12 October 2000 Skin, Bangarra Dance Theatre, The Playhouse, Victorian Arts Centre until October 14 A silence, a burst of applause and then a buzz. Skin, by choreographer Stephen Page and Bangarra Dance Theatre, brought the audience to their feet on Tuesday night.
Skin presents two aspects of Aboriginal experience.
They are the bonding spirit, their connection with the land forming the roots that nourish the men and help them to survive. The opening image is one that crosses all cultures. A woman sits, staring into the distance, a child cradled upon her lap, an icon of maternal love. As the auditorium darkens, the child stirs, slips off her lap and, with that familiar yet unique alert sideways stalk, disappears off stage. Women enter, their bodies bowed, their backs decked with eucalypt fronds, the pendulous shape of the leaves complementing the line of the arms, hanging long to the earth.