Presented by Marrugeku and VOU
Marrugeku – Australia's leading Indigenous and intercultural dance theatre company brings an invigorating trilogy of new dance works to VOU HUB Fiji.
Tracing histories of relocation, adaptation, and survival in two mesmerising dance solos and an awe-inspiring duo, Burrbgaja Yalirra 2 – triple bill explores the presence of ancestors in contemporary life.
Filipinx performance artist Bhenji Ra’s solo, No New Gods is set before, during and after a lunar eclipse. With fierce Filipino stick fighting, Ra summons the Bakunawa who swallowed the moon, a serpent-like dragon believed to be the cause of eclipses, earthquakes, rains, and wind. In choreography that pulses with power, dominance and resistance Ra channels the flora and fora of the Philippine archipelago.
Bloodlines is a rhythmic meditation on Pacifica life by captivating duo, Aboriginal (Kunjen) and Torres Strait Islander (Erub/Meriam) dancer, Ses Bero, and Kanak/Ni Vanuatuan/Papua New Guinean dancer, Stanley Nalo. As they grapple with the brutal history of ‘blackbirding’ – the forced labour of South Sea Islanders on the Queensland sugar cane plantations from 1860. Bloodlines celebrates the gentle power of young warriors today and acknowledges their ancestor’s presence in spirit and in rhythm.
Nyuju embodies longing for Country in the central Kimberley, remote northwestern Australia, told through the paintings of senior Aboriginal (Wangkatjungka) artist Nyuju Stumpy Brown which are beautifully animated in floor projections. Created and performed by her great-grandson, Aboriginal (Bunuba/Gooniyandi/Walmajarri/Wangkatjunka) dancer and actor Emmanuel James Brown, Nyuju connects dance and Country in a visual feast for the senses.
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