Cosmology Across Country this collaboration work started with the question on Aboriginal and European relation to Night Sky in science and culture. After concluding Masters of Art and Science on Choreography and Astronomy, I had deep understanding of western technology, but was missing the body and movement. Thanks to collaboration with Katina Olsen ( Wakka Wakka and Kombumerri artist) the term „cosmology” was introduced into my understanding of reality. I learned it did include the complex interrelations between all the bodies I was interested in. At first I was introduced to Katina’s family native stories, to realise they offer to me a permission for finding my land and my family cosmology. It is a challenging journey, in which with every step of a way I am faced with new questions, temptations and lessons.
Working with Katina, and all the Elders we were privileged to meet with, the body and movement were obvious when talking about Stars. We took the main question „ where does the dance between human body, the land and the night sky happens?” and went on to explore the possibilities. With support of BlakDance we had the luxury to spend four weeks in 2019 to investigate on how would we want to work with it and what for.
We also took time to travel together to Stone Arrangment in Kaszuby Poland, to fantasize and look into possible Slavic cosmologies. What we found was the connection for those sites with Plyades and Hyades, who are related to Seven Sisters stories, which can be found in cultures all around the world.
In 2020 we started off with the dream project to take our questions and spend time with community, schools, and any interested individuals to co-create the dance by creating space for embodies experience about connection the the Night Sky. This project aims to be co-created alongside the community, and it is important that is owned by that community, the works is create, performed and remains on Country/ on its land, with its People, under its Sky. After the first two weeks of incredible, revealing and informative journey global pandemic stopped us. As we are on very different continents now, we are preparing the ground and methodology for the next time with „Cosmology Across the Country” in Australia and Poland.
Aleks Borys 