Sure to be one of the highlights of January’s Sydney Festival is leading indigenous dancer Jasmin Sheppard’s performance of her world premiere work ‘The Complication Of Lyrebirds’ at the Campbelltown Arts Centre.
Acclaimed for her powerful performances with Bangarra Dance Theatre, and her work as a choreographer and solo dancer, Jasmin has performed on stages around the world. However, this work has special significance for the artist, as it is inspired by her own personal journey of discovery to explore her Aboriginal identity and questions what it means to be Aboriginal today.
It is also sparked by the anger and frustration she felt from outside pressures to define her Aboriginal heritage or prove her ‘blackness’: a pressure she says is faced by many First Nations people.
She draws comparisons with the spectacular Lyrebird who mimics other birds, but still has a distinct personality that is uniquely their own.
Of her new work Jasmin says, “There’s a strong pressure placed on First Nations people to constantly prove ‘how Aboriginal’ we are. From the colour of our skin, to that ever-common cringe-worthy question ‘So what percentage are you?’, to how much cultural knowledge we may or may not have had passed onto us.
“This demand to prove Aboriginality entirely discounts the many different ways colonisation has devastated many within our community. The work asks us to acknowledge that all First Nations people have unique journeys and histories. It’s time to put these questions back where they came from and not upon ourselves.”
The Complication of Lyrebirds – Jasmin Sheppard
Wednesday 20 January – 7:30pm (preview)
Thursday 21 January – 7:30pm (opening)
Friday 22 January – 6pm & 8:30pm
Saturday 23 January – 4:30pm & 7:30pm
General Admission: $30 plus booking fee
Venue: Campbelltown Arts Centre
Tickets: https://www.sydneyfestival.
Featured image: Jasmin Sheppard in ‘The Complications Of Lyrebirds’ Pic Samuel James