The Other Side of Me

Gary Lang Northern Territory Dance Company’s The Other Side of Me, played at the State Theatre Centre, was a stunning piece of dance/theatre. Opening Night was the first event of the Perth 2024 ISPA (international Society for the Performing Arts), and this indigenous dance work - part of an international collaboration, seems a perfect choice to open the conference.

An international cross-cultural collaboration between Gary Lang Northern Territory Dance Company and the UK’s Northumbria University, this work is based on the true story of an Aboriginal Man, born in the Northern Territory in the 1960’s, who was taken to a remote part of the UK by his white adoptive parents. We are told that despite the best efforts of his loving adoptive mother, he and his brother “grew up to be naughty”, with our protagonist ending up in gaol. The dance is based on a collection of the man’s letters and poems as he struggles to revaluate his life in light of his First Nations origins half a world away, and his struggle to find “his other side”, the one he didn’t know.

Performed by two outstanding dancers, Tyrel Dulvarie and Alexander Abbot, this piece blends traditional dance with other genres, especially acrobatics and ballet. The two performers work as one, with impeccable timing and the gentlest, smoothest acrobatics I have seen in a long while. Both performers demonstrate amazing strength, combined with a stunning vulnerability and tenderness as they perform almost as one.

The dance is supported by a video backdrop created by Samuel James, a lighting design that creates strong stage pictures by Joseph Mercurio and Jennifer Irwin that blends prison overalls with traditional design. An unconventional composition by Samuel Pankhurst and sound design by Pankhurst and Arian Pearson provides a moving and heartfelt accompaniment.

Only 45 minutes long, this piece was moving, impressive and told a compelling story - the audience leaning in throughout. 

Kimberley Shaw

Photographer: Paz Tazzone.