Sharing the Dream

Last updated

Sharing the Dream
Directed byMilena Damyanovic
Produced byMilena Damyanovic
Release date
1974
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

Sharing the Dream is a 1974 short 16mm film which recorded the Black Theatre dance workshops in Redfern in 1973 taught by African American dancer Carole Y. Johnson.

Milena Damyanovic (also spelt Damjanovic [1] ) produced and directed the film. The executive producer was Caroline Jones. The film was released in 1974 and premiered at the 1975 International Women's Film Festival, the first of its kind in Australia and a one-off event. [2] Initiated by the Sydney Women's Film Group, IWFF events were held in capital cities around the country. [3] [4]

Other dancers included Euphemia ("Phemie") Bostock, Wayne Nicol, and later Lucy Jumawan. [1]

Footnotes

    Related Research Articles

    <i>Mabo v Queensland (No 2)</i> 1992 High Court of Australia decision which recognised native title

    Mabo v Queensland is a landmark decision of the High Court of Australia that recognised the existence of Native Title in Australia. It was brought by Eddie Mabo against the State of Queensland and decided on 3 June 1992. The case is notable for being the first in Australia to recognise pre-colonial land interests of Indigenous Australians within the common law of Australia.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Redfern, New South Wales</span> Inner suburb of Sydney, Australia

    Redfern is an inner southern suburb of Sydney located 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney. Strawberry Hills is a locality on the border with Surry Hills. The area experienced the process of gentrification and is subject to extensive redevelopment plans by the state government, to increase the population and reduce the concentration of poverty in the suburb and neighbouring Waterloo.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney Film Festival</span> Annual film festival held in Sydney, Australia

    The Sydney Film Festival is an annual competitive film festival held in Sydney, Australia, usually over 12 days in June. A number of awards are given, the top one being the Sydney Film Prize.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobbi Sykes</span> Australian poet and author

    Roberta "Bobbi" Sykes was an Australian poet and author. She was a lifelong campaigner for Indigenous land rights, as well as human rights and women's rights.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Little</span> Australian Aboriginal musician (1937–2012)

    James Oswald Little, AO was an Australian Aboriginal musician, actor and teacher, who was a member of the Yorta Yorta tribe and was raised on the Cummeragunja Reserve, New South Wales.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Bangarra Dance Theatre</span> Indigenous Australian dance company

    Bangarra Dance Theatre is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance company focused on contemporary dance. It was founded by African American dancer and choreographer Carole Y. Johnson, Gumbaynggirr man Rob Bryant, and South African-born Cheryl Stone. Stephen Page was artistic director from 1991 to 2021, with Frances Rings taking over in 2022.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Foley</span>

    Gary Edward Foley is an Aboriginal Australian activist of the Gumbaynggirr people, academic, writer and actor. He is best known for his role in establishing the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra in 1972 and for establishing an Aboriginal Legal Service in Redfern in the 1970s. He also co-wrote and acted in the first Indigenous Australian stage production, Basically Black.

    CINE was a non-profit film organization based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1957 with the mission of selecting American films for international film festivals, CINE's focus evolved to supporting emerging and established producers of film, TV and digital media from all around the world through film competitions, educational panels, screenings and networking opportunities. After 61 years, CINE ceased operations in 2018.

    Ceremonial dancing has a very important place in the Indigenous cultures of Australia. They vary from place to place, but most ceremonies combine dance, song, rituals and often elaborate body decorations and costumes. The different body paintings indicate the type of ceremony being performed. They play an important role in marriage ceremonies, in the education of Indigenous children, as well as storytelling and oral history. The term corroboree is commonly used to refer to Australian Aboriginal dances, although this term has its origins among the people of the Sydney region. In some places, Aboriginal people perform corroborees for tourists. In the latter part of the 20th century the influence of Indigenous Australian dance traditions has been seen with the development of concert dance, with the Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts (ACPA) providing training in contemporary dance.

    The NAISDA Dance College is a performing arts training college based in Kariong, New South Wales for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia. It was established as the Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Scheme (AISDS) in 1975, which became the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA) in 1988. The date of establishment of the college is usually cited as 1976, although some sources report it as 1975.

    The National Black Theatre (NBT) was a theatre company run by a small group of Aboriginal people based in the Sydney suburb of Redfern which operated from 1972 to 1977. The original concept for the theatre grew out of political struggles, especially the land rights demonstrations, which at the time were being organised by the Black Moratorium Committee. The centre held workshops in modern dancing, tribal dancing, writing for theatre, karate and photography, and provided a venue for new Aboriginal drama. It also ran drama classes under Brian Syron, whose students included Jack Davis, Freddie Reynolds, Maureen Watson, Lillian Crombie, and Hyllus Maris.

    Brian Gregory Syron was an actor, teacher, Aboriginal rights activist, stage director and Australia's first Indigenous feature film director, who has also been recognised as the first First Nations feature film director. After studying in New York City under Stella Adler, he returned to Australia and was a co-founder of the Australian National Playwrights Conference, the Eora Centre, the National Black Playwrights Conference, and the Aboriginal National Theatre Trust. He worked on several television productions and was appointed head of the ABC's new Aboriginal unit in 1988.

    Martha Ansara is a documentary filmmaker whose films on social issues have won international prizes and been screened in Australia, the UK, Europe and North America. Ansara was one of the first women in Australia to work as a cinematographer, is a full member of the Australian Cinematographers Society (ACS) and was inducted into the ACS Hall of Fame in 2015. Martha is a Life Member of the Australian Directors Guild and a founding member of Ozdox, the Australian Documentary Forum. She has also worked as a film lecturer and film writer and has been active in the trade union, women's and peace movements.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Redfern All Blacks</span> Australian rugby league club, based in Sydney NSW

    The Redfern All Blacks, also known as RABs or Redfern, are an Indigenous Australian semi-professional rugby league club based in Redfern, New South Wales, They are a part of the South Sydney District Junior Rugby Football League.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Carriageworks</span> Multi-purpose arts venue in Sydney

    Carriageworks is a multi-arts urban cultural precinct located at the former Eveleigh Railway Workshops in Redfern, Sydney, Australia. Carriageworks showcases contemporary art and performing arts, as well as being used for filming, festivals, fairs and commercial exhibitions. The largest such venue in Australia, it is a cultural facility of the NSW Government, and receives support from Create NSW and the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts. The centre has commissioned new work by Australian and international artists, and has been home to eight theatre, dance and film companies, including Performance Space, Sydney Chamber Opera and Moogahlin Performing Arts, and a weekly farmers' market has operated there for many years.

    Marlene Cummins is a jazz blues singer, saxophonist, songwriter, artist, Aboriginal Australian activist, broadcaster, dancer, and actor. Many activists consider her to be Australia's Angela Davis.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Squatting in Australia</span> Occupation of land or buildings in Australia without permission of owner

    Squatting in Australia usually refers to a person who is not the owner, taking possession of land or an empty house. In 19th century Australian history, a squatter was a settler who occupied a large tract of Aboriginal land in order to graze livestock. At first this was done illegally, later under licence from the Crown.

    Carole Yvonne Johnson is an African American contemporary dancer and choreographer, known for her role in the establishment of the National Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA), and as co-founder of Bangarra Dance Theatre in Australia. Early in her career she became a lead dancer in the Eleo Pomare Dance Company, and Pomare had a profound influence on her dancing style.

    The International Women's Film Festival (IWFF) was a one-off film festival focusing on women's issues and films made by women, run in several capital cities of Australia in 1975.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Aboriginal Dance Theatre Redfern</span> Cultural centre in Sydney, Australia

    The Aboriginal Dance Theatre Redfern (ADTR) is an Australian non-profit organisation providing cultural and dance programs for Aboriginal Australian, located in the Sydney suburb of Redfern. It was founded in 1979 by Christine Donnelly, who remains executive director as of November 2022.

    References

    1. 1 2 "Redfern Oral History: Dance". Redfern Oral History. 29 August 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
    2. Webber, Pauline (2005). Sydney Film Festival 1954–1983 (PDF) (MA). University of Technology, Sydney.
    3. Gill, Heather. "Feminist filmmakers". NFSA . Retrieved 30 August 2022.
    4. Zetterling, Mai. (1975). "International Women's Film Festival [abstract]". Metro Magazine (32).