Mathinna Essays

“Mathinna” is a contemporary dance piece that held a captivating performance through the dance style of aboriginal culture. This dance was choreographed by Stephan Page and performed by the Bangarra Dance Theatre. The story line of “Mathinna” was about a young girl who went from her aboriginal culture to a western colonial society in 1833. Mathina (Elma Kris) was six when she captured the hearts of Governor Sir John Franklin (Sidney Salter), an Artic explorer, and his wife, Lady Jane Franklin (Yolande

dance work, Mathinna, makes a powerful political and/or social statement regarding the Indigenous stolen generation in Australia.’ The contemporary dance work, ‘Mathinna’ by Bangarra Dance Company was inspired by a portrait of the same name by Thomas Bock depicting an Aboriginal girl in a red dress. The dance tells the true story of the short, confusing and tragic life of a young Aboriginal girl during the early days of Australia’s colonisation. Born on Flinders Island in 1835, Mathinna was taken from