Young Aboriginal dancers from the NSW Central West and the Blue Mountains have teamed up in a new elite senior dance group called Wagana Aboriginal Youth Dancers.
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Founded and led by Aboriginal dancer/ choreographer Jo Clancy, Wagana performs original works that meld contemporary dance with traditional Wiradjuri dance techniques. The nine strong team are the best of the best from the two regions and admission to the group has been by invitation only. The name Wagana means ‘to dance’ in Wiradjuri language.
Eliza Packham, Shirley King and Nataya Brandy from Condobolin have joined Monique Elbourne-Gordan, Caragh O'Brien and Briana Elbourne-Gordan from Cowra and Becky Chatfield, Tammi Knox and Maddie Knox from the Blue Mountains in the new dance group.
“The work that I create with the Wagana Youth Dancers is intrinsically linked to country. It connects people and place. It explores the fusion of traditional and contemporary movement and dance,” Ms Clancy said. “It aims to keep our stories alive, to tell new stories and to help strengthen and maintain a sense of cultural pride for our communities and in particular our children and young people.”
Click above to see the short video of Wagana via youtube.
The girls recently spent a weekend together training in the Blue Mountains to learn two dances ‘Gather’ and ‘Waratah’ which were then filmed and sent to the Commonwealth Youth Dance Festival to be considered for festival next year in Scotland. The young women also performed as part of the welcome to country and opening of the annual reptile show at Penrith Panthers over the same weekend.
They’ll continue to train and perform together whenever they get the chance and all have hopes of professional performance careers.
The group has not, though, emerged over night. Blue Mountains based Jo Clancy started working with young Aboriginal dancers in the Central West in 2008 through Arts OutWest’s first regional Aboriginal dance development program. Through that experience she developed strong relationships with groups in the region, especially in Cowra, who already had the successful Wagambirra dance group, and in Condoblin through the support of Western Plains Regional Development’s Heather Blackley. Through various funding programs, including Arts OutWest’s Marramarra project, she has returned for periods each year to run workshops with the larger group of dancers and ready them for a growing number of public performances in their communities.
“We’re building on what Arts OutWest started initially as a small project,” Ms Blackley said. “Now we actually find other funding to help that happen and make it more sustainable so that it rolls over and then continues and happens again. Whatever arts funding we find, or if there’s some small project money, we push it towards the dance program.”
As a board member and tutor at the elite Aboriginal dance training centre NAISDA Dance College, Jo has also found places for a large number of local dancers at the annual NAISDA Dance Camp and worked with many of them at the annual NSW High School Dance Camp.
Cowra’s Michaela Jeffries, who first worked with Jo back in 2008, is now studying full time at NAISDA and will pursue a career in dance.
Condobolin’s Heather Blackley has been key in supporting and encouraging her town’s partnership with Jo Clancy. She said the ongoing relationship between the young local aboriginal performers and Jo, as their mentor and teacher, has been tremendous. “It’s really expanded their dancing techniques. They’ve really grown and leaned. They’re a lot more confident, have a lot more self esteem.”
“I use traditional language, songs and dances to install respect, pride and cultural affirmation in our young dancers,” Ms Clancy said. “These young dancers embrace their culture and their dance and they love to learn, perform and share.”
The three Condobolin girls in Wagana are all committed to careers in performance. Year 11 student Shirley King will audition for NAISDA in August 2014, after she finishes year 12.
Ms Blackley says the level of professionalism the senior girls have learnt also rubs off on the younger members of their local boys and girls Aboriginal dance groups, the Dindima and Googar dancers.
“We use them as the role model for the other students: how much patience is needed, how long you have to wait, that you have to do it over and over, so it’s creating that professional level right across the local group.”
Arts Sunday is your extra dose arts news, artist profiles and photo galleries from the NSW Central West, brought to you by Arts OutWest and Fairfax. Arts Sunday is published online on the first Sunday of the month. If you’ve got a story to share contact artsoutwest@csu.edu.au
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