Painted faces, woven raffia skirts with light wispy emu feathers attached, the dancers move slowly around a fire, with moves passed down through the generations.
The 100-strong crowd, silent and observant, looks on.
It was January 26. For many people, Australia Day. For dance group Galnya Yenbena, it was a day of mourning.
Day of mourning: Vanessa Harbrow dancing on January 26 in Mooroopna.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Long-time friends Vanessa Harbrow, Chantyra Wirrpanda-Briggs and Kyla Boland came together last year as a women-only trio to tell Yorta Yorta stories through dance. The name Galnya Yenbena means ‘beautiful people’ in Yorta Yorta.
The three young Yorta Yorta winyarrs, meaning ‘women’ in Yorta Yorta, talked to me about their dances, how expressive dancing is for them, and how it makes them feel connected to woka, meaning ‘land’.
Ms Harbrow grew up not knowing anything about her culture or heritage, having lived with white families.
Eventually, she went to ASHE in Shepparton where she could be immersed in her culture and learn from her Elders.
Connection to country: Chantyra Wirrpanda-Briggs during Galnya Yenbena’s performance on January 26.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
“After learning more I found dance, and people who wanted to dance, to start a group,” Ms Harbrow said.
“Every move that we teach, every song that we dance to is in language, or every dance is an animal, so when we’re teaching this, you’re teaching more and more about your culture in ways by dancing.
“A big thing for me is woka. When I’m dancing and feeling the soil and I’ve got my paint on and I’ve got my skirt, it’s a big feeling of being home and being present, being connected, having my ancestors on my back as they carry me through what I’m doing.
“Just knowing that you’re an inspiration for younger people watching as well.”
Ms Wirrpanda-Briggs said the feeling of being in the spotlight never fazed her.
Sense of pride: Chantyra Wirrpanda-Briggs.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
“When I’m dancing, like obviously people get stage fright, but once the music plays and I’m in that moment, it makes me feel really proud to be an Aboriginal,” she said.
Ms Wirrpanda-Briggs lived in the Northern Territory for a time, where she also danced frequently.
“Back in the Northern Territory, especially when it comes to funerals etc, we dance for days. Having the memories I have from those times, that’s why I’m in this group, because of the memories I have,” she said.
Ms Boland said dancing made her feel at peace.
Trio: Yorta Yorta dancers, from the top, Kyla Boland, Vanessa Harbrow and Chantyra Wirrpanda-Briggs.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
“I just feel really connected, when I’m dancing I feel connected to the land and everyone around me and I feel like it clears everything, like all your troubles.”
Dancing since Year 9, Ms Boland said she had been loving it ever since and enjoyed dancing as part of a trio.
“When you’re in the moment dancing, I just feel so connected to woka,” Ms Boland said, with a smile.
Ms Harbrow said every move they taught, every song they danced to, was in Yorta Yorta language. When they’re dancing they’re teaching more about Indigenous culture in ways through dance.
Yorta Yorta language: Vanessa Harbrow dances at the Mooroopna Dawn Service on January 26.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
“A lot of the dances we make ourselves, but the moves are passed down from generations, ancestors, and we just put it into a dance practice and make up a move along the storyline,” Ms Harbrow said.
A popular dance Galnya Yenbena perform is called the rain dance.
Ms Harbrow said the story the dance told was about women swimming around a fire.
“When they see the rain approach they begin to get up and dance the rain away,” she said.
“It isn’t working, so they start to dance harder; we clean the rain away and throw our leaves on the fire to clean that and then we are thankful and happy for where we are on woka.”
Galnya Yenbena will be dancing at events later in the year and hope to continue to tell stories through dance as Yorta Yorta winyarrs.
Ms Harbrow said a dance the trio were working on was called the Dreamtime dance.
Telling a story: Kyla Boland dancing by the Goulburn River in Mooroopna.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
“The dance goes along the basis of our Dreamtime, which is about the rainbow serpent who made our river, and Bunjil the creator, so that’s when we dance as an eagle. When we sweep with our bundles that is us cleaning the pathway, cleaning our feet from our bad spirits and cleansing ourselves,” she said.
Every little movement in their dances represent something.
In months to come, the trio could find themselves performing the Dreamtime dance during sunrise on a riverbank somewhere, as the light softly enters through the trees.