Restoring on-Country Performance is an ARC Discovery Indigenous project (2020-2022) led by Chief Investigator Prof Clint Bracknell at the University of Queensland, that aims to investigate relationships between place, people and performance traditions in the south west region of Western Australia. It brings together:
- Archival song and language material
- Ecological readings of landscape
- Noongar and other Aboriginal community expertise on performance and Country
Expected outcomes include:
- Increased Noongar community capacity to develop, maintain and share place-based performance
- Stronger connection between Country, culture and community
mayakeniny means ‘sound dancing’. This website showcases the Noongar music, song, dance, and language outputs of the project, including teaching resources such as the songs from Hecate (the all-Noongar language adaptation of Macbeth performed at the Perth Festival in 2020), Koorlangka Karaoke (Noongar children’s songs with Dr Roma Yibiyung Winmar), Noongar language webisodes, and a Noongar-English wordlist that brings together historical variations of Noongar words.
This project also draws on the creative skill and expertise of three Masters of Performing Arts candidates (Bobbi Henry, Kyle Morrison, and Trevor Ryan) at the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), who are researching unique components of restoring on-Country performance.
The project and the creative work on this website would also not be possible without the input and support of Dr Roma Yibiyung Winmar, Annie Dabb of Dabungool Cultural Experiences, Barry McGuire, Kylie Bracknell, Rubeun Yorkshire, Cath Trimboli and Rich Seale at L’uncia Productions, and Cassandra Edwards.
Personnel
- Prof. Clint Bracknell (Chief Investigator, The University of Queensland)
- Prof. Pierre Horwitz (Chief Investigator, Edith Cowan University)
- Prof. Daniel McAullay (Chief Investigator, Edith Cowan University)
- Prof. Linda Barwick (Chief Investigator, The University of Sydney, Edith Cowan University)
- A/Prof. Aaron Allen (Partner Investigator, University of North Carolina at Greensboro)
- Ms. Bobbi Henry (Investigator, WAAPA, Edith Cowan University)
- Mr. Kyle J. Morrison (Investigator, WAAPA, Edith Cowan University)
- Mr. Trevor Ryan (Investigator, WAAPA, Edith Cowan University)
- Dr. Amy Budrikis (Investigator, Edith Cowan University)
Publications
- Webb, M., Bracknell, C. (2021). Educative Power and the Respectful Curricular Inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music. The Politics of Diversity in Music Education (71-86). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65617-1_6.
- Bracknell, C., Barwick, L. (2021). The Fringe or the Heart of Things: Aboriginal Music and Australian Musicology. Musicology Australia, 43(Article in Press), 1-15. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/08145857.2020.1945253.
- Bracknell, C., Bracknell, K., Fenty Studham, S., Fereday, L. (2021). Supporting the performance of Noongar language in Hecate. Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 12(3), 377-395. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/19443927.2021.1943506.
- Bracknell, C., Horwitz, P., Ryan, T., Marshall, JW. (2021). Performing kayepa dordok living waters in Noongar boodjar, South-Western Australia. River Research and Applications: an international journal devoted to river research and management, 37(Article in Press), 1-8. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.3868.