Illume marks the first time Bangarra Dance Theatre has collaborated with a First Nations visual artist: Darrell Sibosado, a Goolarrgon Bard pearl carver from Lombadina on WA’s Dampier Peninsula.
Sibosado originally met Mirning woman Frances Rings, Bangarra’s Artistic Director/choreographer and Illume’s co-creator, when they were both students at NAISDA college.
First Nations people’s connections to land and sky – integral to navigation, storytelling, celestial knowledge and skylore – have been disrupted by artificial light pollution. Illume explores “the concept of light as a glowing bridge between the physical and spiritual worlds”.
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The opening scene, Shadow Spirits, features Bangarra’s full ensemble, barely lit. As our eyes adjust to the dim lighting, body percussion and unison breath work subtly emphasise the dancers in motion.
A giant, iridescent mother of pearl (Guan) – which serves as a bridge to the spiritual realm – descends from the ceiling, emitting a spotlight.
Featuring large-scale adaptations of Sibosado’s traditional Bardi (pearl carving) designs, Charles Davis’ set is spectacular, enhanced to perfection by Damien Cooper’s lighting. With the addition of Craig Wilkinson’s kinetic video design and Elizabeth Gadsby’s line-expanding costumes, the dancers become extensions of Sibosado’s striking artwork.
Wilkinson’s visuals are a defining element of Illume, complementing both Rings’ choreography and Brendon Boney’s throbbing, vital score.
The Blood Systems section sees dancers manipulating long ropes of illuminated tubing, representing the intricate kinship network of lineage and connection.
Light Pollution depicts colonisation reaching the isolated Dampier Peninsula. To represent the Catholic mission that was established at Lombadina, dancers carry and place red boxes around the stage. Sitting on these boxes, their agitated movements represent the severing of connections to family, language, culture and lore. As Bangarra’s dancers portray the displacement and trauma of these Aboriginal children, this section is – justifiably – uncomfortable to watch.
During the Gajoorr scene, fire embers rise up into the fly loft before ashes rain down on a yarning circle of dancers on the other side of the stage.
The specificity of Rings’ choreography is diligently performed by the company. Like sharp angles in the artwork, the dancers’ lines are sometimes deliberately broken by sickled feet. These dancers are uniformly exceptional, performing with sensitivity and gravitas – props to rehearsal director Rikki Mason.
Following the opening night performance of Illume, Rings shared, “There was a magic that we all felt” – for dancers and creative team alike. As audience members, we felt this magic, too.
Illume runs at The Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne until Saturday 13 September.
