Aborigines convey messages via arts

By Gus Kairupan

JAKARTA (JP): The drone of didjeridoos blown by two Australian Aborigines precede their actual appearance. Out of the wings a man and a woman, clad in black, emerge followed by two more figures bearing bright red attire. A kind of ritual takes place as the first pair are made to remove their black outfits and don the red.

Is this a metamorphosis from the black of nothingness to the full-blooded red of life? It does appear to be a change from what once appeared to be a non-entity to something that has a definite identity. That of the Australian Aborigine.

It wasn't all that long ago that Aboriginal Australians were indeed the "black" as depicted in the short overture preceding the performance of the Aboriginal rock band, Colored Stone, and the Aboriginal Islander Dance Theater (AIDT) at Taman Ismail Marzuki's (TIM) open air theater last Thursday and Friday.

However, that period of nothingness appears to be over and the "red" of vigorous life has set in. It isn't that there haven't been any Aborigines at the top in their chosen field. Painter Namatjira immediately springs to mind. Boxer Lionel Rose garnered world recognition and tennis star Evonne Goolagong Cawley twice won the Wimbledon crown. Somehow, these Aborigines of international renown seem not to have become role models for their people. Perhaps it was because they accepted, or had to accept, life on the terms of colonial Australia.

That does not seem to be the case with Colored Stone and Aboriginal Islander Dance Theater. Whatever they have accepted has been on their own terms. The struggle of the Australian Aborigine is far from over, but through music and dance the two troupes depict an assertiveness that is new, refreshing and welcome. The highly appreciative audience at TIM especially applauded the two didjeridoo players.

The ritual completed, Colored Stone immediately began their repertoire filling the air with their pounding rhythms delivering the songs that have brought them to the top of the charts in Australia and the South Pacific.

Imagination

The lyrics convey the meaning. In lines like "I was born Aboriginal, born in the land of Australia", in songs like Love is the Medicine and Island of Greed, the message of the Aborigines rang out. A message of hope rather than of despair, a message that "imagination will set you free."

Imagination there certainly was. Heaps of it. As Colored Stone displayed it in their songs, AIDT provided it in their stunning dance numbers. The company of 14 dancers, led by Raymond D. Blanco, has an obvious strong background of formal dance training, but cannot have existed all that long. At least, I do not remember having heard of or seen AIDT up to a dozen years ago. This is a very short time span for any dance company to achieve accolades in Germany, Japan, Brazil and other countries.

Because we do not know much about the culture of the Aboriginal people, their legends, rituals, traditions and artistic movement it was necessary to check the program to grasp immediately what the dances were all about. Unfortunately, the program notes were inadequate.

It was after AIDT started their third dance that doubts set in as to whether the presentation was one long narrative with a central theme consisting of a number of sections or a series of short skits. The confusion was heightened by short interludes by the didjeridoo. If it was a story, it should have been pointed out in the program notes.

Erotic

The only segment that was readily understandable was the quite erotic portrayal by three couples (man/woman, man/man, woman/woman) of what appeared to be the ups and downs of love, be it heterosexual or homosexual.

The only indication that the dances were independent from one another was the reference in the program notes that Raymond D. Blanco "has choreographed two works to Colored Stone's chart- topping singles, Island of Greed and Love is the Medicine, which were the only two dances with titles. The many others were unnamed. A pity, I would have liked to know more about the dance that featured five women in long skirts.

Another negative point was that the combination of AIDT and Colored Stone did not work very well. This was not caused by any sort of weakness on the part of each group, but because both are very strong in their respective fields.

In all the numbers where they performed together very little give and take showed, except in the evening's final number Rhythm of Nature, in which the dancers were given free rein to ad lib. This was also the number in which movements borrowed from Aboriginal dances were most visible.

The program could have been more effective if it had been divided in two segments. One filled by Colored Stone and the other by AIDT. It would have been even better, in fact, if each of them had one whole evening to themselves.

In any case,the performance was accorded a warm reception by the audience. In the presentation of their songs Colored Stone thankfully did not go into too wild flights of fancies like so many rock bands do which made the evocative lyrics stand out as, indeed, they should.

As for AIDT, it's technique and interpretive capacities are beyond doubt, though it would have helped enormously if one had been informed a bit more about what they were interpreting. A return date of this dance company would be most welcome.