Gudirr Gudirr

Part condensed history of race relations in Australia, and part intensely personal exploration of identity; Gudirr Gudirr skilfully combines storytelling and performance to highlight issues faced by Indigenous Australians today.

The name of the performance is taken from the Yawuru word for the warning call of the wader bird, which can be heard when the tide is turning. In this story, to miss the call is to risk drowning. Co-choreographer and performer Dalisa Pigram explains Gudirr Gudirr as a warning call to the community. Presented as a series of vignettes, the work touches on many themes that focus on Indigenous Australian experiences, while also highlighting many of the challenges facing people living in Pigram’s home town of Broome.

Presenting a multi-lingual dance and video solo, the success of such a work is often dependent on the virtues of the performer. Pigram – who is of Aboriginal-Malaysian-Filipino ancestry – shines in her multiple representations.  

Although diminutive in size, Pigram is a charismatic presence on the floor – incredibly strong and athletic, with powerful movements and expressive delivery that keeps your eyes drawn to her as she uses almost every corner of the stage.

She has explained her movement language as being influenced by Silat (Malaysian martial arts), gymnastics, traditional movements, as well as animal life, and all this comes out of the floor with Pigram managing to look both fluid and mechanical all in the same motion.

Most impressive are her aerial silks work which are executed with a fishing net attached to the ceiling. As well as swinging across the room and mastering a combination of climbs, wraps and drops, Pigram was able to incorporate the net into her storytelling by enacting childhood fishing trips and the feeling of being trapped.  

The short story style for the most part works well. Sometimes, however, the shift between dance, spoken word, traditional theatre and video installation (by Vernon Ah Kee) make the narrative stilted and the transitions between these modes  occasionally jolt the audience into a new frame, perhaps before they are fully prepared.

Overall Gudirr Gudirr is a powerful accomplishment while also being unexpectedly humorous. It also benefits from a great musical score and composer and sound designer Sam Serruys and sing/songwriter Stephen Pigram deserve some recognition for their substantial contribution to the overall performance.