Critical Path Research Room

Weeks after returning home I had not had a chance to reflect on how the immense travel and interaction with so many communities and cities had impacted on my practice nor to consider where next with DanceDNA or how my solo and ensemble dance works can be realised and how I can build my works further in these countries.

Critical Path offered a week of research and reflection from 18-24 November 2019. This allowed me to consolidate the ideas, work and collaborations developed in Malaysia (and India), collate images, written notes and video footage in order to write a detailed report for Asialink. I was able to watch video documentation, and dance working from memory, not just video and notes.

I revisited the movement scores and improvisations that were developed at Rimbun Dahan, which go hand-in-hand with video footage, photos, journal notes and the dancers’ feedback. I had a showing for invited peers, showing excerpts of video of the dancers performing Mother Tongue new material at Rimbun Dahan art gallery.

The invited audience was asked to participate by walking through the performing space and speak to one another in their mother tongues. I used the sharing to demonstrate how the set design had changed as a result of working in the round in Malaysia.

Thirteen people that attended the sharing in the Drill and stayed for about two hours after to discuss interculturalism in Dance and the ideas about Mother Tongue from an Australian perspective. This depth of engagement in the work was unexpected and inspiring. In hindsight, the task that was set made each person/audience member implicit in the work. It was an equally vibrant discussion at Rimbun Dahan, however the frame of reference for both groups were completely different.

The dialogue with the arts community at Rimbun Dahan on intercultural practice and language diversity was rich yet fundamental to their daily lives and arts practices – incredible to witness this and highlighted the sharp difference in Australia within the arts community. The engagement with cultural content and what ‘intercultural’ can mean when it is ‘lived’ in Malaysia vs explored as an ‘arts practice’ on the periphery in Australia. Thanks to Critical Path for this important opportunity. Photographs by Wendy Bookatz ©