What is "corroboree"

Corroboree \Cor*rob"o*ree`\, n. [Also corrobboree, corrobori, etc.] [Native name.]

1. A nocturnal festivity with which the Australian aborigines celebrate tribal events of importance. Symbolic dances are given by the young men of the tribe, while the women act as musicians.

2. A song or chant made for such a festivity.

3. A festivity or social gathering, esp. one of a noisy or uproarious character; hence, tumult; uproar. [Australia]

n. 1 A nocturnal dance held by Australian Aborigines, for social, celebratory or warlike purposes. 2 A song or chant made for such a festivity. 3 Any noisy, late-night gathering or disturbance.

A corroboree is an event where Australian Aborigines interact with the Dreamtime through dance, music and costume. "Their bodies painted in different ways, and they wore various adornments, which were not used every day." The word corroboree was coined by the European settlers of Australia in imitation of an east coast local Aboriginal Australian word caribberie.

In the northwest of Australia, corroboree is a generic word to define theatrical practices as different from ceremony. Whether it be public or private, ceremony is for invited guests. There are other generic words to describe traditional public performances: juju and kobbakobba for example. In the Pilbara, corroborees are yanda or jalarra. Across the Kimberley the word junba is often used to refer to a range of traditional performances and ceremonies.

Corroboree and ceremony are strongly connected but different. In the 1930s Adolphus Elkin wrote of a public pan-Aboriginal dancing "tradition of individual gifts, skill, and ownership" as distinct from the customary practices of appropriate elders guiding initiation and other ritual practices. Corroborees are open performances in which everyone may participate taking into consideration that the songs and dances are highly structured requiring a great deal of knowledge and skill to perform.

Corroboree is a generic word to explain different genres of performance which in the northwest of Australia include balga, wangga, lirrga, junba, Bardi Ilma and many more. Throughout Australia the word corroboree embraces songs, dances, rallies and meetings of various kinds. In the past a corroboree has been inclusive of sporting events and other forms of skill display. It is an appropriated English word that has been reappropriated to explain a practice that is different from ceremony and more widely inclusive than theatre or opera.

Corroboree is a ballet written by Australian composer John Antill in the early 1940s. The first full version of the score was completed in 1944 and it was first performed as a concert suite in 1946. On 3 July 1950 it was performed as a ballet, at the Empire Theatre in Sydney, choreographed by Rex Reid, with dancers of the Melbourne-based National Theatre Ballet.

Wildly successful and seen as a national "coming-of-age", the ballet was performed again with new choreography by American-born dancer, choreographer and writer Beth Dean in 1954. Notably, Dean and her Australian husband, Victor Carell, had spent several months in remote outback Australia researching Aboriginal ceremonies, costumes and dance, upon which Dean's version was based. In this first production, Dean danced the role of the Initiate herself.

Many of the costumes and props for this version of the ballet are held by the National Museum of Australia. The music manuscript is held by the State Library of New South Wales.