Garabari is the Wiradjuri word for Corroboree, an Australian Aboriginal dance ceremony which may take the form of a sacred ritual or an informal gathering. And that’s exactly what this extraordinary gathering of people out on the Northern Boardwalk of Sydney Opera House was. Fun and serious. Mining sacred meaning and movements, and pumping out a beat to hang out to.
Choreographer Joel Bray managed to persuade the keepers of one side of the Sydney Opera House, within touching distance of the water and an unbeatable view of the bridge, to let his company of dancers turn the space into what it always was and hopefully always will be; a gathering place that respects the First Nations heritage of and belonging to the place, and a massive open-air dance floor.Â
Created with Wiradjuri Elders and community in Wagga Wagga and the Riverina, Garabari shares the Story of the Making of the Murrumbidgee, a story songline gifted by the late Uncle James Ingram, Custodian of the Story of the Making of the Murrumbidgee. The team also acknowledged Uncle Christopher Kirkbright, Project Elder and Wiradjuri language custodian; Aunty Cheryl Penrith, Aunty Mary Atkinson and Aunty Jackie Ingram, Senior Knowledge Holders.Â
Cinematic projections by Katie Sfetkidis onto the back wall accompanied some slick costumes by Wiradjuri designer Denni Francisco (Ngali), and music by Byron Scullin.
The audience became co- performers, swimming around the three raised stages that were set up and that the dancers moved between, much as previous peoples have for millenia, and in the more rowdy sections being given movement instructions to copy and animal signatures to feel.
Sometimes the tone calmed down and the audience was encouraged to sit on the floor – this was great as it gave everyone a chance to see everything that was happening on the stages, even if it was a little difficult to get up again!
The show is going to have a run with the Merrigong Theatre Company down in Wollongong and Dapto in February, and after that it seems likely that this show’s story is far from over.Â
