‘Patyegarang’ the latest work from Bangarra Dance Theatre, tells the story of an Indigenous woman after whom the show is named who forms a friendship with Lieutenant William Dawes, who arrived in Australia with a colonial fleet in the late 18th century. Patyegarang’s friendship with Dawes inspired him to record the Eora language alongside other discoveries and cultural observations. The documents were rediscovered by Australian linguists in 1972, and provided inspiration for this production.
We spoke to dancer Leonard Mickelo about how the show continues Bangarra’s tradition of historical storytelling, and reaffirms his pride as a dancer in the company.
“I love dancing so much and to be able to tell a story that I can relate to, it’s pretty important and special for me.” Mickelo said. He explained how dancing has been a huge part of communicating with different communities.
“Living in central Queensland, half Aboriginal mixed Chinese, Malaysian, Irish. I’ve got all these different backgrounds, so it was quite hard for me to identify with who I am because people that were non Indigenous didn’t consider me white or black…it was quite hard because obviously I identify myself as gay and also dancing, so there were all these different discourses that kept coming up. I just think I’m obviously a part of this universe and life’s too short to worry about what other people think. So if we want to go out to these little communities or even if we’re in a city and we’re teaching kids dance, it’s just reaching out to people that have a passion.”
‘Patyegarang’ is at the Heath Ledger Theatre from July 30th to August 2nd. Book tickets at
www.ticketek.com.au
Sophie Joske
