Skip to content
1981
Polish Perspectives on Adaptation
  • ISSN: 1753-6421
  • E-ISSN: 1753-643X

Abstract

This article reflects upon the practice-led research project The Other Side of Me. It asks how to translate the life story of a young Aboriginal man born in Australia’s Northern Territory – adopted by an English family and raised in a remote hamlet in Cornwall, United Kingdom – into a narrative that engages with experiences of indigeneity in the contemporary world. At the project’s core is a collection of approximately 30 letters and poems that are crucially concerned with the trauma he suffered as a transracial adoptee – the conflicts of an individual coming to terms with two very different cultures. Telling his story raises issues of cultural appropriation. We propose here that adapting his story into dance offers one way to negotiate the challenges of cultural appropriation. Importantly, this process of adaptation is iterative, creating space for multiple voices and bodies to retell and reinterpret a story of personal trauma that sits at the limits of linguistic expression.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/jafp_00045_1
2021-03-01
2025-05-14
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Atkinson, W.. ( 2012;), ‘ Position paper: Overview of Indigenous human rights in Australia. ’, https://waynera.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/hrpaper12.pdf. Accessed 22 July 2020.
  2. Australian Human Rights Commission ( 2009;), ‘ Chapter 3: The perilous state of Indigenous languages in Australia. ’, https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/chapter-3-introduction-social-justice-report-2009. Accessed 22 July 2020.
  3. Bannerman, H.. ( 2010;), ‘ Movement and meaning: An enquiry into the signifying properties of Martha Graham’s Diversion of Angels (1948) and Merce Cunningham’s Points in Space (1986). ’, Research in Dance Education, 11:1, pp. 1933.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Bannerman, H.. ( 2014;), ‘ Is dance a language?. ’, Dance Research: The Journal of the Society for Dance Research, 32:1, pp. 6580.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Burke, S.. ( 2017;), ‘ What is “dance theatre”?. ’, https://www.dancemagazine.com/dance-theater-2440402975.html. Accessed 20 July 2020.
  6. Davis, J.,, Muecke, S.,, Nargogin, M., and Shoemaker, A.. (eds) ( 1990), Paperbark: A Collection of Black Australian Writings, Queensland:: University of Queensland Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Dunphy, K., and Ware, V.-A.. ( 2019;), ‘ Dance and quality of life for indigenous communities in Australia. ’, in K. Bond. (ed.), Dance and the Quality of Life, Philadelphia, PA:: Springer;, pp. 495512.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Freire, P.. ( 2016;), ‘ Sorrow and success at St Mary’s. ’, Philip Freier, 1 August, http://www.melbournearchbishop.org.au/2016/08/01/sorrow-and-success-at-st-marys/. Accessed 22 July 2020.
  9. Gibson, L.. ( 2016;), ‘“ We are the river”: Place, wellbeing and aboriginal identity. ’, in S. Atkinson,, S. Fuller, and J. Painter. (eds), Place and Wellbeing, London:: Routledge;, pp. 197210.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Gilbert, K.. (ed.) ( 1988), Inside Black Australia: An Anthology of Aboriginal Poetry, Victoria:: Penguin Books;.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Lang, G.. ( 2020;), interview with Laura Fish. , 18 March.
  12. Litson, J.. ( 2012;), ‘ The evolution of dance theatre. ’, Sydney Theatre Company, 14 February, https://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/magazine/posts/2012/february/essay-the-evolution-of-dance-theatre. Accessed 20 July 2020.
  13. Morgan, S.. ( 1987), My Place, Perth:: Fremantle Arts Centre Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Murray, S., and Keefe, J.. ( 2007), Physical Theatres: A Critical Reader, London:: Routledge;.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. NAISDA ( 2020;), ‘ Who we are. ’, https://naisda.com.au/about-naisda/who-we-are/. Accessed 22 July 2020.
  16. Neidjie, B.. ( 1989), Story about Feeling, Broome:: Magabala Books;.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Noonuccal, O.. ( 1970), My People, Queensland:: The Jacaranda Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Philip, M. N.. ( 2015), She Tries Her Tongue, Her Silence Softly Breaks, Middletown, CT:: Wesleyan University Press; (first published by Ragweed Press, Canada, 1989).
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Philip, M. N.. ( 2017;), ‘ M NourbeSe Philip on belonging, race, politics and art (Ryerson Social Justice Week 2017). ’, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xip3K6-ARro. Accessed 22 July 2020.
  20. Ravenscroft, A.. ( 2007;), ‘ Coming to matter: The grounds of our embodied difference. ’, Postcolonial Studies, 10:3, pp. 287300.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Reynolds, D.. ( 2012;), ‘ Kinesthetic empathy and the dance’s body: From emotion to affect. ’, in D. Reynolds, and M. Reason. (eds), Kinesthetic Empathy in Creative and Cultural Practices, Bristol:: Intellect;, pp. 12336.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Sheets-Johnstone, M.. ( 2012;), ‘ From movement to dance. ’, Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences, 11:1, pp. 3957.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Fish, Laura, and Pavey, Liz. ( 2021;), ‘ The Other Side of Me: Moving words into motion. ’, Journal of Adaptation in Film & Performance, 14:1, pp. 10923, https://doi.org/10.1386/jafp_00045_1
    [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1386/jafp_00045_1
Loading
/content/journals/10.1386/jafp_00045_1
Loading

Data & Media loading...

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error
Please enter a valid_number test