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‘More Than Just Feathers and Beads” as part of the “Festival of Dreaming” series in both Sydney (at the Sydney Opera House) and Canberra, Australia. Following are some recollections of that time: What is it that anybody really knows about Australia, besides “Crocodile Dundee, “The Thorn Birds” and it is a continent (thank you PS29)? Oh, and last but not least the famed movie “A Cry in The Dark” - you know -”A Dingo Ate My Baby!”...' I don’t know if it’s common knowledge that it takes three days to get there. I don’t know about most people but I have a fear of flying. Not that I don’t like heights, I’m just afraid of dying. I did go to therapy for this fear of mine so now when we hit a bump I just complain and no longer yell “We’re all gonna’ die!” One of the most fascinating things about my trip was that I was an American. Yes, I am aware that I live in a country called America so that makes me an American - but- I consider myself a New Yorker. I’m sorry, but I don’t consider Brooklyn part of America -at least we don’t think so. The first time I was asked how do I feel as an American I was speechless-and anyone who knows me knows that is a feat in itself. To open a show in a place where no one knows you is one of the loneliest things in the world. I don’t now if I can describe the feeling of going on stage where you can only say to yourself “this is it!”. It’s one of the single scariest moments of a performer’s life. The show was well received and I spent the rest of my stay with the Aboriginal people there. We found he common thread of ethnic stress and they felt it important to treat me as a long lost cousin. After the show closed I had four days off which I spent on the outskirts of Canberra with an extraordinary woman. She was a dancer, activist, and white witch of the Wicca. She was conducting special creativity workshops at her house. The women at her workshops were mostly from her coven. When I first got there I thought ‘great, all I need - New Agers”...but she was far from that. She was an artist who embraced her own European heritage and religion. I tried to pretend that I was hip on that - I had seen “Excalibur”, you know. The first night I was there she invited me to a ceremony. I thought “cool, I’m an Indian, I can deal”. I didn’t know it would be outside in the woods and at night! I was beginning to think that, boy, they had the wrong Indian. This Indian is the type you take shopping, not to the woods. It was cold because it was winter and I had to borrow shoes - I had only heels. I didn’t expect to be so down to earth on this trip. There were no lights and we had to hike in the dark to the clearing where the ceremony would take place. As I followed the women in the dark I couldn’t stop myself from seeing the images from all the b-movies from my childhood of witches and human sacrifices. I was hoping I was not one that night. The other fear was that dingoes would devour me. Well, none of these things happened and that night I saw women dancing in the dark celebrating their own spirituality without pretense. This is who they were and it was beautiful. I watched this mystical moment under a hat, three sweaters and five blankets because I was cold. After all, my people come from the South and from the rainforest. We only get naked because it’s hot. The rest of my days were spent watching this woman and she amazed me. She talked of past lives but not in the same way I have heard “New Agers” do. She didn’t talk about being an Indian chief with lots of feathers. She talked about her religion and uncovering myths that were true in her own European heritage. She didn’t want my spirituality - she was only interested in her own. I still stay in touch with her and when she sends a Christmas card it always says “Did you see any dingoes lately?” Murielle Borst (Cuna/Rappahonnack) is an actress, writer and choreographer who hails from Brooklyn, New York. She has toured with Spiderwoman Theater as well as with her own solo piece ‘More Than Just Feathers and Beads”. She has appeared off-Broadway and is the Artistic Director of the SilverCloud Dancers. |
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