Spiritual Herstories by Amanda Williamson

Author:Amanda Williamson [Williamson, Amanda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781789380835
Publisher: Intellect Books Ltd
Published: 2020-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

‘Niimikaage’ into the twenty-first century

Sandra Laronde and Elaine Keillor

‘Dancing for a purpose’ or niimikaage in the Anishinaabemowin language, also referred to as the Central Ojibwa form spoken in many Anishinaabe communities of Ontario, Canada, has particular resonance for Sandra Laronde, a member of the Teme-Augama-Anishnaabe (People of the Deep Water) Nation. Sandra Laronde founded Red Sky Performance in 2000. Since 2003, Red Sky has delivered some 2000 performances in Canadian communities as well as over 200 international appearances in thirteen countries on four different continents. Through its leading-edge theatrical productions of dance, theatre and music, Sandra Laronde has brought indigenous dance to a variety of audiences in an innovative and contemporary context.1 Connections are made between various cultures, often separated by huge distances and continents through the exploration of similar indigenous world-views, or a common economic underpinning such as horse culture.

With reference to spirituality, the non-narrative messages present in Red Sky performances underline the interconnectedness to be found in the approach of an indigenous person to existence. In other words, spirituality is not a separate entity as is the case in most dominant cultures. Rather a person must respect and endeavour to become one with all living animate and inanimate beings in one’s environment that includes humans, animals, trees, lakes, rivers, mountains, stars and so on. Certainly, one may need guidance in this endeavour as is true of the role of shamans and elders in indigenous societies to show and lead others. In fact, one could consider Red Sky to be leading both indigenous and non-indigenous audience members to a new understanding of spirituality.

Because to date Red Sky has produced a series of professional productions exploring dance and its expression in indigenous terms, the discussion within this essay is limited to two prize-winning creations – Tono (2008) and Backbone (2015). Each of these productions was influenced by Sandra Laronde’s cultural heritage. This chapter will describe her involvement with music and theatre followed by a discussion of the two productions. Much of this information has been obtained through her generous sharing of personal and familial information in phone calls and e-mail correspondence with Keillor.

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