Bangarra Dance Theatre is one of the youngest and most exciting dance companies in Australia. Bangarra grants audiences access to the Australian indigenous world and culture whilst creating an enriching and thought provoking experience through storytelling and theatrical presentation. Their performances contribute to a better understanding and acceptance of aboriginal values. Bangarra was established by Carole Johnson in 1989, the company quickly grew and in 1991 Stephen Page was appointed as the Artistic Director.
After attending a children’s talent show, Sone became enthralled by dancing. So much so that she wanted to take lessons, her mother agreed with her that it was a good idea. Her father had a different opinion, he strongly disapproved as he associated dancing with immoral and scandalous behavior, telling her mother “ ‘I’d die of disgrace if my daughter were to appear that like in public’ (p. 45).” Her life was impacted by his preconceived ideas of what was appropriate for a young girl, and since he was the ‘man of the house’ his ruling was
‘Analyse and reflect upon how the dance work, Mathinna, makes a powerful political and/or social statement regarding the Indigenous stolen generation in Australia.’ The contemporary dance work, ‘Mathinna’ by Bangarra Dance Company was inspired by a portrait of the same name by Thomas Bock depicting an Aboriginal girl in a red dress. The dance tells the true story of the short, confusing and tragic life of a young Aboriginal girl during the early days of Australia’s colonisation. Born on Flinders Island in 1835, Mathinna was taken from her family, alienated from her indigenous culture and placed in the home of a prominent white family, Governor Sir John and Lady Franklin.
In her book, Andersson quotes a New York Times article on the death of Sitting Bull that ended with a comment that said Indian police made a “good Indian out of him.” This plays on the proverb that the only good Indian is a dead one. This was a harsh and unsympathetic thing to say about a deceased man but it shows the views of whites towards Native Americans, especially those Native Americans who were considered “plotters” or troublemakers. This type of insensitivity was common in most newspapers; however, some did attempt to run more pro-native stories. Those that did often looked for the reasons behind why the Ghost Dance had taken roots and often pinned blame on the federal government for pushing natives to such desperation.
In her article, Embodying Difference, Jane Desmond argues that dance offers important insights into the ways moving bodies articulate cultural meanings and social identities. In other words, she explains the importance of studying the body’s movement as a way of understanding culture and society. She has two main arguments. First, she argues for the importance of the continually changing relational constitutions of cultural forms. Desmond further explains that the key to shedding light on the unequal distribution of power and goods that shape social relations are the concepts of cultural resistance, appropriation, and cultural imperialism (49).
The Zuni individuals, as other Pueblo Indians, are accepted to be the Ancient's descendants Pueblos who lived in the desert Southwest of New Mexico, Arizona, Southern Colorado and Utah for a thousand years. The Zuni are one of the 19 Pueblo tribes of what is currently known as New Mexico. The Zuni tribe lives along the Zuni River in the northwestern corner of the state on a reservation of around 450,000 sections of land. Archaeologists trust Zuni history started certainly before 2500 B.C. at the point when the tribe moved into the Southwest as big game seekers. Between 2500 B.C. what's more, 700 A.D. the Zuni Indians made their first endeavors at horticulture and chased littler amusement.
The Civil War was over and Slavery was no longer, more people started immigrating to the colonies. The population in the colonies increased, living conditions started to dwindle. The government knew they needed to find land for farming and to house their growing populations. They focused on expanding toward the West, this region was already occupied by the Native American’s. The Government thought the Native American’s were savages and incapable of becoming civilized.
To dance is to be knowledgeable about the stories of the ancestral heroes. Dancing, unlike painting and singing, is learnt at an early age. This allows large groups of people to demonstrate their clan rights in front of an audience. Dance is also seen as an occasion to entertain and to be entertained and through the work of dance to show their love for families and kin. It is for this reason that dance may be performed at the end of every day in some communities.
The first Ghost Dance began in 1869 with the spiritual visions of a prophet named Wodziwob, a Northern Paiute from the Walker River Indian Reservation in Nevada. In his vision, Wodziwob was told that the Indian dead would return and with them the old, happy life, provided that Native people tirelessly devoted themselves to around dances. Native adherents assembled for dances that lasted four or five days. Dancers collapsed from exhaustion and received visions in which they saw their deceased relatives. This Ghost Dance spread throughout native California and up into Oregon in the 1870s.
Mambo Girl (1957), a movie musical, follows Kailing, a talented young woman widely admired for her singing and dancing capabilities, as she searches for acceptance after learning the truth about her background. Shall We Dansu? (1996) follows Mr. Sugiyama, a Japanese accountant who goes on a secretive and intimate journey into the world of ballroom dance. Both Mambo Girl and Shall We Dansu? emphasize the close relationship between intimacy and Latin dance by linking Kailing and Mr. Sugiyama’s manners of dancing Latin to the emotional connection each has with other characters.
C. Multiculturalism, Ethnicity and Race Before presenting the field work and in order to set the framework for this research about Multiculturalism in Classical Ballet Companies Nowadays, it is appropriate to define first of all the basic concepts of this study. The key terms, will be described briefly based on what is found in general theoretical works about these concepts and based on the course ‘Discours et Multiculturalité’, taught by Laura Calabrese at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB). All the concepts related to culture and multiculturalism, such as diversity, ethnicity or race are very difficult to define clearly. Over the years many descriptions of these terms have been presented.
There are many ways in this film where we see women dependent and subordinate to male authority. To begin with, in the beginning of the film Dadi explains about the process of how women are traded off as braids. The tradition in India is that women at young ages are traded off as wives. What happens is that men and their families arrange marriages for these young girls who have no say in whether or not they want to proceed with being married. Whichever wive the man and his family chooses he gets.
Native Americans Native Americans are very different from other tribes. They eat, live, dress and do many things differently. The things I’m going to be talking about in my interesting paper is What they eat? What they wear? Where they live?
According to Ramamurthy, “The stereotypical and highly coded representations of women in popular culture have been given attention by many critics” (846), which remains true for both men and women in ballet. Women must have a slender body, dainty arms, and a look of poise and grace. Men look almost similar, in that they must have a slender masculine physique but also a gentle appearance. Although male dancers can appear masculine, they often receive criticism for appearing too feminine and not manly. This judgment occurs often, no matter if dancers appear different from the stereotypical view, they will endure endless criticism.
The social stigma that women are housekeepers and should be confined to the four walls of the house is perhaps a viable cause of gender disparity. They should not raise their voice regarding their fortune for the sake of the prestige of the family. In patriarchal society a lot of weightage is given to men.” The root cause of gender inequality in Indian society lies in its patriarchy system.
