I once again find myself vastly unqualified for a review.

Braiding the Land is a series of dance performances from Raven Spirit Dance, a Canadian collective that focuses on its indigenous roots to produce contemporary works that transcend generations. With a very generous hour and a half of wordless art, this repertoire of three striking performances is a slow burn that demands your attention.

The cleverness of the stage design is apparent the moment the show starts. There are three curtains that jut out of both sides of the stage, the perfect receptacle for strange shadows cast by the minimal props that are brought on. Sticks turns into forests, stones turn into stars, flickers turn into fires. The show really makes the most out of its small arsenal and provides a vivid landscape upon which the dancing can really shine.

Braiding the Land feels more like an anthology of stories, rather than an over-arching plot, with distinctly different performers for each of the three pieces that take around half an hour each. Like many other dance performances, the show is essentially wordless, aside from some pre-recorded vocals. The interpretation for an English-centric audience is therefore up to them to decide. As I’ve talked about in my previous reviews, I go into shows as blind as possible, and that does make it difficult to know whether my interpretations are correct. But here they are, nonetheless.

Frost Exploding Trees Moon
The first story is a solo performance with Michelle Olson owning the stage with three long sticks. She’s dressed like a warm, loving grandmother, but her movements are as spry and lithe as that of a thirty-something pilates coach. She roams the stage with her sticks, as if making sure they get to experience the entirety of it before setting them up in a tent formation. To me, this was a story of honouring the land before partaking in its bounty. That if we respect the ground we tread upon, it will shelter us, and nurture us.

Spine of the Mother
We then move to a more strength-based style of dance, where physical prowess and heavier movements dominate the story. The movements from Tasha Faye Evans and Marisa Gold are powerful. Catharsis is unleashed so satisfyingly and when everything aligns (literally), the two performers forge a connection that’s beautiful to watch. In this story, I saw truth. It was built to stand on its own, then distorted by the perception of others. Its very concept shatters amongst the stars and the pieces scatter into rocks. Until they are all re-aligned through communication and restored to their original state. Now agreed upon, the two walk in the aether, sharing the load.

Confluence
Our third and final act is a brighter story with the most performers yet. Michelle Olson returns, with Starr Muranko, Jeanette Kotowich, Samantha Sutherland and Emily Solstice). There is yet another style change, with a strong focus on rhythm and synergy across the five dancers. This felt like a performance celebrating generations present and past of wāhine, passing down traditions and stories and how they change with the passage of time. There are so many great moments of connection between the dancers, as they steal cheeky smiles and sparkling eyes. There’s a particularly poignant moment where Kotowich is overtaken and instead of racing to keep up, slows down and stands by to watch her. Proud.

Braiding the Land is no mere homage to indigenous culture, but the natural modernisation of its principles. These three performances are wildly different in style and message, but they all adhere to a strong theme of connection, whether that be to the land, to another, or to a community. The slow burning nature of the dances speaks to human bonds being built little by little, but unbreakable once forged. At least, that’s what it feels like via my own personal lens.

I don’t know if I’m right, but I don’t think I’m wrong, either.

Disclosure: As a somewhat active member of the Wellington performing arts community, I may be quite familiar with a number of the performers in this show. Having said that, I am not a liar, and there is zero bias in my reviews, shut up.

Also, tickets were provided to me for free by the production. Literally changes nothing, though.