Venue: Carriageworks (Eveleigh NSW), Dec 10 – 13, 2014
Director: Frances Rings
Image from Twitter @theNCIE

Theatre review
Identity is a subject that features in any art education, but for students at NAISDA Dance College, Aboriginality is a central tenet that guides their learning experience in dance and performance. Also known as the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Association (40 years old this year), NAISDA’s end of year showcase for 2014 is entitled Your Skin My Skin. The program represents a gamut of dance styles, but the topic of race is never far behind. A series of sensitively curated items are linked by cultural dance and music under the leadership of tutors Heather Mitijangba and Tony Mudalyun, and musicians Shane Dhawa and Timothy Djirrmurmur. Regardless of how individual dance pieces come about, we are reminded that heritage is part of their creation, and the land that our feet rest upon is crucial to the expressions on stage.

The event commences with Rika’s Story, choreographed by the nine performers of the piece with Shaun Parker at the helm. The piece provides the perfect introduction to the college and the evening, with graduating student Rika Hamaguchi’s confident verbal narration giving insight into the group’s thoughts about study experiences and her feelings at this significant time as she embarks on a new chapter in life. Through Hamaguchi’s words, we gain an understanding of the meaning and origins of the movements being displayed, as well as the psychology behind them. Also graduating are Hans Ahwang, Czack Ses Bero, Casey Natty, Kyle Shilling and Philip Walford, who have all completed NAISDA’s four-year Diploma of Professional Dance Performance.

Shilling presents the only solo piece of the schedule. Justice? is a meditation on Aboriginal deaths in custody, with impressive choreography and music created by the student. His work is intensely emotional and energetic, and he demonstrates surprising maturity and gravity. Also memorable is Natty, who shows excellent focus and a solid presence in his various appearances. The athletic dancer executes choreography with precision and flair, and like all of the graduating class, rich with potential and promise. The young men’s performance in Grinding Stone by Frances Rings (an excerpt from Bangarra Dance Theatre’s artefact) is a highlight, bringing poignancy and depth to their mysterious dance.

Aside from the passionate achievements of NAISDA’s students, Your Skin My Skin is successful also for its excellent aesthetic values and accomplished technical capacities. The show runs smoothly with beautiful transitions, and atmosphere is always gauged just right. Music and sound might be second fiddle, but they are as delightful as the dance imagery occupying centre stage. NAISDA’s night of nights is a celebration of the year’s work by its fabulous staff and students, and an annual performance with heart and soul that dance enthusiasts will certainly enjoy.

www.naisda.com.au

Venue: Carriageworks (Eveleigh NSW), Dec 11 – 14, 2013
Creative Director: Raymond D. Blanco

Theatre review
NAISDA Dance College on the NSW Central Coast offers a four-year diploma course to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, and Our Home ‘Ngalpun Mudth’ is their 2013 end of year performance showcase at Carriageworks in Sydney. The event celebrates the graduation of 5 students, with over two hours of dance, featuring ten choreographers including Frances Rings an Artist in Residence at Bangarra Dance Theatre and Australian dance legend Graeme Murphy.

The program is structured around contemporary Australian Indigenous dance forms, but influences from Asia, Europe, Latin America and Africa are infused, reflecting the multiculturalism of modern Australian life. Kristina Chan’s work Two Players Games is a highlight. Set to the mid-20th century American music of Santo & Johnny, the piece utilises the talents of dancing sisters Taree and Caleena Sansbury to great effect and shows a very thorough and interesting study of their collective physical language. Graeme Murphy’s The Protecting Veil brings an air of sophistication to the evening, and challenges the students with a more technically demanding piece.

Comedy elements were found in Shouse, a devised work under the guidance of Aku Kadogo and Vicki Van Hout’s Colonial Idiot, which uses sound bites from Ross Noble’s stand up performances. Both are intelligently constructed, and allow the young talents to shine with their exuberance and enthusiasm. Frances Rings takes a more serious perspective of her student subjects in Dismorph, and we see a successful exploration into the lives and emotional landscapes of young Indigenous people.

The evening ends with the entire ensemble flooding the performance space for a Moa Island Cultural Dance. Created alongside live musicians, and their cultural tutors, this finale is grand, magnificent, and euphoric. This is where the students are in their element. They lose their youthful inhibitions and perform with extraordinary passion and a level of assuredness rarely seen on any stage. The audience granted a standing ovation on opening night, heralding an auspicious start to the careers of NAISDA’s newest group of talents. May they flourish swiftly, and welcome every success that arrives with open arms.

www.naisda.com.au