Brisbane review - Jar Jum in Performance

By Lilian Harrington

Production:                       Jar Jum

Choreographer/Creator:  Mitch Currie 

Co-Choreographer:          Alya Carrington 

Location:                           Backbone Arts Festival

Venue:                                The Ron Hurley Theatre & Amphitheatre

(28 Tallowwood St Ron Hurley Theatre Seven Hills)

Backbone Arts Festival Dates:   Oct 1-17. (Open Evgs. from 6 pm in the Amphitheatre/ or 7 pm Theatre)

 Jar Jum performances Oct 1- 3 & Artist talk 3 pm Oct. 3

Bookings: www.backbone.org.au or www.nalingurrie.com.au

The 2026 Brisbane Backbone Arts Festival has got off to a cracking good start; opening night saw the work of First Nations choreographer Mitch Currie from the indigenous Nalingurrie Youth Program get underway as part of the fortnight’s program. This is their inaugural year at the Backbone Arts Festival, with its young mob of skillful and very entertaining dancers. Currie had designed a cultural multimedia production which combined featured dance, and short film excerpts, that complimented the dancing, puppetry, story- telling, and commentary from the young artists, which he and co- choreographer dancer Alya Carrington – Sanson, developed.

With an opening address from elder, Aunty Sandy, along with Di Farmer, Qld. MP. and local Councilor Lucy Collier, the night opened with a lot of enthusiasm and energy. The audience was given a short overview of the experimental music and dance work from Synapse in progress, displayed on the outside stage; The friendly crowd watched on, along with the young talent, all in costume and ready to “strut their stuff” in the Ron Hurley Theatre.  

This is the 39^th year that Backbone Arts has been in existence and indications are that they are gearing up for a major event as part of their 40^th year celebrations. This year the program included works from various resident youth groups that come under the Backbone Arts umbrella. The program included: Jar Jum, Macbeth, UTC’s Playground Festival, Winging It, a Night for Teachers, Artists talks, Hemingway, A Drop too Many, Cloud Bank, Bring a Very Big Net, Our Dog Comet and Susie Sex Binge, to name a few.  

Jar Jum, which refers to children or kids in several Aboriginal Australian languages, especially from the Bunjalung and Yugambeh tribes from North East NSW and South East Queensland, is a term used in Indigenous early childhood programs, playgroups and family support and heard on NITV, SBS, began their program with some bold choreography.

This program explored spirit, love and resilience through dance and visuals along with student recordings as they commented on their goals and dreams.  Choreographer Mitch Currie has used this method to highlight the First Nations youth perspectives. It celebrated their culture through dance, voice, strength and their creativity. It included children from both the metropolitan area and the regions, helping them to show connection and identity. It provided a program of short, visual, dance statements and puppetry, interspersed with supportive film action and edited clips from the dancers themselves, complimented by the use of well -planned visual effects.

Remarkably, movement arrangements from the young dancers went smoothly despite the odd hiccup, which kept the audience thoroughly amused at times, (even the boys routine got full applause), and unwanted bloopers in some of the scheduled youngsters’ routines were met with enthusiasm and whistles.  

The work of Alya Carrington – Sanson, was well thought-out and creative; there is little doubt that, her dance work seen in Jar Jum, will help her to continue on and build a successful career in the arts. The annual Festival displays to all, how Backbone Arts (and its dedicated leaders), provide opportunities for its members to explore, experiment, make mistakes, and find a pathway to future success, through their innovative and creative programs.