Treading the pathways news
World Dance Alliance Global Summit
Report by Bronwyn Liddle
It was an extremely rewarding experience on many levels. 'Us' 'Our mob' Treading the Pathways dancers are validated and have an important place in the World Dance Alliance and you can see it and feel it from everyone. Respect and recognition.
I really enjoyed the first 3 days of the WDA especially the Opening Night performances. Jukupurra, Albert David, and Dujion Newie-Awesome!
Rita's Pryces 2 hour Contemporary Traditional TI Dance class. Jade Dewi Tyas Tunggai original choreography performance of the Seven Sisters.
The Treading the Pathways Committee is proving to be extremely valuable. The performance in Canberra for the Prime Ministers Sorry speech, for me is a huge indicator. I feel that we are now stronger and focused. It is so important for us to connect in person. When we can feel so lost on our own, struggling in the community, sometimes text, phone calls, and emails are just not enough. To sit around the table with the TTP committee brings strength and focus, it renews our energy and knowledge to take back and share and apply to our community. It brings me joy when I think how we all met and how our own individual journeys in dance have kept us connected like family. The future looks amazing.
The Black Book Indigenous Dancers Directory—Online
15.5.08
A springboard initiative of Treading the Pathways, the Black book Indigenous Dancer’s Directory is an online tool created to showcase and promote the diversity and range of Indigenous Dance in Australia, from Community Cultural groups to professionally trained specialists.
Providing access to over 150 dancers, choreographers, and companies, video excerpts can be viewed through this portal to make choosing the right artist(s) for the right event a lot simpler and quicker.
Artists can continuously provide material to ensure their information is current and accurate. Please submit your information to: Keiran Grieves kieran@theblackbook.com.au
Ausdance’s Treading the Pathways program—
part of a new era
Indigenous dance and music led the Australian Parliament into a new era on 12 February 2008, with a celebration of welcome in the Members’ Hall of Parliament House, Canberra.
With barely a week’s notice, Marilyn Miller, director, dancer, choreographer and now National Indigenous Dance Co-ordinator of Ausdance’s Treading the Pathways program, directed a 45-minute performance to complement the Welcome to Country by local Ngambri Elder, Matilda House-Williams.
After a year of working through many of the issues raised by Treading the Pathways, Marilyn was in a unique position to turn this last-minute request from Government into a reality. She understood the complexities and cultural sensitivities involved, and decided that this performance must be representative of the whole country in order to properly complement the Welcome to Country by the Canberra region’s local Elders. She contracted 16 performers including Djakapurra Munyarryun, Matthew Doyle, Dennis Newie, Peggy Misi, Albert David, Vicki Van Hout, Jeanette Fabila and Rachel Wallis, and devised a mix of traditional and contemporary performance which would truly represent the wider Indigenous community.
Monday afternoon rehearsals at Parliament House were directed smoothly and professionally by Marilyn, who also devised Matilda House’s formal greeting of the Prime Minister, and her procession with him to the dais for the official Welcome. The performers, too, contributed their skills and deep cultural knowledge: their ability to work together, to understand the brief and to adapt to difficult working conditions (marble floor, central water feature and leaking roof at Parliament House!), made this performance all the more extraordinary.
The day was a triumph for Marilyn and each of the dancers and musicians, telecast live by Sky News and replayed throughout the nation on the evening news and current events programs. Treading the Pathways had provided a unique opportunity for these performers, and demonstrated the value of a united voice for Australia’s Indigenous dance community. Ausdance is proud to be working closely with them to provide such opportunities, and to make these dreams of a larger professional dance network a reality.
  Welcome to Country: Matilda House-Williams and delegation, Paul House (didgeridoo)
Director: Marilyn Miller, National Indigenous Dance Co-ordinator, Treading the Pathways
Performers: Henrietta Baird (Sydney/Kuranda, QLD), Rochelle (Shellie) Bin-Garape (Cairns, QLD), Albert David (Sydney/TSI), Glen Doyle (NSW),
Matthew Doyle (NSW), Jeanette Fabila (QLD), Ryuichi Fujimura (NSW), Paul House (ACT), Arnold Marika (Yirrkala, NT), Peggy Misi (Cairns/TSI), Djakapurra Munyarryun (Yirrkala, NT), Dennis Newie (TSI), Rosealee Pearson (Sydney/Yirrkala, NT), Micqaela Pryce (Cairns, QLD), Patricia (Rita) Pryce (Cairns/TSI), Vicki Van-Hout (Sydney, NSW), Rachael Wallis (Nhulunbuy, NT).
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