Living in the Centre has widened my horizons more than I could ever have anticipated. In the geographical sense, my horizons are no longer stunted by the two storey house next door, the city office blocks or the multi-level shopping centres. There are some ranges out here, but they, too, run for vast distances, accentuating the distance to the horizon.
For many years I was blessed with having my 'people horizons' stretched - working with and teaching folk from a variety of continents and countries. I have 'sons' and 'daughters' scattered around the world and although I have not travelled to all their countries, they have given me a taste of their homelands through language, food, music, dancing, photos and sometimes even sharing their families with me.
Now my 'people horizons' are being extended in another way - to the various communities where my Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students live. I have learnt the names of places I had never heard of, met people whose daily lives are often vastly different from mine (I've never hunted for dugong. Have you? - but that's a story for another day). I have opened my eyes and ears to anything I can learn about this ancient land and the people and culture which have been developing for tens of thousands of years.
Last night I was treated to a wonderful display of dancing by Djuki Mala, aka the Chooky Dancers, from Elcho Island. I have students from Elcho Island, an island of the Arnhem land coast of NT, so I was interested in seeing the performance. The six dancers performed dances from a variety of genres, but I won't give away too much - I'd hate to spoil the experience for you. The most well-known dance, and the beginning of their popularity, is the Zorba the Greek Dance - a tribute to a Greek nurse - again - that's all I'm saying.
The dancers oozed joy, and their sense of humour had the audience laughing out loud - almost non-stop. The dancers really impressed me with their dedication to their art, their desire to ensure the culture of traditional dance lives on, and the sense of responsibility to the younger generation - the hope that dance and their own dedication will encourage others to live a healthy, fruitful life.
Djuki Mala - THANK YOU!
If you have the chance to see the show, don't miss it!
Have a look at this clip of the Zorba dance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv9NKELlXKE
Prefer Gene Kelly?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbwub56LUf4
If you would like to hear the story behind the dancing look at this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz-rmO3xAiI
