Queensland Ballet’s inaugural First Nations work has been hailed a great success.
`gundirgan, wise woman’ a part of Queensland Ballet’s Bespoke program, recorded strong ticket sales during its two week season in Brisbane.
The process of making the production is also part of its success. Wakka Wakka and Kombumerri choreographer Katina Olsen (pictured) created the work and took the dancers on Country to give a deeper understanding of the story.
“This will be the first time a First Nations work is brought to stage for Queensland Ballet, which is a huge thing,” Ms Olsen says.
“It’s about time, but we have to start somewhere, and I think it’s really great and I’ve felt extremely supported by the company.
“I think a lot of my work is really about, first of all, getting the dancers to connect to Country and know and understand what that feels like physically through their body.
“So to be able to take them out on country, out to Ban Ban Springs, on Wakka Wakka Country to know exactly what they’re embodying, they’re really embodying the spirit of that Country and the place and these practices of cultural continuum. “
She says it was a privilege to bring the story of Wakka Wakka woman Aunty Maureen Williams to stage and pay tribute to her life in dance.
“She grew up in the bush speaking fluent Wakka Wakka,” she says.
“She was able to work on cattle stations did a lot of domestic work cleaning and that type of thing, she worked multiple jobs.
“They were quite poor, like a lot of Aboriginal people coming up against so much adversity she worked multiple jobs so she could put her kids through education so they could live a better life.
“Really it’s women like her who have opened up the gates for the rest of us to be able to thrive.”
She also brought in Indigenous dancer Tara Robertson as guest soloist to take on the pivotal role.
“I was like, the only way I can tell this story because there are no Indigenous people in Queensland Ballet as dancers, is to bring one in. And they were like, yes, let’s do it,” she says.
“So I am really lucky to just be blaking out that space, one blakfella at a time, which is really exciting.”
Image credit: Ashley Dunn
Southern Cross Soloists created the original score, composed by Sean O’Boyle and renowned Wakka Wakka didgjeridoo player Chris Williams – who is Aunty Maureen’s grandson.
Ms Olsen says she hopes the work will encourage more Indigenous dancers to consider ballet as a career.
“There’s work to be done in all areas within ballet I know that 20 years ago it wasn’t really a space that I felt like I could bring all of myself to, and I think now things are changing,” Ms Olsen says.
“I witness it within Queensland Ballet it’s a really different place to what it was 20 years ago when I was there.
“The education departments are engaging with cultural custodians they’re bringing in choreographers like me, I just hope that things like this will continue to open those doors so that we are represented on those stages more and our stories are authored by us.”
Feature image of Katina Olsen supplied. Credit: Kate Holmes
