Join us for the next conversation in our Dance Dialogues series, featuring LGI's First Nations Resident Peta Strachan as she shares insights into her work in development Garrigarrang Badu, in conversation with Priya Srinivasan. Dancers Katie Leslie and Kassidy Waters will join Peta in conversation.

ABOUT GARRIGARRANG BADU

The work Garrigarrang Badu (Saltwater Freshwater), plays a vital role in the future and continuation of Dharug songlines, language, stories, dance and passing on of knowledge.

I wanted to create our own unique and genuine special songs and dances in Dharug dalang/language to help keep our dalang alive, thriving, strong, heard and spoken and to maintain our culture and stories through those songs and dances for our yura/people past, present and of course and into the future for our next generations. It is also fundamental and culturally correct to pay respects to Father sky, Mother earth and our Ancestors who have walked for hundreds of thousands of years before us and given so much which was heavily impacted by colonisation.

This is Matriarchal nura/country. We really need to create a space and opportunity for all us women to sing up country again together in our beautiful dalang/ language.

Dharug yura were the first impacted by colonisation, frontier wars and Government policies that attempted to eradicate our traditional practices, ceremonies and traditions and could well have eradicated us if not for the profound bravery and survival of our Ancestors. Today we are recolonised over and over and still denied in almost every way today on our nura here in the Greater Sydney Basin from the mountains to the sea. Yet at the same time, many other people take and use our knowledges and want to tell our stories and use our language for there own businesses, buildings, advantages and performances with no recognition of its origins without ever acknowledging Dharug yura, custodianship and our Ancestors.

Through this work I hope to elevate, share and lift up Dharug voices through song line stories and dance and to do it right way under our Lore; Law and protocols. To show we are still here, connected to our nura and traditions like those who have walked before us.

– Words by Peta Strachan and Julie Webb

ABOUT PETA STRACHAN

A descendant of the Darug people of the Boorooberongal clan of NSW, Peta Strachan is a professional dancer, choreographer, teacher and costume maker with 35 years’ experience in the industry. Peta trained at the Castlereagh School of Performing Arts and NAISDA Dance College. She has toured nationally and internationally with Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre (AIDT), and with Bangarra Dance Theatre for four years. Peta was the Artistic Director of Waggan-ma-gule, the official Indigenous Australia day morning ceremony at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney for five years.

Peta is the Artistic Director of Jannawi Dance Clan, which she formed in 2008. Jannawi Dance Clan is an Indigenous dance company encompassing modern urban and traditional Aboriginal dance styles with traditional music.

Over many years, Peta has played an important role at Sydney Opera House under the direction of Rhoda Roberts, including Message Sticks Festival, Homeground, and Dance Rites — directing opening ceremonies, performing, and judging.

Peta Strachan is Lucy Guerin Inc's First Nations Resident 2022, in partnership with BlakDance and Carriageworks. Read more about the residency here: https://lucyguerininc.com/news/lgi-first-nations-resident-2022

ABOUT PRIYA SRINIVASAN

Priya Srinivasan is a dancer/choreographer/writer whose performances work towards social justice issues. She has choreographed several solo, duet, ensemble and large-scale projects internationally and nationally for festivals and has collaborated on major projects with the Hermitage Museum Amsterdam, Berlin Wall Memorial, Rockbund Art Museum Shanghai, Typografia Gallery Romania, Showroom Gallery London, Dakshina Chitra and Spaces Chennai, Adishakti Puducherry, Highways Los Angeles, DCA Darwin, Dancehouse and Bunjil Place. Her large span of intercultural work focuses primarily on feminist collaborations most notable of which is Churning Waters, a feminist Indigenous Indian work which was selected to tour India for Australia Festival. More recently she has been working on a series of decolonizing live performance works with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. She is also the author of the award winning book Sweating Saris: Indian Dance as Transnational Labour. She is the co-Artistic Director of Sangam: Performing Arts Platform and Festival of South Asia and Diaspora which she founded in 2019 featuring over 200 artists on funded platforms as a corrective to the lack of opportunities for artists of colour in Melbourne.

ACCESS

– WXYZ Studios is wheelchair accessible via the entrance at 41 Little Dryburgh Street South.

– More information on physical accessibility at WXYZ Studios can be found here: https://lucyguerininc.com/wxyz-studios#accessibility-guide

– Auslan interpreters will be provided by request (please request this during the registration process).

– If you have any further questions or queries, please contact estelle@lucyguerininc.com

Image credit: Danie Mello

Contact the host of Dance Dialogues // Peta Strachan in conversation with Priya Srinivasan

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