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'This book shows how traditional music and dance have responded to colonial control in the past and more recently to other external forces beyond local control. It looks at musical pasts and presents as a continuum of creativity; at contemporary cultural performance as a contested domain; and at cross-cultural issues of recording and teaching music and dance as experienced by Indigenous leaders and educators, and non-Indigenous researchers and scholars. Indigenous and non-Indigenous contributors demonstrate how local music and dance genres have been subject to missionary, institutional, popular and global influences.
The contributors offer an understanding of the cultural background and history of Torres Strait music; they discuss how contemporary Christian music and dance in Arnhem Land incorporate traditional ritual; they unpack the complex form and structure of an Australian Aboriginal song series; and they examine the transformation of a nineteenth-century American popular song into a 'traditional' anthem of the Torres Strait. The book also examines the interface between Aboriginal ritual, movement and the environment as portrayed on film; and explores the issues raised by the presence of Aboriginal performers in the white university classroom.' Source: www.aiatsis.gov.au/aboriginal_studies_press/ (Sighted 18/01/2008).
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Performing Country
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Humanities Review , May no. 46 2009;
— Review of Landscapes of Indigenous Performance : Music, Song and Dance of the Torres Strait and Arnhem Land 2005 single work criticism -
[Review Essay] Landscapes of Indigenous Performance: Music, Song and Dance of the Torres Strait and Arnhem Land
2007
single work
essay
— Appears in: Australian Aboriginal Studies , no. 2 2007; (p. 154-156)'There are different ways of understanding a per-formance. One reviewer might wax lyrical about the tightness of the band, or the singer’s vocal abilities, while a different reviewer might discuss the extent to which people queued up to attend the performance and debate the social impact of the band. These two understandings greatly enhance our appreciation of music, song and dance in different ways. Analysis of the art form itself reveals the musical intuitions of those well-versed in its genre, such as what makes a ballad a ballad, or a trio a trio, and what constitutes creativity and incorrectness. The second understanding relies on analysis of the role of music in society, seeking answers for questions such as why certain music, song or dance is performed, and what else are performers doing in such activities. This is the understanding that eight of the nine contributors bring to this book, while Anderson contributes to the former type of understanding, which is also where my area of expertise lies as a linguist and musicologist.' (Introduction)
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Untitled
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education , vol. 35 no. 2006; (p. 102-103)
— Review of Landscapes of Indigenous Performance : Music, Song and Dance of the Torres Strait and Arnhem Land 2005 single work criticism
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Untitled
2006
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education , vol. 35 no. 2006; (p. 102-103)
— Review of Landscapes of Indigenous Performance : Music, Song and Dance of the Torres Strait and Arnhem Land 2005 single work criticism -
Performing Country
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Humanities Review , May no. 46 2009;
— Review of Landscapes of Indigenous Performance : Music, Song and Dance of the Torres Strait and Arnhem Land 2005 single work criticism -
[Review Essay] Landscapes of Indigenous Performance: Music, Song and Dance of the Torres Strait and Arnhem Land
2007
single work
essay
— Appears in: Australian Aboriginal Studies , no. 2 2007; (p. 154-156)'There are different ways of understanding a per-formance. One reviewer might wax lyrical about the tightness of the band, or the singer’s vocal abilities, while a different reviewer might discuss the extent to which people queued up to attend the performance and debate the social impact of the band. These two understandings greatly enhance our appreciation of music, song and dance in different ways. Analysis of the art form itself reveals the musical intuitions of those well-versed in its genre, such as what makes a ballad a ballad, or a trio a trio, and what constitutes creativity and incorrectness. The second understanding relies on analysis of the role of music in society, seeking answers for questions such as why certain music, song or dance is performed, and what else are performers doing in such activities. This is the understanding that eight of the nine contributors bring to this book, while Anderson contributes to the former type of understanding, which is also where my area of expertise lies as a linguist and musicologist.' (Introduction)
- Torres Strait Islands, Queensland,
- Arnhem Land, Top End, Northern Territory,