NAISDA Dance College students were treated to some valuable insights when two remarkable women reconnected at the college on March 22 after five decades of each innovating and shaping global contemporary dance from two different continents.
Senegalese dancer and choreographer Germaine Acogny is widely considered to be the mother of contemporary African dance.
She is currently in Australia to perform and present as part of a tour supported by the French Embassy.
She met up with fellow dance visionary Carole Y Johnson, considered to be the mother of contemporary Australian Indigenous dance and founder of both NAISDA and Bangarra Dance Theatre.
Acogny and Johnson, aged 78 and 82 respectively, have met only once before in 1971.
They went on to shape generations of dancers and choreographers, win numerous accolades and gift audiences with the evolution of new dance forms and dialogue.
NAISDA CEO Kim Walker said it was an incredible opportunity for students and staff to meet two of the world’s most celebrated dancers and innovators.
“Germaine and Carole’s global impact and commitment to nurturing leading artists and storytellers bear extraordinary resemblance,” he said.
“Acogny began teaching a mix of African and Western dance in Senegal in the 1970s, later opening the now-celebrated Ecole des Sables.
“At the same time Johnson was creating a new dance form in Australia which combined cultural and contemporary Indigenous dance, paving the way for Australia’s leading First Nations dance artists and companies, including Bangarra.
“Nearly half a century later, both women have secured incredible legacies, each founding acclaimed dance training organisations and changing the international dance industry by sharing and celebrating contemporary West African and Indigenous dance practices.”
The day at NAISDA fostered opportunities of ongoing artistic and cultural collaboration, learning excellence and connectivity between the two international disciplines of dance for Australia, Senegal, France and beyond.
“Dance and movement represent and connect all forms of techniques, cultures, disciplines, and practices,” Walker said.
“We look forward to continuing the conversation of creative exchange with Germain and Carole to further enhance skills development, career pathways and networks for dance students and graduates internationally.”
Source:
Media release, Mar 22
NAISDA Dance College