CriticalDance Forum

In The Age, Jo Roberts talks to Stephen Page:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><B>Reclaiming the heart of walkabout</B><BR>July 2 2002<BR> <BR>Stephen Page cannot help but imagine how life could have been so different. He offers his preferred version of Captain James Cook's landing on Terra Australis more than 200 years ago.<P>"It's 1798, Captain Cook walks up to the first black man; `black skin, pink skin, you smell different, I smell different, where do we go from here?'. Imagine if he said `**** man, your land's rich, your art is your life! This is amazing, we're sitting on a pot of gold, Yes, teach me the language'.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/07/02/1023864723843.html" TARGET=_blank><B>More</B></A> <P>****************************************<P>Review in The Age:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><B>Dance to the stories of time</B><BR>By Vicki Fairfax<BR>July 4 2002<P>Were it to be shown on television, Bangarra's <I>Walkabout</I> might well come with the warning that people may find some of its images disturbing, even chilling. Though it comprises two works, Frances Rings' Rations and Stephen Page's Rush, the latter is actually a sequel to the former.<P>These stories are also unravelling across the city at this moment. They recount the slow disintegration of a people and a culture, not so much as a consequence of brutality, but through disinterest, ignorance and a tragically misplaced trust.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/07/03/1025667005211.html" TARGET=_blank><B>More</B></A><BR><p>[This message has been edited by Malcolm Tay (edited July 05, 2002).]

In The Sydney Morning Herald:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><B>Land rites</B><BR>July 5 2002<P>The Aboriginal struggle for survival in city and country is explored in Walkabout, writes Judy Adamson.<P>For Frances Rings, the history of her grandparents' struggles in outback South Australia was simply a story. As an urban Aborigine, growing up in Adelaide, the issues faced by previous generations were distanced from her not only by time, but by lack of personal experience.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/07/04/1025667032938.html" TARGET=_blank><B>More</B></A><BR>

In The Sydney Morning Herald:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><B>She'll have rockets on the soles of her shoes</B><BR>By Debra Jopson<BR>July 6 2002<P>"I'm 35, girlfriend. Beyond the use-by date," quips Ningali Lawford. Bangarra Dance Theatre does not think so. The gorgeously garrulous actor will be back on the Sydney stage next week as a guest artist, playing a role she describes as "a weaver, a spirit person" in the Aboriginal company's new production, Walkabout.<P>"Expect to be shocked. It's a very full-on, confronting piece," said Lawford, who admires Bangarra's ability to evoke provocative images through sheer physicality, "unlike a David Williamson play".<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/07/05/1025667057676.html" TARGET=_blank><B>More</B></A><BR>

Review in The Australian:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><B>Reclaiming the spirit (Review)</B><BR>By Lee Christofis<BR>July 05, 2002<P>WITHOUT his longstanding cultural mentor Djakapurra Munyarryun and composer brother David Page nearby, Stephen Page is redefining Bangarra Dance Theatre.<P>Walkabout is a magnificently danced new double bill that reclaims the regenerating journeys central to Aboriginal spirituality. Actor-dancer Ningali Lawford is featured guest artist, story-teller and spiritual guide, while composer Steve Francis provides a dense cinematic mix of indigenous instruments and voices, natural and electronic sounds.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,4642568%255E16953,00.html" TARGET=_blank><B>More</B></A><BR>

<B>Walkabout, Bangarra Dance Theatre</B><BR>By Jill Sykes<BR>July 12 2002<BR>Sydney Morning Herald<P>Bangarra Dance Theatre's new double bill is bold, affecting and a move in a fresh direction. With traditional dancer Djakapurra Munyarryun and composer David Page both departing on different tracks, there has been a shift of emphasis in thematic approach and character.<P>While Aboriginal culture is still the central concern, Walkabout looks less at the distant past, more to relatively recent history and current events. Rations, by Frances Rings, explores the impact of white settlers on Aboriginal independence and Stephen Page's Rush looks at survival challenges in today's urban wildside.<P>Together, they take a tougher line than most of Bangarra's work in the past. The raw edge has been there before in sequences about drugs, alcoholism, brutality and deaths in custody, but it hasn't dominated as it does here.<P><A HREF="http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/07/11/1026185086153.html" TARGET=_blank><B>More</B></A><BR>

Steps back in time
By Deng Nanjun for China Daily


Dancers from down under who caught the eyes of TV viewers across the world two years ago are now set to thrill China. The Bangarra Dance Theatre of Australia shot to prominence when it
performed at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Showcasing the culture of Australia's indigenous aboriginal people under the artistic direction of Stephen Page, the group is now set to perform in China to mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations.

Bangarra Dance Theatre draws on indigenous dance traditions. Yet the group itself is relatively young, having been founded in 1991. It prides itself on reflecting the lives and attitudes of
indigenous peoples there today.

All of its members are descendants of aboriginal tribes in Australia. Its primary objective is to
maintain the link between traditional indigenous cultures of Australia and new forms of contemporary artistic expression.The group proclaims itself keen to give voice to social and political issues relevant to all people.

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Aboriginal moves
By CHEN JIE for The New China Daily

The performances at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games impressed the world with their elements of Australia's fascinating indigenous culture.
Now Stephen Page, director of those ceremonies, brings his Bangarra Dance Theatre performers to Beijing. They will perform Page's new triple-bill "Corroboree" at the Century Theatre on Wednesday and Thursday.

Last year, the Bangarra Dance Theatre premiered the new work "Skin" at the Sydney Opera House. The piece has since won Page and Bangarra the coveted Helpmann Award for Best New Australian Work and best Dance Work of the year.

Early this year, Page was honoured with the Helpmann Award again, this time for Best Choreography for "Corroboree," which toured Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane and received great critical and popular acclaim.

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<B>Bangarra's fresh start</B>
By Jane Albert
February 14, 2003
The Australian

The artistic director of Bangarra Dance Theatre and the 2004 Adelaide Festival caught pneumonia during a festival-based trip to New York last September. But it wasn't until Page suffered an allergic reaction to the antibiotics and became gravely ill that he had to give up the fight and rest.

It has been the toughest seven months in Page's life, following the suicide of his younger brother Russell last July. Not only did the community lose a talented dancer, family member and friend, Page lost a brother, a colleague and his inspiration.

<A HREF="http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,5983201%255E16953,00.html" TARGET=_blank><B>More...</B></A>

<B>Metaphor of the insecurity blanket</B>
By Perrie Croshaw
May 20 2003
Sydney Morning Herald

Bangarra has been called the oldest and the newest dance company in the world.

Choreographer Frances Rings says this is because it carries the spirit of an ancient culture that lives and grows. "And at the same time it adapts to the new world, but still keeps the sacred elements that make it unique. And that's exciting because we grow with it and get to share that and pass it on."

Stephen Page, artistic director of Bangarra Dance Theatre, regards Walkabout's six Helpmann nominations as "very gratifying".

<A HREF="http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/05/19/1053196523817.html" TARGET=_blank><B>More...</B></A>

<B>Bangarra's earth mother</B>
By Martin Buzacott
May 26, 2003
The Australian

THE Dreamtime world is red, yellow and brown, and as Arnhem Land elder Kathy Balngayngu Marika looks on, the creation ritual begins.

The stakes, and expectations, for this new Bangarra production are high, following the company's recent successes on the road with Corroboree and Walkabout. In delivering on the promise, Bush brings together a new-look Bangarra with an increasing air of artistic assurance and several young dancers making their company debuts.

<A HREF="http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,6492208%255E16953,00.html" TARGET=_blank><B>More...</B></A>

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