As we continue our NAIDOC Celebrations, we pay special mention of NAISDA graduate, choreographer and independent artist, Vicki Van Hout. Vicki has Wiradjuri, Dutch, Scottish and Afghan heritage and has been long admired in the arts world for pushing the boundaries.
Amongst her many career highlights, Vicki performed with Bangarra Dance Theatre in the groundbreaking work, ‘Ochres’ and with AIDT The Company in ‘Edge of the Sacred’. She has choreographed work for ATYP, Pulse8, NAISDA, WAAPA, The Helpmann Awards and Quantum Leap and currently teaches Contemporary Dance at NAISDA.
Vicki is a fiercely independent artist who dances, choreographs, mentors, directs and designs. Her body of work is extraordinary and forges the path for all to follow.
We would like to share a very special poem that Vicki penned about NAISDA called The Legacy, which was published during our 40th anniversary celebrations in 2016. This piece beautifully captures the essence of NAISDA, it’s history and the wonderful people who are contributing to its bright future.
The Legacy
When we pierce
this ground,
we make them,
the Darkenjung ancestors,
bare witness
to the fertile nexus,
this one, now,
in the present sense
A product of many a
past tense.
Past people
have passed this
down to us.
In this moment
we stand
on the precipice
of continuing greatness
A lineage
whose foundations
consisted of
much more
than this.
More than mere
concrete, mortar,
pillars, walls & ceilings
But tears, courage
and a vision to score –
a place on the map for us.
A place to make it …
A name for ourselves
Told by us with our voices
Using our own bodies
With our own ways
With our own spirits to guide us.
The first of us
fought
so that we could soar
They battled politics, ignorance,
were pioneers
and much more than that
They brought
Blackfella talent to the fore…
Front … and … centre.
They were firebreathers
Shape shifters
Their bodies burning….
formed from unbridled will
Bright new.
Their feet like thunder
Announcing that we too are here.
Have always been here….
And will always be here.
They used their dance
to make the world stand up…
and take notice.
They danced the Nullabour prayer,
to speak of this land
and our custodial connection to it.
They danced the ‘Brown Skin Baby’
to speak of stolen children.
They danced the mangy old dog
to speak of in-ex-plic -a-ble
in-equality.
They danced
Black Deaths in Custody,
where she wailed
over his spent body
And they cried too in quiet.
Private wet tears
that no-body would hear
because no-body was left
untouched.
All hearts were in attendance,
wounded
equally…
to witness it.
They danced
The 88s Tall Ships’ dispatch
To dispel to the notion
of one … true …history
Called ‘Survival’ ….
for survival
of cultural perpetuity
and the theatre god’s grace
did they engross.
Their bodies knew nought
but that they had to do it
Whether a calling or a whim
or a free taxi ride to it,
by a woman with a car,
sat trawling the streets…
searching…
for eager bodies to bend
to an ancient rhythmical beat
to the beat of this land
and that of no other.
This woman of inspiration,
a hard task master.
A mother
of contemporary idiom
In an urban setting,
representing a tradition
of the first and longest,
continuous
Nations.
The names are too many,
Like the stars in the galaxy.
The beat of one heart
over a lifetime.
Every fibre of
one being…
Like dots on a painting
They leave a brilliant legacy…
From humble beginnings
in a dusty run down church,
to these here foundations,
where we will make fire
from this dirt.
Just before we finish,
so that I am not remiss,
I’d like to acknowledge
the miners,
the illiterate,
the queers,
the queer of nature,
that is quirky
that is brave
that were here,
and are here
to seek refuge from small minds,
in smaller places.
The cross-dressers,
the crazy, the colorful, the flamboyant,
you know who you are,
you are with your people…
You are the talent
whose shoulders
prop up this place.
You are the unique voice
who sees from the other side.
You can now be counted amongst
singers, actors, choreographers,
TV
and
movies stars.
You are leaders.
It doesn’t matter what shape or colour you come in,
as long as you continue to open and dazzle
the minds of the masses
with your bodies.
by Vicki Van Hout