Terrain Dance Essay

Terrain is an Award winning dance performance that first premiered in 2012 by Bangarra Dance Theatre organisation, which is Australia's leading performing arts company known nationally and internationally for its influential dancing, unique theatrical voice and astounding sound-scapes, music and design. Bangarra's creative teams research and explore the stories of the Indigenous Australian culture by building a relationship with the Traditional Custodians of the stories so that the integrity and authenticity of the dance performance is respected. The Terrain is a compelling performance that effectively combines the spirituality of Indigenous Australian culture with contemporary dance and storytelling without compromising the values and foundation

of expressive dance. The Bangarra spectacular was designed to delight both contemporary regulars and those new to the art form – and the popularity of the theatre's dance performance showed the ambitious production delivers on both counts. The Terrain explored the spirit, colour, sound and vulnerable ecosystem of Lake Eyre (Kati Thanda), through the eyes of the Arrabunna people who have a deep connection to the land and this was evident by the use of spectacular costumes, moving backdrops and masterful movements of the dancers.The powerful and evocative dance movements were breathtaking, mind-blowing, hypnotic and visually stunning.

Expressing culture beliefs, values and identity through contemporary dance and storytelling enabled the audience members to learn, appreciate and embrace the Indigenous culture. The choreographer and dancers develop a language of movement, using elements of dance showing incredible strength, grace and passion. The male and female contemporary dances use a mix of indigenous and international dance languages to convey strong messages about humans damaging the environment. The dances use circular patterns and free flow throughout the performance to capture the spirit and connection between Indigenous culture and the land as intended by choreographer, Frances Ring. The Red Brick 4 men take turns lifting the female dancer passing her between themselves by twisting, turning and lifting her. The Spinifex 6 female dancers twist, turn and dart across the stage. Their elbows, arms and legs bend in different shapes and they extend

their legs. In Salt two male dancers mirror each other as they move their body in time with music. In Landform the dancers are linked together, they glide, rise and fall in Unisom. The movements in Deluge are quick and follow a pattern of swirling and weaving in and out of circles. The dance captures the beauty and continual changing of the landscape in and around the lake, which makes the performance authentic and captivating. The audience is drawn in by the music and dance movements and taken on a journey of discovery. The dancers used different movements and tempo to create tension and evoke emotions. The costumes and backdrops in each section combined and took the audience on a journey of time conveying how the land around the lake changes and evolves over time. It is a moving story that will captivate all ages and encourage everyone to go watch the amazing and mesmerising performance.