smoking ceremony for a country trapped in the past, and the smoke as a
seventh dancer.
So the dancers, each outfitted in uniquely tailored, loose-fitting
garments made of straw-coloured textured fabrics, designed by Ailsa Paterson,
made liberal use of hand-held smoke machines throughout the performance, not
only to purify the body and ward off negative energies, but also as an
effective visual element of the production.
Dancers of ADT in "Marrow"
Another descriptor in the same material described the work
as existing part-way between a rave and ritual. Given that a rave or ritual
requires no storyline, this idea however explained the aggressiveness of much
of James Howard’s music, and the frantic energy of the dancer’s movements.
Not that any dance work necessarily requires a storyline,
but when there is a declared objective, it is helpful if the observer can
identify the stated objective in the work.
It also fitted the
evocative production and lighting design by Matthew Adey, which seemed to suggest
that the action was taking place in a fenced area at varying times of day.
This was particularly so for the sequence in which the
dancers carefully laid out a cloth, which was then folded into a bundle and
raised skyward. The bundle was then lowered and embraced to suggest a mother
and baby, followed by a long solo by a female dancer, which suggested a mother
grieving.
Viewed as an abstract
contemporary dance work, there was much to admire. The dancers were highly
skilled and deeply invested. The choreography was intense, interesting, and
excellently performed, and the work contained many striking moments.
However, given the positivity of the comments in Riley’s
program notes suggesting that Marrow was offering a chance to “ feel what a
different version of an Australian experience might be, and to dream in
a different direction”, it was disappointing not to be able to identify any positive
aspects in the work that suggested new directions, hope or aspirations for a new shared
future, only familiar tropes expressing anger, rebellion
and sadness.
Photos by Morgan Sette
This review also published in AUSTRALIA ARTS REVIEW. www.artsreview.com.au
