I met Patrick outside of the Alice Springs Resort, a grassy oasis sitting awkwardly amidst the arid and sandy valley that cradles Alice Springs. He is currently the producer of a dance performance on September 8th connected with the MobArts festival. The festival is produced by DesArt, an organization in Alice Springs and Darwin that lobbies for the representation and respect for the creations and rights of the Aboriginal people of Australia. The Australian government has displayed legislation that is nothing short of racist, and the white black relations of this country are heated and unjust.
On August 17th, 2007, the parliament in Canberra passed a law that some say will go down in history as one of the most racist legislations in modern society. Others are more receptive of the policy, as it provides huge funding for infrastructure such as medical care, police, and housing projects. Conversely, state wide bans on grog (alcohol) infringe on what is normally conceived of as human rights. Here are two different articles from Australian source on the legislation. Australian Broadcasting Company , AAP.
The dance event brings together some of the oldest and most respected members of the different tribes, and has a special importance considering the recent legislations of the government.
The timing of the event in relation to recent legislation is not the only factor of unique importance to the dance event. The old telegraph station is one of the fist colonial settlements the English built in Alice Springs. Part missionary, part cattle ranch, the settlement was responsible for the ‘re-education’ of the Aboriginals. Many of the dancers have parents and grandparents who were round up by the mission, only to experience dislocation, sickness, and sometimes death.
Patrick was quick to warn me that the dance performance would not be a display of remarkably dynamic choreography. Aside from the Mornington Island tribe who is notorious for their expressive dances, dance for indigenous communities in central Australia is not, by their definition, a mode of performance. More so, dance is an appendage for ceremonial events such as meetings between tribes and initiation rights. This performance starts to blur the boundaries between ceremony and performance, and the terms of the event have been a touchy issue for both Patrick and the eight tribes attending. The languages represented by the tribes attending are the Pitantantjarra, Ngaanyatjarra, Arrernte, Alyawarre, and Luritja. The special guests coming from far out of town are the Mornington Island Dancers. Hailing from Queensland, the Mornington Island group has an extensive international touring history, and is notorious for their more elaborate dances.
Historically, dance corroborees (meetings between different tribes) of the sort to be had on September 8th are held out bush. They are not open to any individuals who have not been initiated into the Aboriginal community. The Aboriginals to this day practice a very important initiation ceremony. For the males this includes circumcision during the teenage years, I am not sure what the woman undergo, but it is now held in close contact with health facilities. Before, when the dances were only to be viewed by initiated members of the community, the dances were thought of not as a performance or as choreographed expression, but moreover the accompaniment to the ritual or ceremony at hand, which was undoubtedly more important than the dance’s movements. Here, dance is tremendously tied to storytelling, ultimately linked to different clans' totemic animals, and the land that these totems entitle them to. 'Songlines' are songs that tell the story of the territories that each tribe guards over, and from what I've read a whole mapping of the territories of Australia can be drawn from the ancient songs of the Aboriginals. The connection between the dances presented on September 8th and the ‘dreaming’ of their totemic animal is inextricable.
Patrick and DesArt are trying to bridge the gap between the arts of the Aboriginals with the dominant culture of white Australia. Through sensitive preparations and much discussion with the different performers, the performance, on September the 8th, will be the first of what many people here hope to be a tradition of supported public performances of indigenous dance. The benefit goes to hugely diverse areas of society. From the indigenous performers who get the chance to celebrate their culture, to their children who often dance in the performance, to the divisions in the dominantly white community of Alice Springs and, more broadly, Australia, the dance performers will hopefully be one of unification and recompense.
In a society where problems of domestic abuse, alcoholism, and diabetes plague daily life, these dance events offer a chance for tremendous gathering and the meeting of old friends. 8 different groups are attending, some from more than 1000 km away. The next week will be spent preparing the location at a dry river bed, promoting the performance around town, and spreading the word to the many hostels for indigenous elderly and disabled.
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