Above: Dancers Miyeko Ferguson, Julie Pham, Lonii Garnons-Williams, Jera Wolfe, Cameron Fraser-Monroe and Eddie Elliott peform in “Trace.” Laronde says, “The idea of ‘Trace’ came from the notion that all things are traceable and that what we leave behind as humans, as a culture, as a nation and as an individual is our legacy.”


Right: While dancers perform in “Trace,” words from a 1921 letter banning Indigenous dance in Canada disintegrate into a constellation.


we originated from somewhere in the core of a star a very long time ago.” “The Western world looks at its incep-


tion as the Big Bang. For Anishinaabeg, Sky Woman begat life for humans. For example, says Laronde, “Pleiades is called the Seven Sisters and that’s where Sky Woman fell through—Pleiades—and came down to Earth through what they call a black hole.” In “Trace,” a black hole—which the An-


ishinaabeg call “Bugonagiizhig”—appears, making way for a dancer’s descent to Earth from the Sky World. “The dancer looks like she’s actually walking across the sky toward the source to commune with the Milky Way,” says Laronde. The Anishinaabeg call the Milky Way “Jiibay Kona,” which is seen as a terrestrial roadway for the dead and leads back to Ishpiming, the Spirit World. Digital interpretations of the night sky and the land saturate the screen behind six dancers on stage. Indigenous and non-Indigenous, the dancers are Eddie Elliott (Maori), Cameron


14 AMERICAN INDIAN SUMMER 2019


Fraser-Monroe (Tla'amin), Miyeko Fergu- son, Lindsay Harpham, Julie Pham, and Jera Wolfe (Métis), who also choreographed. Off to the side on stage, three musicians harmoni- ously interpret the connections people have with the natural world while a black hole, a digitized buffalo, constellations,


trees and


other images appear on the screen. Dancers sometimes interact with the images. Marcella Grimaux created the digital media. The original score was composed by


Eliot Britton (Métis) in collaboration with Rick Sacks, Bryant Didier and Ora Barlow- Tukaki (Maori). Live sounds were recorded by Sacks and programmed into a MalletKat, an electronic marimba. Didier plays cello, electric and bass guitar. Barlow-Tukaki sings live vocals and performs with Indigenous instrumentation such as flutes, shells and cajóns. Recorded vocals by Marie Gaudet (Anishinaabe) and Inuit throat singer and beatboxer Nelson Tagoona infuse the dance with melodic and rhythmic phrases.


PHOTO BY ROB DIVITO/COURTESY RED SKY PERFORMANCE


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