Tracker | Australian Dance Theatre
Tracker was my personal ‘must see’ pick of this year’s Brisbane Festival, as the program describes this multidisciplinary work as ‘culturally rich and ambitiously original.’
Image credit: Jess Wyld
Wiradjuri choreographer and Australian Dance Theatre Artistic Director, Daniel Riley, has brought together a talented team of creatives and artists to create a show that focuses on Daniel Riley’s exploration of the life of his Great-Great Uncle, Alec "Tracker" Riley. Perhaps what I might most simply described as a collision, or fusion, of dance and theatre with the TV ‘Who Do You Think You Are’ (where high-profile individuals explore the lives and experiences of their ancestors).
Tracker features ‘Archie’ (Ari Maza Long), reading through a box of newspaper clippings and reports while traveling back to Country where Alec ‘Tracker’ Riley lived and worked over 100 years earlier: ‘I’m here now, Uncle.’ As the piece unfolds, so the audience learns about Archie’s fears and concerns about being a new father, his delight at learning about Tracker’s skills and success, and concerns as to the ways in which Tracker’s knowledge was often ignored or even abused.
Ari Maza Long is the sole narrator during the piece, but the stories are illuminated by the haunting work of the onstage musician (the score is jointly composed by sound designer James Henry and musician Gary Watling) and glorious moves of the three dancers. Daniel Riley’s choreography is compelling. The three performers (Tyrel Dulvarie, Rika Hamaguchi, and Kaine Sultan-Babij) move through and across the stage, in an often dreamlike style that brings to life the emotions and experience of both the ancestor and his Great-Great Uncle.
Image credit: Pedro Grieg
I loved Jonathan Jones’ set design, and work by Merindah Funnell (Scenic Artist). The work takes place on a circular thrust stage, with audience members seated on three sides. Having seen the show from the main end on seating area, I would be interested to hear of the experience of audience members who were seated on either side of the stage. I am guessing that being able to sit much closer to the work—stage left or stage right—will have created a more powerful sense of connection with the work, and that the movement of the net curtains (around the circle) is unlikely to have obscured too much of the view. Sitting further away from the action I certainly enjoyed the visual and ceremonial impact of the set, but did find the regular movement of the curtains a distraction.
There are many moments from this production that will remain with me. Firstly, the powerful contrasting of Archie’s attempts to follow the printed map (when first arriving in the space) with the knowledge of songlines and work of ‘Tracker’ Riley (which included drawing a mud map on the ground to explain where a child might be waiting to be found). Secondly, the blending of dance with the spoken word (although I would have preferred less amplification of the words). And thirdly, the stories and insights about the life of ‘Tracker’ Riley (and in particular the stories about Ruby, and about the passionate desire to find the lost child). And it is always special to experience any work that includes spoken and sung Language (the work benefited from the support of Project Elders Aunty Shirley Mathews and Aunty Ann Cribb, and Aunty Dianne Riley-McNaboe was credited as Wiradjuri Language Translator).
However, although there was much to enjoy in this rich new work, I hope that it will be further developed. I’d love to see a future iteration that might have a greater emphasis on Daniel Riley’s choreography, and perhaps a slight reduction in the spoken text. We have much to continue to learn.
