Tag Archives: Bangarra

A Dance with Bangarra

My first reaction when I opened the new volume about Bangarra Dance Theatre, Clan by choreographer Stephen Page and collaborating photographer Greg Barrett (Allen & Unwin, 2013), was surprise at the sheer beauty of what I saw.  My second reaction was to … Continue reading

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Applause

Of the many friends I’ve made in Australia over the years, there are none I cherish quite so much as Jonathan and Penny, who have opened their home to me, let me read drafts of sonnets on the occasion of … Continue reading

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Brave New Bangarra

This is my first attempt to post something meaningful at this new site for Aboriginal Art & Culture: an American eye, so forgive me if I run into some technical glitches.  (You can check out the old site, five years’ … Continue reading

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God Save the Queen, and Stephen Page

I heard from Apolline Kohen this week that Kuninjku artist John Mawurndjul was awarded the Order of Australia (AM) on the 2010 Queen’s Birthday for his service to the preservation of Indigenous culture. Apolline reports that Mawurndjul is “thrilled” by the … Continue reading

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More Art in America / More Videos

As surprising as it may sound, yet another exhibition of Australian Aboriginal art opened this week at a major museum in America. Contemporary Aboriginal Painting from Australia, curated by Eric Kjellgren at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, … Continue reading

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Bangarra’s Inventions

I’ve had the luck to see Bangarra perform three times in as many months: Mathinna at the Sydney Opera House in August and Awakenings twice at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC last week. I also recently purchased the DVD of Urban Clan, a film … Continue reading

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Bangarra, North America, 2008: Awakenings

We’ve dared the most political city in the United States less than three weeks before the election for a worthy good: Bangarra was performing Thursday and Friday night at the Kennedy Center, on its way to performances in New York … Continue reading

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The Great Australian Wars

We’ve had two extraordinary nights of theatre now. After the second our friend Jonathan commented that in the space of a single weekend we’d managed to experience Australia’s two greatest wars. Friday night we saw Nigel Jamieson’s Gallipoli at the Sydney Theatre … Continue reading

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Bangarra: Urban Clan

I recently came across Urban Clan (Ronin Films),a portrait of Bangarra Dance Theatre and the three Page brothers, Stephen, storyteller/choreographer, David, songman/composer, and Russell, dancer, who were at its heart for the first decade of its life. (Russell died in 2002.) The film was … Continue reading

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Poms Slaughter Dancers, Fall Asleep

I’ve been amazed in recent weeks to read the reviews of Bangarra’s performances in London at the Sadler’s Wells Theatre on September 14 – 16, and then on tour.  While the best parts of the show – which feels long … Continue reading

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