BlakDance Brings Two New Works to Perth

BlakDance will bring to Perth WA premieres of two bold works, The Other Side of Me by Gary Lang NT Dance Company (State Theatre Centre 30 April - 2 May), and SILENCE by Karul Projects at His Majesty’s Theatre (1-2 May).

Gary Lang’s The Other Side of Me shares a poignant new angle on Stolen Generations  - one young man adopted and raised in a small UK village. Stranded between two families, two countries and two cultures, this delicate duet explores colonisation’s grey areas, its wide ranging destructive impact for all involved. It offers its audience the opportunity to experience the singing of a young man's spirit home.

Of this international, cross-cultural collaboration with Northumbria University (UK), Choreographer and Larrakia man, Gary Lang says “I focused on the original crime done to him - the loss of his identity ... what he lost by not knowing the other side of himself. Split in two, each half depicted by a single dancer. Ultimately what this work became is a path to help him travel back so he knows it’s ok to come home where his spirit should be. That way we honour him - and all the others this happened to. Because this story is not just his story - it’s our story. It belongs to Australia.” 

Established in 2005, BlakDance is a national producing platform for First Nation contemporary dancers and choreographers. 

On these compelling presentations, BlakDance Co-CEO and Executive Producer Merindah Donnelly said, “These small determined dance companies create powerful, riveting productions that reverberate throughout our land and into international contexts. Walk back out into the world enchanted, challenged and uplifted!”.

 

SILENCE pulls the Treaty conversation out from under the rug and slams it back on the table. With thrashing live drumming and a raw aesthetic, Thomas E.S. Kelly combines intimate storytelling with significant moments in Australian history bringing an unresolved conversation to a new generation. Funny, irreverent and reverberating with power…if you think you know Australian contemporary dance, you haven’t seen SILENCE.

Choreographer and Minjungbal-Yugambeh, Wiradjuri and Ni-Vanuatu man, Thomas E.S. Kelly said, “SILENCE literally and symbolically breaks the silence with dynamic live percussion from composer Jhindu-Pedro Lawrie. His rich drumbeats drive the dancers forward as they explore past, present, and pose alternate realities.” 

 

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