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Dancing the Torres Strait winds to life: Kuki

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Dancers on stage
Dancing the Torres Strait winds to life: Kuki

SUBJECTS:  Arts

YEARS:  5–6, 7–8


Inspired by the natural environment, Torres Strait Islander choreographer Elma Kris created the dance 'About' as an expression of the effects that the winds (Gub) have on the land, sea and community.

This clip shows the segment 'Kuki' (pronounced Cook-ee), which is inspired by the strong north-west winds that blow between January and April, bringing the wet season's monsoonal rains.


Things to think about

  1. 1.For Torres Strait Islanders, each wind connects with sacred knowledge of weather patterns, sea currents and spiritual journeys, which they express through stories, songs and dances. Although this is a piece of contemporary choreography, it is based on some traditional dance movements. Find out what you can about Torres Strait Islander dance. What are some of the particular features of dances from this region?
  2. 2.As the stage lights come up, what do you see on and at the back of the stage? Describe the costume of the central dancer. How is his body decorated? Throughout, what are some of the sounds you can hear in the soundtrack? How many dancers are there in each of the different sections in this clip? How are they moving and in what patterns?
  3. 3.In the different sections of this dance about the strong, sometimes damaging north-west winds, how does the choreographer Elma Kris build the intensity of the dance by changing the number of dancers on stage, the number of different sequences happening at the same time and the different levels they move on? How do her choices help to communicate the theme of the dance to the audience?
  4. 4.Now it's your turn to experiment. Start with a simple movement sequence — something you can do easily, such as pretending to ride a bicycle. Now try the same movement again, this time pretending that a very strong wind is blowing from one direction. What happens if the direction of the wind changes? And what happens if it also starts raining? Is it still the same movement sequence?


Acknowledgements

Courtesy of Bangarra Dance Theatre.


Date of broadcast: 2011


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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