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Kindred spirits: dancing our identity

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Dancers on stage
Kindred spirits: dancing our identity

SUBJECTS:  Arts

YEARS:  5–6, 7–8, 9–10


Who are we and where do we belong? What and who decides our identity?

People often ask these questions, and some may seek to discover the answers to them.

In his dance piece entitled 'ID', choreographer Stephen Page explores what makes us similar, what makes us different and what gives us a sense of belonging.

The clip features a segment of 'ID' called 'Kinship'.


Things to think about

  1. 1.In searching for answers to questions about identity, we might think about self-identity, national identity, cultural identity. Sometimes the answers are found in our physical features, in where we are born or where our parents come from, or in our activities as members of a specific group. Sometimes we need to search more deeply into our connection with a culture. Think about what identity means to you.
  2. 2.What is the person whose image is being projected in the background doing? What different groupings do the dancers move in over the course of the dance? When do you notice that some individuals' movements are different from those of the group? What makes them different? What instruments and sounds can you hear in the soundtrack?
  3. 3.Stephen Page uses choreographic devices to communicate his ideas. When does he use canon and question and answer, and what ideas do you think he is communicating? The soundtrack includes voices naming different Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clans or nations. Why might this be significant? What do you think might be the connection between the dance and the image projected in the background?
  4. 4.Compare the feeling of being alone in a crowd to being one of a group. When choreographing, which group shapes or patterns are more inclusive and which tend to exclude or isolate individuals? Explore the impact that placing dancers in different positions or patterns makes. How can other non-movement elements such as costume make some dancers look as though they belong and others do not?


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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