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LITTLE YAWAR Dance CirclePresented by Out of the Box

Little Yawar* is a gathering for jarjums. Welcome to the biggest little gathering of jarjums (children) you are ever likely to see. Little Yawar celebrates our jarjums from various Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clans across Queensland. The gathering is a place to share and celebrate their culture. From traditional to contemporary song, dance, yarning and weaving, come sit, listen and learn from jarjums, elders, artists and traditional owners. This is the perfect place to sit back and take in the world’s oldest living culture, celebrated and performed by elders-in-training.

*Yawar is a shared word between Kabi, Butchella and Yugurapul that means ‘to sing and dance’.

EARLY YEARS FRAMEWORKOutcome 1: Children have a strong sense of identity

Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world

Outcome 3: Children have a strong sense of wellbeing

Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learners

Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators

NEED TO KNOWAGE RANGE: All ages

VENUE: Playhouse Green

AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM DANCE: F-2

• Explore, improvise and organise ideas to make dance sequences using the elements of dance (ACADAM001)

• Present dance that communicates ideas to an audience, including dance used by

• cultural groups in the community (ACADAM003)

• Respond to dance and consider where and why people dance, starting with dances from Australia including dances of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples (ACADAR004)

DRAMA: F-2

• Explore role and dramatic action in dramatic play, improvisation and process drama (ACADRM027)

• Use voice, facial expression, movement and space to imagine and establish role and situation (ACADRM028)

• Respond to drama and consider where and why people make drama, starting with Australian drama including drama of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples (ACADRR030)

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This experience is a unique opportunity to connect with Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islander Peoples to encourage unity and understanding of the cultural protocols of the first Australians. The

Australian National Curriculum focusses on embedding these cultures across all bands, therefore, this is a unique opportunity to be able to experience and learn from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community

and share their knowledge in an accessible environment specifically for children.

Exploring and learning how dance can communicate identity is a vital benefit of this experience, to understand the importance of maintaining culture and sharing values through movement and voice. This experience deepens students understanding of other cultures different to their own, and how they can share and communicate identity through movement and reflective practices. Students can use their own connections to family and their community to form their own movement sequences, to further solidify their connection to their family and class.

ART FORM FOCUS:Dance, Drama, Music

KEY MESSAGES:• Dance can reflect community and identity.

• Culture can be communicated in many ways.

• Dance is a universal language.

LEARNING OPPORTUNITY:• Sharing and improving understanding of Aboriginal Peoples

and Torres Strait Islander Peoples culture.

• Using dance to communicate culture and identity.

• Responding to a variety of dance from other cultures and reflecting on your own culture, identity and influences.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES:CREATING AND RESPONDING TO STIMULUS: ANIMAL FOCUS

• Use Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saëns (as listed OTHER RESOURCES) as a visual stimulus to discuss animals and what music would suit the speed of their movement and their action and movement.

• Discuss each animal in the book and guess what it might sound like before playing the music.

• Describe the music heard and discuss whether your prediction was accurate.

• Choose a native animal to the area or an animal that could represent the class. Connect this to how totems are used how totems are an important way to symbolise the connection to your group or community.

• Draw the animal and decide on an appropriate logo or flag for the class using this animal as the central feature.

• Brainstorm what music would be appropriate for this animal and why.

• Create a soundscape that would be appropriate for this animal.

• Brainstorm how your chosen animal sleeps, moves and interacts with other animals.

• Use your brainstorm to inspire a short movement sequence to represent the animal and start each morning with this sequence to unify and highlight the class identity.

RESPONDING TO DANCE

• Discuss how dance can be used to communicate ideas and meaning.

• Explain how dance is a vital form of communicating culture and identity in many cultures; particularly Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islander Peoples culture. Dance can be used to reflect the identity, animals, values or beliefs of a culture.

• Watch excerpts from different cultures (refer to OTHER RESOURCES) and discuss how the movement reflects the culture’s identity.

• Identify the costume or uniform of the group and how this communicates their culture.

• Describe and analyse the movement and whether it represents the movement of an animal or activity of the group which communicates their culture.

• Discuss whether you have a particular dance that reflects your identity and culture or if you did have a class or school dance, what would the movement look like and why.

Extension activity: Devise a school dance that reflects the identify and values of the school. Use the RITUAL DANCE activity (below) to develop the movement.

RITUAL DANCE

• Discuss what a ritual is and what rituals you have in your family for different events (for example: Birthdays, Christmas, Easter etc).

• Explain that ritual dances are often used to communicate what is valued in a culture, reflect their environment as well as the connection to the land and instruct or inform actions and expectations. Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islander Peoples often use dance to communicate animals, their culture and specific gender roles and expectations. Watch some examples as listed in OTHER RESOURCES.

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• Discuss everyday rituals such as getting ready for school or getting ready for a specific event such as a swimming carnival or preparing for a birthday. List the steps for getting ready and decide on basic movement to communicate each step. Ensure the movement for each step is eight counts long in total.

• Simplify movement to enable all abilities to participate.

• Join the movement together in the order of steps.

• Rehearse the dance and perform your ritual to another class to see if they can identify the steps for your ritual dance.

YARNING CIRCLE – SHARING CULTURE

• Brainstorm a special object you have and why it is special.

• Explain that in Aboriginal Peoples culture, they often have a special item that is reflective of their culture and whoever is holding the item, everyone needs to listen to.

• Brainstorm what item could be used to reflect the class and why.

• Decide on a special object for the class and use this object when sharing ideas or information in a circle (often referred to as a ‘yarning circle’) and ensure that all participants are listening to the person with the sacred or special item. Use a ‘yarning circle’ to share stories of identity and culture such as:

o What does your name means?

o What defines your family and do you have a family crest? If you had a family crest, what animal could represent your family and why?

o What is your heritage and what country did you grandparents come from?

o What are special events in your family and why? Do you celebrate these events with dancing or a special meal? Describe the dancing or special meal for the group.

OTHER RESOURCES:BOOKS

A is for Aunty by Elaine Russell

ABC Dreaming by Warren Brim

My Country by Ezekiel Kwaymullina and Sally Morgan

Boogie Monster Dance Kit by Josie Bissett and Illustrated by Kevan AtteBerry

Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saëns, Narrated by Peter Garrat, Words and images by Michael Leunig, Music as recorded by the Australian Chamber Orchestra (Book and CD)

How The Birds Got Their Colours by Pamela Lofts

Wunambi: The Water Snake by May L. O’Brien

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WEBSITES

Australian Aboriginal Kangaroo Dance NAIDOC Week 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-pUbZOnvFI

Australian Aboriginal Crane Dance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2vzsSmqGg8

World Rugby 2015 – Maori Haka

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiKFYTFJ_kw

Bangarra Dance Theatre ‘Ochres’ performance Opening Ceremony of the World Indigenous Dance Conference 2018; excerpt from ‘Black’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gov5KqT7KCM

FESTIVALS

Laura Festival

https://www.facebook.com/LauraAboriginalDanceFestival/

Garma Festival

http://www.garmafestival.com.au/

Boomerang Festival

https://www.boomerangfestival.com.au/

TRADITIONAL DANCE

Clancestry Yawar

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=clancestry+qpac&&view=detail&mid= E5ACA04D4D0FA2E6108CE5ACA04D4D0FA2E6108C&& FORM=VRDGAR

CONTEMPORARY

Bangarra

https://www.bangarra.com.au/

Wagana Dancers

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=wagana+dancers&&view=detail&mid=E 8D34D568FB7BA765342E8D34D568FB7BA765342&& FORM=VRDGAR

CONTEMPORARY DANCE [MIS]CONCEIVE

https://vimeo.com/214902160

Chooky Dancers

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=chooky+dancers&&view=detail&mid= 7E474479AB260097B27A7E474479AB260097B27A&& FORM=VDRVRV

LINKS

NGUTANA-LUI (Inala)

http://www.ngcc.qld.edu.au

State Library of Queensland

http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/resources/atsi

Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

http://aiatsis.gov.au/

National Library of Australia

https://www.nla.gov.au/what-we-collect/indigenous

Dandiiri Schools and Community Library\

http://indigenous.education.qld.gov.au/library/Pages/default.aspx

This Creative Learning Guide was prepared by Education Consultant Lucy Flook for QPAC’s Out of the Box Festival in 2018.