NAISDA DANCE COLLEGE

In the early 1970s an upsurge of Indigenous cultural pride led to the birth of a unique new dance form: contemporary Australian Indigenous dance.

This new dance form sprang from the collaborations of Indigenous Aboriginal dance creators, Western trained choreographers and traditional cultural owners, who came together in performance and workshops.  This led to workshops for young people keen to learn and perform this new dance fusion.  This was the genesis of NAISDA Dance College.
In 1976, a small group of students from both town and country began the first formal year-long Careers in Dance training course.
The performance arm of this program became known as the Aboriginal/ Islander Dance Theatre (AIDT), a vibrant touring company employing students and graduates of the new Careers in Dance training program.
Very soon the theatre group was receiving invitations to perform at festivals across over the world.  The training side evolved into the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Association – now known as NAISDA Dance College.

FESTIVAL FIRST NIGHT WORK

Rainforest Dreaming - “dedicated to my mother and bapa, brother and sisters and to my nanny”
Choreographer: Tamara Pearson
Composer: David Page

This is my Nanny’s love story. Nanny is a Kuku Yalanji woman from the bush, where the rainforest meets the sea. Her country is in the basin of the hills known to the bama (people) as Buru.

Nanny grew up in the scrub; she would walk for many long miles in the bush, digging for worms and fishing off the banks of the waters, looking for dukul (freshwater turtle) and mussel. When she was in her teenage years she was sent away to Hope Vale, here she would live and meet her husband and raise a family.

This is Nanny’s dreaming, her rainforest dreaming and her return to country after a long separation. This is the wind whispering in the rainforest and the sun showers announcing her arrival high above in the tree ferns. She moves lithely now, her illness disappears as she continues her journey home. Her grey hair dissipates and is once more strong, long and brown. Her eyes carry a glow of youthfulness and laugh as she recognises the country she has finally entered. She begins to dance to the music of her ancestors. Her heart beat soars and her voice lifts in her own tongue knowing she joins her brothers, sisters, parents and grandparents. The smell and scent of the rainforest licks at her feet and she moves with the wind twirling about her as she continues her journey home. Now youthful she sings her song of greeting on her country her Wujal Wujal and cleanses herself for the final journey in the water of her waterfall which separates around her body and moves as she moves allowing her the comfort of her resting place.

This is her dreaming, this is her rainforest dreaming.  She passed away in March this year.

Tamara Person, November 2008

PERFORMERS

Kerry Aiken, Litia Anu, Eric Avery, Jacqueline Conforth, Nancy Cook, Luke Currie-Richardson, Jayden Goolagong, Ann-Janette Phillips, Kenneth Johnson, Charleen Williams, Eloise Yunkaporta and Tamara Pearson

Tamara Pearson

I am an Indigenous woman from Cape York, Queensland.  My language group is Kuku Yalanji.  I grew up in a remote Aboriginal Community known as HopeVale, five hours north of Cairns.

When I have completed my studies at NAISDA I would like to continue to dance and perform.  I especially would like to continue encouraging and teaching the young people back home to be proud of their traditional dances and be a role model for my nieces and nephews.  I would also like to continue my connection with my family from North East Arnhem land that has adopted me as their daughter over these 13 years and continue to learn the Yolngu ways.

I would also like to be keep creating choreography based on my personal experience growing up with the bush with my family and my grandmother.

My body is a canvas that I will continue to create on honest expressions from the ground up into the soles of my feet.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE COMPANY'S WEBSITE HERE.