Bangarra Dance Theatre, Canberra Theatre Centre,
Until May 27.
Reviewed by SAMARA PURNELL.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this review contains the name and image of a deceased person.
Sheltering is a triple bill dance production that honours both past and present, with a remount of the 2015 work Sheoak alongside two works from emerging artists. It also fondly remembers David ‘Dubboo’ Page, the brother of former artistic director Stephen Page, and composer for Bangarra over many years. Of all his beautiful soundscapes created for the company, Sheoak was his last.
Dancers move under a heavy net, slowly spreading and rising until they emerge, to a slow thumping beat. Keeping Grounded is the contemporary work choreographed by Glory Tuohy-Daniell, exploring "An energetic connection to the earth and ancestral land" as the program explains.
Holes that look like burns allow dancers to move in and out of the net, beginning with playful swaying in the net and popping through the holes. Some lovely partner work was on display - dancers appeared to playfully confront each other, clutching a handful of each other's costumes as they lifted and rolled around each other. The choreography is angular with some movements being robotic and with moments of jerking or vibrating - those weaved subtly through the final dance work and gave it a choreographic reference point. 
Photo by Daniel Boud
The dancers were costumed in tops and pants in a neutral palette before reemerging in unitards of brown and ochre.
A straight jacket was passed between the dancers, possibly to symbolise intergenerational incarceration. It also appeared to represent a struggle of fitting into an imposed routine and a loss of connection to roots.
Brown Boys is a short film by Daniel Mateo and Cass Mortimer Eipper, filmed against the stark white backdrop of a film studio set. Mateo stands in a small structure made of talas (Tongan mats, representing that side of his heritage) and recites his own poetry recalling what it was like growing up a brown boy, whilst extreme close-ups focus on his hands, feet, his tattoos and beautiful brown eyes. Dirt and sand run over his hands, representing his Aboriginal heritage and he smears ochre across his face as he speaks of dirt and honey, love and hurt. He is at once parts and whole, connecting to and consumed by his bond to culture and Country. As the film concludes and the camera zooms out, he is owning his identity, standing proud with waist-high earth forming a protective skirt around him as he proclaims that “brown boys have been beautiful for a long while”.
A remount of Sheoak, premiered in 2015 and choreographed by Bangarra artistic director Frances Rings, with a score by David Page was the final piece in Sheltering. The program notes explain that “Sheoak tree branches symbolise indigenous culture passed through generations, its trunk stands for strong leadership and self-determined governance, and its roots anchor us in culture and lore”.
Striking costumes by Jennifer Irwin were exceptional to observe - fitted shorts in a silver and black snake print, with black and white textured bodices depicting a backbone, ribs, perhaps even gills. Ghost-like and beautiful.
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| Photo by Daniel Boud from previous staging of Sheoak |
The work covers a lot but there is a focus on feminine energy as redemptive and protective. Chantelle Lee Lockhart embodies the keeper - a shamanic figure who oversees and protects yet bears a heavy burden.
The side-lighting, dramatic costumes, and Page’s soundscape creates a mysterious and captivating atmosphere. The male group dance, with unified choreography is a highlight, before the women appear in pretty, sheer tunics and silhouetted by dawn, with a softness and calming energy that would be used to try to save the men who have been affected by drugs, alcohol and violence. The men twitch, stagger and throw punches, the red and black skirts look like blood on skin, in a confronting depiction.
Large sticks are used as a burden to carry, a fence to form, a hunting tool and a legacy to pass on, before curved branches descend around the dancers, forming a ribcage, in a striking stage design. These branches seem to offer a choice of redemption, an escape or a return to despair.
The segment of two dancers wrapped in a glowing blanket wasn’t clear in its purpose and didn’t fit in. The work concluded with ghostly figures emerging from mist and imagery of a fossil tree.
It was exciting to see that many new, talented dancers have joined Bangarra, with Roxy Syron and Donta Whitham giving especially eye-catching performances. Sheltering is a contemporary style bill, introducing several new dancers and emerging choreographers, and bringing David Page’s meditative soundscapes to the stage again, by this much-loved company.
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| Timeline of David Page's works. Taken from official program |
An edited version of this review appears at citynews.com.au
