Chosen Practitioner
During my research into human's connection to nature, I was led to the culture and beliefs of indigenous people, who see their surroundings as kin and only believe that life is viable when we 'view both ourselves and nature as part of an extended ecological family that shares ancestry and origins' (Salmón, 2000). The respect for all that Mother Earth provides is emulated through the understanding of the spirit that lives through us and the earth, and through being a caretaker of the land by practicing 'reverence, humility and reciprocity' (Assembly of First Nations, n.d.).
Frances Rings is an Indigenous Australian dancer and choreographer, who is a descendant of the Kokatha Tribe, situated in the West Coast of Australia. As well as her success as associate artistic director at Bangarra (an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisation and one of Australia's leading performing arts companies), Rings has also established important intercultural relationships with Kahawi Dance Theatre and Atamira Dance Company, sharing her stunning soulful contemporary dance and storytelling (Bangarra, 2021). Her core values and intention of helping people to "understand the lens through which indigenous people view our relationship to country and understand how important that relationship is for our spirit and our belonging" are what attracted me to her work, as they aline so closely to the themes in 'Where the Crawdads Sing'(Varidel, 2016). Frances Rings views choreographing as a cultural gift, with the platform of Bangarra giving her beautiful protection to be able to tell the stories of social issues and trauma experienced by her people, as well as stunning, poetic protection of her choreography (Lawson, 2021).
When watching her piece 'Terrain' I found the use of space on stage most admirable, as the dancers lengthened and expanded their bodies as if they were growing from the ground beneath them, emulating the spiralling qualities of roots and branches emerging from the soil (bangarradance theatre, 2012) . It led me to consider how I may interact with my surroundings, as although there will be no other dancers for me to interact with, I can make a connection and relationship with the space around me, appreciating my belonging in the space as indigenous people do. This may be through using grounded movements and developing sequences emerging from floor work to standing, but also through how I look at the space around me, taking in the area I have to move in and intentionally viewing my surroundings as I perform.
In an interview by Sydney Scoop, Rings also expressed how her sense of belonging to her country was inherent, as her appreciation and passion stemmed from her father, who felt his 'spirit came alive' when surrounded by nature (Varidel, 2016). I admired the way he described his feelings of passion and would love to emulate this quality by allowing the intention behind my movement to stem from within, through initiating movement from my core and spine to show a growing emotion inside pulling me to move across the stage.
Frances Rings also describes her choreography as a duty to allow others to understand how sacred the land is for indigenous people, and there is a lot of compassion and sensitivity towards how the land needs to be cared for. These images of tenderness are also inspiring to me, and I observed how Rings expressed these qualities within 'Terrain', with the controlled and delicate manner in which the dancers melt and emerge from the ground. Looking at the quotation from the novel: 'Kya laid her hand upon the breathing, wet earth and the marsh became her mother', I began improvising with these ideas in mind and created motifs using the words 'breathing', 'wet', 'earth' and 'mother' to create set phrases to form my Connection to Nature: Breathing Mother Earth section:
Connection to Nature exploration:
Completed Connection to Nature: Breathing Mother Earth:
References:
Salmón, E., 2000. Kincentric Ecology: Indigenous Perceptions of the Human-Nature Relationship. Ecological Applications, [online] 10(5), pp.1327-1328. Available at: <https://www.fws.gov/nativeamerican/pdf/tek-salmon-2000.pdf>.
Assembly of First Nations. n.d. Honouring Earth | Assembly of First Nations. [online] Available at: <https://www.afn.ca/honoring-earth/> [Accessed 13 October 2021].
Blackshear, T., 2019. Golden Leaves. [Oil and gold leaf on canvas].
Bangarra. 2021. Frances Rings | Bangarra. [online] Available at: <https://www.bangarra.com.au/about/person/frances-rings/> [Accessed 16 October 2021].
Varidel, R., 2016. Bangarra Dance Choreographer Frances Rings On Terrain - Sydney Scoop. [online] Sydney Scoop. Available at: <http://sydneyscoop.com/arts-entertainment-interviews/bangarra-dance-choreographer-frances-rings-on-terrain/> [Accessed 16 October 2021].
Lawson, C., 2021. The Rise of Frances Rings - Fjord Review. [online] Fjord Review. Available at: <https://fjordreview.com/the-rise-of-frances-rings/> [Accessed 16 October 2021].
Bangarra, n.d. Frances Rings. [image] Available at: <https://www.bangarra.com.au/about/person/frances-rings/> [Accessed 27 January 2022].
bangarradance theatre, 2012. TERRAIN Landform. [video] Available at: https://youtu.be/Tbozy2oX-MU [Accessed 21 September 2021].
Barrett, G., n.d. Bangarra Dance Theatre in Terrain. [image] Available at: <https://dancetabs.com/2012/07/bangarra-dance-theatre-terrain-melbourne/> [Accessed 16 October 2021].
Dubeau, A., 2021. 1440 (Eulogy for Evolution). [online] New York: The Orchard Enterprises. Available at: <https://youtu.be/40P2nc2oDgU> [Accessed 27 January 2022].
Arnalds, O., 2012. Near Light. [online] London: Erased Tapes. Available at: <https://youtu.be/0kYc55bXJFI> [Accessed 27 January 2022].
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