Australian Aboriginal Controversy

[Renee V]

since the bbc emailed me about this today and that got me thinking...
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8471918.stm

Australian elders decry Russian 'Aboriginal' ice dance


The pair unveiled the dance at the Russian championships in December
Indigenous Australian leaders have expressed outrage at an "Aboriginal dance" routine by Russian ice dancers Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin.
The Russian world champions perform in dark-skin bodysuits adorned with leaves and white body paint markings.
Indigenous leader Bev Manton has decried the "ripping off" of Aboriginal culture as offensive and disrespectful.
The Russian pair, favourites to win gold at next month's Vancouver Winter Olympics, were unavailable for comment.
They are at the European figure skating championships in Tallinn, Estonia, where they are due to perform the routine later in the day.

'Sacred dance'

"From an Aboriginal perspective, this performance is offensive," Mrs Manton writes in an editorial in the Sydney Morning Herald.
"Our dance, our ceremony, our image - and, importantly, how they are depicted - are sacred to Aboriginal Australians."
Mrs Manton, chairwoman of the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council, has urged the three-time Russian national champions to rethink their routine before the Olympics in Vancouver.
"Interest must be expressed in a way that is respectful. The ripping off of our art and songs is not, and nor is this depiction of my culture," she wrote.
Ms Domnina, 25, and Mr Shabalin, 27, recently told the figure-skating website, Golden Skate, how they researched the dance.
"We've watched video clips in the internet of these dances and it is really like this - complete with the leaves around the knees," Ms Domnina said.
She told the website that her dog Topi, a Yorkshire Terrier, had been instrumental in selecting the music.
"When we switched on the music for the original dance, my dog started to race around the room like crazy and we understood that maybe this music is what we need. It was really like this, I'm not lying," she said.
The pair said they had managed to cut down the amount of time they spent applying the "Aboriginal" markings.
"Usually we are sitting and chanting mantras for five hours and are applying the make-up to each other," Mr Shabalin told Golden Skate.
"This was at the beginning, but now the time is shorter and we went down from five hours to about 20 minutes."
The pair, who also won the European championships in 2008, are staging a comeback after being sidelined by Mr Shabalin's knee injury last year.

[Renee V]

www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/russian-ice-dancers-should-rethink-their-routine-20100121-mnwj.html

Russian ice dancers should rethink their routine
BEV MANTON
January 21, 2010 - 5:16PM

I've always believed that if you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all. So I'll start by saying that the interest in Aboriginal culture by the two talented Russian figure skaters, Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin, is both welcome and flattering.

And while I'm still saying nice things, I commend Fairfax media and the National Times for drawing people's attention to the skaters and their recent appearance at the Russian National Figure Skating Championships. The report was on the couple's performance of what they call an "Aboriginal dance", while wearing costumes that they believe help lend credibility to that claim.

The depiction — and protection — of the Aboriginal image on the world stage is obviously a matter of great importance to my people.

From an Aboriginal perspective, this performance is offensive. It was clearly not meant to mock Aboriginal culture, but that does not make it acceptable to Aboriginal people. There are a number of problems with the performance, not least of all the fact both skaters are wearing brown body suits to make their skin appear darker. That alone puts them on a very slippery slope.

Australians know only too well the offence that can be caused by white people trying to depict themselves as black people during performance pieces. Last year's domestic and international furore over the blackface skit on Hey, Hey it's Saturday's Red Faces is a recent case in point.

That said, I don't think it's the most offensive part of the performance. That honour belongs to some of the claims by Domnina and Shabalin that have accompanied it.

They are not, as they state, wearing "authentic Aboriginal paint markings". They are wearing white body paint in designs they dreamed up after reading about Aboriginal Australians on the internet. The designs are no more "authentic" or "Aboriginal" than the shiploads of cheap, "Aboriginal" tourist trinkets that pour into our country from overseas.

This is not a particularly difficult concept. For art to be Australian, it must be painted by an Australian, and for art to be Australian Aboriginal, it must be painted by an Australian Aboriginal. Russian art is not painted by Italians, and I doubt Russians would be impressed if someone tried to pass it off otherwise.

And just as the designs are not Aboriginal, nor is the music to which the dance is being performed.

I acknowledge that Aboriginal people do not own the sound of the didgeridoo. That is one of our gifts to the rest of the world. Everyone is free to use it. But that does not mean it should be sampled and then presented as something it is not — traditional Aboriginal music.

The Fairfax reports have noted that the music appears to have been composed by Sheila Chandra, a Briton of Indian descent. Again, its wonderful that there is such international interest in some of the beautiful things that make us Aboriginal, such as our songs and sounds. But interest must be expressed in a way that is respectful. The ripping off of our art and songs is not, and nor is this depiction of my culture.

It's important for all Australians to understand why our dance and ceremony is so sacred — and so fiercely guarded — by Aboriginal people.

For a start, our dance, our ceremony and even how we look is the basis of much of our culture. Our designs and images have evolved over 60,000 years. We're understandably fond of them, and we don't like seeing them ripped off and painted onto someone's body for a sporting contest.

But there are also more modern reasons. For many of us, our culture is all we have left. Our land was taken from us. Many of us lost our wages and savings. Many of us lost our children. Many of us even had our ancestors remains robbed from their graves.

My people have already lost so much. Surely it's not hard to understand why we might fear a loss of control over the parts of our culture that we have managed to hold onto?

Our dance, our ceremony, our image — and, importantly, how they are depicted — are sacred to Aboriginal Australians, just as the ANZAC legend and how it is depicted is sacred to all Australians, me included.

Again, I don't think this is rocket science. Think how offended you might be if something sacred to you was co-opted by a foreign culture, and used inappropriately.

How do you think Australians would react if some Russian ice dancers dressed as Anzacs and acted out the doomed landing at Gallipoli?

I think a lot of us might find it offensive. I certainly would. I would also question the motives of the dancers, as would many of my countrymen and women.

There might, of course, be some Australians who wouldn't find that sort of performance offensive. That is their right. But to suggest that they might be in the majority is ridiculous. Most Australians would be deeply offended, just as you'll find most Aboriginal are upset by this sort of performance.

The Russians' intent may well have been as a tribute to Aboriginal culture, but you'll find relatively few Aboriginal people received it that way.

With that in mind, my understanding is that Domnina and Shabalin intend to perform this dance again in the coming weeks at the European ice skating championships. I would urge them to reconsider.

As to the suggestion that the same routine might be performed at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in a few months, I'd respectfully remind them that the Olympics has a long tradition of flying above politics, and embracing and respecting all cultures.

Domnina and Shabalin have an opportunity to help ensure that wonderful tradition is honoured by rethinking their performance.

Bev Manton is a Worimi woman from the mid-NSW North Coast. She is the chairwoman of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council.

[Renee V]

www.theage.com.au/sport/aboriginal-skating-routine-has-russian-pair-on-thin-ice-20100120-mls9.html

'Aboriginal' skating routine has Russian pair on thin ice
TOM REILLY
January 21, 2010

IN THE fiercely competitive world of international figure skating, performers will do anything to get an edge. For Russian world champions Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin, the desire to stand out from the crowd has led them to unveil a new ''Aboriginal dance'' to perform at next month's Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.

In dark-toned bodysuits, complete with what they claim are authentic Aboriginal paint markings, the pair easily won their national ice dance competition three weeks ago at their first performance of the routine, making them favourites for gold. But while the judges in St Petersburg may have been impressed, many in the Aboriginal community are not.

''I am offended by the performance and so our other councillors,'' said Bev Manton, chair of the NSW Land Council yesterday. ''Aboriginal people for very good reason are sensitive about their cultural objects and icons being co-opted by non-Aboriginal people - whether they are from Australia or Russia.

''It's important for people to tread carefully and respectfully when they are depicting somebody else's culture and I don't think this performance does.''

Although The Age was unable to contact Domnina, 25, and Shabalin, 27, they recently spoke to ice-skating website Golden Skate about their motivations for the dance.

''We did not want to create another Slavic dance and have considered a lot of options, including Scottish folk,'' said Domnina. ''But eventually we settled on this one. I thought it was just crazy, but once we have tried it, we immediately fell in love with it.''

Asked about their research of Aboriginal culture, Domnina said: ''We've watched video clips on the internet of these dances and it is really like this - complete with the leaves around the knees.''

The music the Russians perform to has also raised questions. Ice-skating fans have identified the track as being composed by Sheila Chandra, a Briton of Indian descent.

But the anger at Domnina and Shabalin's performance is not confined to Australia's indigenous community.

Within ice-skating circles there are suspicions the Russians may have ''borrowed'' the idea for an Aboriginal dance from Australian rivals Danielle O'Brien and Greg Merriman.

The Sydney-based pair first performed an Aboriginal dance at a Korean competition in 2008 - after spending a year in consultation with the indigenous community to ensure their performance, music and costumes respected Aboriginal culture.

O'Brien and Merriman will not perform at Vancouver after missing the qualification through injury.

''I don't think there's any integrity to the Russians' dance, and given Danielle and and Greg performed their version some time ago, it's at the very least suspicious where they got their inspiration,'' said skating commentator Belinda Noonan.

[Renee V]

remember being very impressed with this dance at worlds in gothenburg...

for comparison

[Renee V]

Interview with Natalia Linichuk
(google translation)
www.allsportinfo.ru/index.php?id=36016

Natalia Linichuk: if the emergence of themes about Aborigines - planned action for the organizers is a waste of time

Today, 21 January, in Tallinn (Estonia) at the European Championships in figure skating dancers completed the original dance. The current world champions, Russians Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin maintained leadership by typing 104.27 points. Personal trainer of athletes, Olympic champion Natalia Linichuk commented on the special correspondent of the Agency of sport information "All Sport" commented on the main theme of the day - the claims of Australian Aborigines to the original dance of the Russian couple.

"Gennadiy Karponosov and I are incredibly touched by the world's attention to our dance, which had previously been shown only once - in late December in the championship of Russia - begins Natalia Linichuk. - For us, this means that we do not exist in vain, since our Work does not leave people indifferent. Now, in fact. Just to say that, the rules of the International Skating Union has a list of dances that can be used in the original program. There in black and white - dancing natives. "Traditionally, this means the First Nation inhabiting a particular land. And being an Aboriginal dance, we did not pay tribute to specific nationalities, but most of the original era to modern civilization. We did not even have intentions to do a dance specifically Australian Aboriginal, as we are aware that this is a very delicate moment. And in this dance are found themes common to all the original peoples: hunting, weather, love. There are no specific treatments we have not. I think this question can be considered closed.

Natalia Linichuk also responded to the suggestion that the emergence of this theme in the morning before the execution of the original dance at the European Championship could be someone's planned action. "If someone thinks that me and my athletes are so easy to knock out of the saddle, I sincerely sympathize with them. It's just a waste of time. We are ready not just good" rollers, "and these individuals. They are ready for anything. We beat, and we get stronger "- summarized Natalia Linichuk.

[Renee V]

web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100123&content_id=7959196&vkey=ice_news

In ice dance, it's a fine line between tribute and insult
Skaters react to criticism of Russians' Aboriginal dance

By Lynn Rutherford, special to icenetwork.com
(01/23/2010) - The second question to ice dancers in the mixed zone last night, a few seconds after "How did that feel?," was "What do you think about the controversy over Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin's Aboriginal dance?"
The Russian world champions, who just won their second European title in Estonia, don dark-toned bodysuits and "authentic" Aboriginal paint markings for the routine.
"This dance suits my soul very well," Domnina said. "The most important thing is that people are not left indifferent by the dance. There are reactions, and that is already a plus. It is impossible to please everyone."
The dance certainly does not please many in Australia's Aboriginal community, and it threatens to become an issue at the Vancouver Olympics next month, especially since members of The Four Host First Nations that are helping Olympic organizers sponsor the 2010 Games have also expressed concern.
"Aboriginal people for very good reason are sensitive about their cultural objects and icons being co-opted by non-Aboriginal people, whether they are from Australia or Russia." Bev Manton, chair of the NSW Land Council, told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Tanith Belbin, who trains with the Russian world champions every day in Aston, Pa., and shares their coaches, Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponosov, was understandably quick to sidestep the controversy.
"I don't think that we're educated enough in the dances of the Aboriginal people to know," Belbin said.
"I know Oksana and Max as people, and I can assume they would never intend to offend anyone with their programs. They were just trying to achieve something unique and different and I think they certainly achieved that. I hope everyone is feeling okay for the Olympics and it works itself out."
Linichuk, the choreographer for her teams, gave the Americans a far safer choice, a Moldavian folk dance.
Asked if he would feel comfortable wearing Shabalin's aboriginal outfit, which also includes some Eucalyptus leaves, Agosto said, "I can't really comment on what I would, or wouldn't wear. I've had my fair share of odd costumes.
"Figure skating is a sport with lots of unique costumes and I hope nobody in Moldavia is offended by our dance."
Linichuk, who won the 1980 Olympic title with her husband, Karponosov, issued a statement.
"First of all, in the ISU rule book there is a list of dances which are allowed for use in the Original Dance competition. In black and white it states Aborigines Dances," she said.
"When creating an "Aborigines" dance, we were not suggesting a specific geographic region, but rather a tribute to a place and time before the "modern civilization". We had no intent to make the dance specifically "Australian", because we realize our limitations to fully understand all the intricacies."
The veteran coach, who has trained teams including Russian Olympic champions Oksana Grishuk and Evgeni Platov, is known for her adroit maneuvering in ice dance, a notoriously political sport. She hinted that one her competitors may have planted the controversy as sabotage.
"If someone thinks that I and my athletes can be knocked out of balance, I am truly sorry for these people," she said.
In contrast to the Russians, U.S. champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White are fielding nothing but accolades for their Bollywood-style Indian dance.
The couple and their coaches, Igor Shpilband and Marina Zoueva, worked with Indian dance specialist Aniya Ranedra to ensure their movements and costumes were authentic.
"We can't speak for anyone else, but for us, knowing that we didn't know anything about Indian culture going in, it was very important for us to do the research and do the dance justice," Davis said. "We didn't want to offend anyone or do something that was completely off base."
U.S. bronze medalists Kimberly Navarro and Brent Bommentre's original dance to Afro-Brazilian rhythms was a hit with the Spokane audience here.
The skaters, who also train with the Russians and Belbin and Agosto, studied under Jeannine Osayande of the Dunya Performing Arts Company for months. Their elaborate costumes, including a breastplate and leather headdress for Bommentre, are the result of this research, they said.
"These costumes are inspired by mythological figures in African culture," Bommentre explained.
"As far as the headpiece is concerned, they were trying to find a way for me to have longer hair. I was really hesitant about hair extensions, and I can't grow my hair out fast enough to have dreds."
Novarro and Bommentre said last night was the first they've heard of the controversy, but they seemed empathetic to their training mates' plight.
"You're straddling a fine line between doing something incredibly authentic for the country and culture you're trying to portray, and yet still figure skate," Bommentre said.

[Renee V]

www.theglobeandmail.com/news/nati....rticle1441716 /

Russian ice-dance routine falls out of step with natives

MARK HUME AND BEVERLEY SMITH
VANCOUVER and TORONTO — From Saturday's Globe and Mail
Published on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010 12:00AM EST
Last updated on Monday, Jan. 25, 2010 3:52AM EST
The Four Host First Nations that are helping Olympic organizers sponsor the 2010 Games have asked to meet with a pair of Russian skaters who have been criticized for a dance routine that aboriginal leaders find culturally offensive.

Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin got high marks from judges at the European championships on Thursday after performing an original dance. Mr. Shabalin told a reporter yesterday that they will use the controversial routine at the Olympics in Vancouver.

The dance is based on traditional practices of Australia's aboriginal people.

"My first reaction is that I feel really disheartened that this took place, particularly given how the indigenous people in Australia feel about it," Tewanee Joseph, CEO of the Four Host First Nations, said yesterday.

"I'd love to meet with the Russian pair, with the skaters themselves. We are going to extend an invitation to them," Mr. Joseph said.

"They are coming into our territory. They should feel comfortable here, but at the same time, we want to educate them on our culture and we will encourage them to contact the aboriginals in Australia before the Games," he said.

Victor Kraatz, a world champion ice dancer from Vancouver, said he felt the Russians had "decided to go a little bit Hollywood" in their depiction of the aboriginal dance and had "dumbed down a little bit" its character.

He said he knew that Australian aboriginal leaders were unhappy, because he's worked in the past year with Australian ice dancers Danielle O'Brien and Gregory Merriman, who also do an aboriginal dance.

Mr. Kraatz said that while Ms. Domnina and Mr. Shabalin watched videos of aboriginal dances on the Internet, Ms. O'Brien and Mr. Merriman sought the advice of an elder before doing the dance, to determine if it could be done without offending anyone, to study the movements and do research.

The Australians did not qualify for the Olympics.

The Russians, who are the reigning world champions, said yesterday at the European Figure Skating Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, that they were surprised to hear Australian aboriginal leaders had taken offence.

"We didn't know anything about it," Ms. Domnina told reporters.

The dancers wore dark bodysuits adorned with patterns that mimic the body paint traditionally worn by Australian aboriginals. They also had on red loincloths and bunches of green leaves.

"Our dance, our ceremony, our image - and, importantly, how they are depicted - are sacred to aboriginal Australians," Bev Manton, an aboriginal leader, wrote in an editorial in the Sydney Morning Herald.

"From an aboriginal perspective, this performance is offensive," she stated.

Mr. Kraatz said that aboriginal women do not wear body paint, as Ms. Domnina did during the routine. And that aboriginals will find it offensive that they wore red, because it is to be used only for ceremonial purposes.

Mr. Joseph said if artists, or in this case ice dancers, are going to depict a native theme in their work, they should do it respectfully.

"There is a way to do it. I think we are always open to sharing our culture, but the first thing is to actually engage with aboriginal people," he said. "If you are going to use an aboriginal song, or aboriginal art work, you need to know where it comes from and what it means."

Other indigenous leaders also expressed dismay, saying the dance theme rips off their culture.

It's highly unlikely that the Russians could replace the routine for another that would look polished and refined with only 27 days to go before the ice dancing event begins at the Olympics, Mr. Kraatz said. If they were skating to more traditional music, it would be easier to make a switch, he added. "I would say they are making a lot of fun of the aboriginal people and there is no content there to come up with new material," he said.

"I'm at a loss as to what the Russian team will do."

He also said that these routines need to be rehearsed many times to perfect them. And that under extreme pressure, mistakes will happen, even after 1,000 repetitions.

Mr. Kraatz said Natalia Linichuk, the coach and choreographer for the Russian team, is not likely to have created the dance just to get attention. "We're talking about a potential Olympic medal," he said. "Knowing that the next Olympic Games will be held in Sochi, I don't think for a moment she would do anything to embarrass people."

However, he said, nobody should ever discount Ms. Linichuk. "The one thing that nobody should forget is that she has been around for many years," Mr. Kraatz said. "And she is a very good chess player in terms of strategically doing things .... She's a force to be reckoned with."

The 2010 Games are the first to have full involvement of native groups. The Four Host First Nations - the Lil'wat, Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh bands, in whose traditional territory the Olympics are being held - are recognized by VANOC as partners in the Olympics.

[maximaddict]

Here's what Oksana and Maxim had to say to the Russian Gazette about their original dance and the reaction it has provoked worldwide.

We caught up with them by phone in the USA, where they are training.

Unintentionally, the conversation turned to why they chose the Aboriginal Dance as their original dance.

Oksana Domnina: When we were thinking about the idea for our original dance for this Olympic season, we decided that we wanted something truly original. Folk was already the chosen theme a couple of years ago, and back then many of the couples were using Gypsy or Russian tunes; some tournaments started to look more like Gypsy dances competitions. Since all the couples must execute the same elements, as requested by the rules, many dances end up looking the same to the casual spectator.

Maxim Shabalin: It's very complicated to create a folk dance for an ice dance competition, if possible at all. There are some specific requirements to be met in all the dances that are choreographed for our sport. For all original dances - Russian, Moldovan, Italian and so on - the required elements are the same. Therefore, these elements and moves, like entrances or exits from those elements, cannot be authentic for all folk styles. That's why - in my opinion - none of the dances on ice can be truly authentic when compared to the real dances performed by professional dancers.

Russian Gazette: Are you aware that your dance has caused quite a heated debate all over the international press?

Domnina: Yes, we are well aware of that. There has been an unprecedented flow of comments on our original dance. It almost seems to be the main issue here.

Shabalin: I never thought that the world press would draw so much attention to one of our three dances.

RG: It has been hinted that the situation may be deliberately fuelled up by someone with the purpose to discredit you and to hamper your chances of a medal. What do you have to say about that?

Domnina: I don't believe that. This is a sport, and the way I see it, we must prove our ability on the ice, and not behind the scenes.

Shabalin: I agree with Oksana. All this talk is just nonsense. I respect our rivals. They are our colleagues. I don't think any of them would be capable of such an action. I may be too naive, but one of my principles in life is never to intentionally harm my neighbor.

RG: You have been accused of insulting the Australian aborigines, and even to have stolen their dances. What do you have to say about that?

Domnina: I would like everyone to understand that it was never our intent to insult or mock anybody's culture. Our intentions in creating this dance were honest and fair from the very beginning.

Shabalin: As far as the so-called cultural borrowing, this is starting to become a philosophical matter, and on this matter there are many views. The world community becomes more and more international; and it's exciting when the culture, roots and traditions of each and every ethnic group, no matter how large or small, are maintained. But look at what is happening today with the means of communication, how fast everything goes around the world with the internet. And thanks to this, all these cultures, maybe once not very well known, become known and accessible to the whole world. Isn't it wonderful that all of this generates the desire to express oneself just through these cultures? But then, if the original cultural traditions are preserved, I consider the goal reached. If you will, it would be terribly boring to have only one universal culture to replace hundreds of other unique ones.

RG: It has been said that the Australian aborigines would like to invite you to visit them in Australia, while the Four Hosts First Nations in Canada have expressed the desire to meet you in Vancouver. Will you do that?

Domnina: Absolutely yes! And not only because of our dance. I grew up in a very multi-ethnic environment. In Russia, we have many ethnic groups, both small and large. As you may know, from a very young age we are used to respect others' habits and traditions. I like to be with different people, each with their own different national culture. I'll tell you that we are pleased with all the attention from the native Australian population, and we would love to create a dance for the exhibition, one that is not burdened with the rules and the boundaries that the ice dancers usually have to stay within.

Shabalin: On my part, I would like to add that some Australian aborigines have written to our website saying they are very pleased with our dance. We are very open to all discussions. If, like you say, the Australian aborigines are willing to invite us over there, then I will be happy to go and to spend some time with them, to learn more about their culture from within their community. I also discussed the matter with our coaches. They would also be glad to go. Since this Aboriginal matter has taken major relevance in the media, it would be a pleasure for me to get a deeper knowledge of their culture. And if the Four Hosts First Nations Society want to meet with us, we will be ready to do that in Vancouver. We will just need to find the time between the hard training and competitions. It is always good to get acquainted with someone else's culture, especially one with such an ancient and glorious history.

[Renee V]

www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/sports/olympics/04longman.html?em

NSIDE THE RINGS
Out-of-Step Ice Dancing Routine

Ivan Sekretarev/Associated Press
An aboriginal elder called Oksana Domnina’s and Maxim Shabalin’s dance at the European figure skating championships last month offensive.
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By JERÉ LONGMAN
Published: February 3, 2010
ASTON, Pa. — A pair of figure skating costumes, meant to be aboriginal, have been denounced instead as abominable.



Keep up with the latest news as the 2010 Winter Games approach.
Go to the Rings Blog »
Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin of Russia, ice dancing world champions who train in this suburb of Philadelphia, are favored to win gold at the Vancouver Olympics. But for now, they wear no medal, only a kind of scarlet letter for the charge of “cultural theft.”

Their offense? Domnina and Shabalin performed what they considered an aboriginal tribute at the recent Russian and European championships, dressed in dark bodysuits with white tribalesque markings, red loin cloths and what appeared to be brown face.

And there were leaves hanging from their costumes. Faux leaves, but leaves nonetheless, scattered about the head, the wrists, the knees. After the dancers performed, it was difficult to know what should come next, a Zamboni or a rake.

Some aboriginals in Australia were livid. If the outsiders Domnina and Shabalin found whimsical humor in indigenous culture, it did not amuse aboriginal elders.

“Appalling,” a “rip-off” and “exploitation” were among the reactions. Even the skaters’ didgeridoo music was dismissed as inauthentic, a didgeri-don’t.

The faux tribal designs on the costumes and the skaters’ faces “are no more authentic or Aboriginal than the shiploads of cheap Aboriginal tourist trinkets that pour into our country from overseas,” Bev Manton, chairwoman of the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council, wrote last month in The Sydney Morning Herald.

Clearly, the costumes leapfrogged tribute into caricature. The island evoked by the Russians’ routine was not so much Australia as Gilligan’s Island.

“Accurate or not, you have to be sensitive to the people you are representing,” said Jef Billings, a renowned designer of skating costumes. “At the turn of the last century, minstrel shows were acceptable. Times have changed.”

Of course, if propriety and taste were required in ice dancing, it would have been tossed from the Olympics years ago. Under the old six-point scoring system, results were suspected to be decided beforehand, like Soviet elections. And costumes? Please. At the 1992 Winter Games, Maia Usova and Aleksandr Zhulin of Russia won the bronze medal dressed as dinner mints.

At the recent United States championships, Brent Bommentre skated a folk dance to a purported Afro-Brazilian theme. Except he wore a scarf/headpiece that gave the impression Steven Van Zandt had left the E Street Band to star in a Tarzan movie.

Even the cleverest ice dancing costumes can be inscrutable. Michael Janofsky, formerly of The New York Times, wrote in 1991 that the Americans Elizabeth Punsalan and Jerod Swallow had dressed as checkered flags at the national championships. Then he called the copy desk to say, no, they were dressed as racecars. A long pause followed before Janofsky said into the phone, “Trust me on this.”

Natalia Linichuk, a 1980 Olympic ice dancing champion who coaches Domnina and Shabalin, seemed stunned by the criticism. “We did nothing criminal,” she said Tuesday.

The routine, Linichuk said, was meant to be a portrayal of the beginning of indigenous culture everywhere, not specifically Australian aboriginal culture. Domnina has said that she and Shabalin became drawn to the idea after watching Internet videos of aboriginal dances.

Word is now spreading that the couple might alter their Olympic costumes, so that the focus will be on skating, not on cultural larceny. (To head off controversy, Johnny Weir has agreed to remove a patch of fox fur from his Olympic costume after protests from animal rights activists.)

“I make no comment,” Linichuk said. When it was suggested a costume change could defuse the controversy, she said, “Let me think.”

Some, though, believe the criticism is as over the top as the costumes.

“To make a big stink, this is ice skating,” said Brian Boitano, the 1988 Olympic champion.

Artists should be entitled to their own interpretations, said Uschi Keszler, who coached the Olympic medalists Brian Orser and Elvis Stojko.

“I found it very interesting that anybody would be insulted if a world champion is inspired by you to use this as a flavor,” Keszler said. “Who in their right mind would go into the Olympic Games trying to insult someone?”

Some online responses to Manton’s criticism in The Sydney Morning Herald suggested that aboriginals should not hoard indigenous culture, that it should be shared and celebrated, even if not precisely or elegantly replicated.

In a column in The Wall Street Journal last week, Eric Felten wrote: “It should be enough that a poem or a song or a dance or a play makes for something different — even if it is different in the excruciating way that the joke auditions on ‘American Idol’ give us different takes on famous pop songs. Goodness knows the Russian Olympic skaters have done at least that much.”

Billings joked that the contretemps might set off competing Olympic demonstrations between those who see cultural theft and those who see the leaves as eco-friendly.

At least people are talking and writing about the suffering sport of skating again, Keszler said.

“And it’s not about anything illegal, like a judging scandal or a knee-whacking,” she said.

[Renee V]

www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-news/n/news/afp-news/figure-skating--russians-'ditch-aboriginal-costumes'_270680rn.html

Figure skating: Russians 'ditch Aboriginal costumes'

Feb 8, 2010

Moscow (AFP) - A top Russian skating pair whose 'Aboriginal' ice dance routine hurt feelings in Australia have decided to ditch their costumes for the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games, a newspaper reported on Monday.

Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin, Russian world champion ice dancers considered favourites at next week's battle on ice in Vancouver, caused an uproar in Tallinn, Estonia last month with their 'Aboriginal' act.

Their routine included costumes of dark, skin-toned bodysuits punctuated by bright red loin cloths, white body paint and eucalyptus leaves.

A stunned Australia said, however, that the music, movement and body decorations worn by the champion pair have nothing in common with Australia's 60,000-year-old Aboriginal culture.

"On the eve of the Olympics, our guys have decided not to push their luck and go to war with the creators of the boomerang," the populist daily Komsomolskaya Pravda said.

"Oksana and Maxim have announced that they will perform in different costumes but have not given up the dance itself," said the newspaper, without providing further details.

Domnina and Shabalin had earlier defended their routine, which proved a hit with the crowds in Estonia.

"Our coach offered us this music and we decided to try it. We researched it on the internet and got a lot of information," 27-year-old Shabalin said at the time.

"It's wasn't our purpose that it be especially Australian, just a dance from many thousands of years ago."

Last month, reports of the duo's dance number unleashed a torrent of anti-Russian vitriol on the internet, with some commentators claiming the faux pas was not surprising because most Russians are rude and insensitive.

as/cb/thw

© AFP, 2009-2010

[Renee V]

www.nbcolympics.com/news-features/news/newsid=426059.html?__source=rss&cid=

VANCOUVER (AP) World champion ice dancers Oksana Domninaand Maksim Shabalin aren't saying if they've made any changes to the Aboriginal-themed original dance that has angered some Australian leaders.

Asked Wednesday about rumors the Russians have changed their costumes and music, Shabalin was coy.

"Maybe, maybe," he said after practice. "You will hear, you will see on the day of the original dance."

(...)

"Two years ago, when we had the folk dance, 70 percent did it to Russian or Ukrainian music. It was like a competition of Russian dance or Ukrainian dance," Shabalin said. "We thought (the Aboriginal theme) would be interesting, and we like this. We like the way they dance, and their costumes."

Shabalin said he and Domnina and their coaches did a lot of research before creating the dance. They were surprised when it caused such a furor, and Shabalin said they went back and did more research, including talking with specialists in Aboriginal dance.

"A lot of Australian people wrote to our website that they liked the dance," he explained,

"We did a big research and after the reactions we did an even deeper research. I don't think that it is offensive."

"We are respectful towards all competitors and all nations."

The dance was never intended to only represent the Aboriginal culture, Shabalin added. It also was to include elements of Southeast Asian culture.

"It's not possible to do a 100 percent authentic folk dance on skates. We have required elements and we have some restrictions for our costumes, too," Shabalin said. "We are very respectful to all our competitors and all cultures. We're open to discuss it."

In fact, Domnina and Shabalin visited with members of Canada's Four Host First Nations after arriving Monday. That group had also expressed concerns about the Russians' original dance, but Shabalin said it was a "very warm, very friendly" meeting. The group even gave the ice dancers one of its traditional blankets.

[maximaddict]

And here's the video of the meeting with the members of Canada's Four Host First Nations after arriving Monday.
www.sovsport.ru/news/text-item/371153

[Renee V]

we'll see tonight....

www.nbcolympics.com/news-features/news/newsid=435981.html#russian+dancers+make+slight+changes+costumes

POSTED: Feb 21, 12:56p ET | UPDATED: Feb 21, 12:56p ETSHARE
Russian dancers make slight changes to costumes
VANCOUVER (AP) -- World ice dance champions Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin appear to have made only slight alterations to the costumes for the Aboriginal-themed original dance that has caused such an uproar.

The skin tone of the bodysuits is now flesh-colored, not brown, and some of the white markings appear to have been toned down. But he's still dressed in a loin cloth, and both Russians are covered in leaves and white ropes.

This was just practice Sunday morning, and it's possible Domnina and Shabalin could wear something else for the competition later in the afternoon.

Some Australian Aboriginal leaders have criticized what they say are inauthentic steps and gaudy costumes and call the program a form of cultural theft.

[mmullins207]

Bravo. (Brava!)
Good item.
Ignore uninformed criticism.

[lolatsorelosers]

Right or wrong, we don't need the same message twice thank you.
Since you already posted this in the Olympics thread and this one is off topic I removed it, but feel free to post your comments about the original dance here.