Premiere New York Premiere
Country of Origin Australia
Description Bangarra Dance Theatre, Australia’s foremost indigenous company, returns to BAM with Bush, a contemporary celebration of ceremony, music, and nature spawned by the Dreamtime creation stories of the sacred Aboriginal region known as Arnhem Land. As staged by artistic director and Munaldjali clan-descendant Stephen Page and co-choreographer and dancer Frances Rings, the work’s linked sections illuminate the ancient tales, each describing the mysterious and profound occurrences that take place between dusk and dawn.
Tribal elder Kathy Balngayngu Marika, whose slightest movement speaks volumes, sets Bush’s subtle tone. Her presence connects past and present. The outstanding dancers, enhanced by music and a wonderfully atmospheric décor that mirrors and intensifies the action, describe events both epochal and deceptively small. The undulating caterpillar morphing into a shimmering moth resonates as an event no less magnificent than the parable of Creation. Animals, insects, mountains, and trees go through their myriad cycles, dictated by the laws of nature but infused with spirituality, humor, and magic.
Identifier 2004f.00792
