This fun picture book allows us to join in with an Indigenous corroboree. We begin by coming together by a fire under a big gum tree. With ochre on our faces, we’re ready to dance.
Shake a leg, feel the beat
Celebrate the land beneath our feet.
As we dance around the fire we feel the rhythm of the beat. We’re ready to move like animals and tell stories of the dreamtime. As we meet each animal we then learn the dance that makes their actions. We slither like the snake, jump like a kangaroo and crawl like a goanna.
Make a tail feather using your hand,
And dance like an emu upon this land.
Reading the rhyming text of this story makes you feel inspired to get up and dance, doing the actions yourself. The artwork is rich in the outback colours of the land overlooked by the deep blue of the night sky with our dancers performing the dances.
Our Dance is a terrific introduction for young readers to Indigenous cultural dance. A great book for a classroom of young children who will enjoy dancing together, or for the home, where dancing around the loungeroom is just as much fun.
Reviewed by Emily Ross
Age Guide 3+
ABOUT THE AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATOR
Taylor Hampton
Taylor Hampton is a proud Ngiyampaa/Wiradjuri man and Jacinta Daniher is an early childhood educator. Taylor and Jacinta have a passion for educating young people about Aboriginal culture. In 2019, they established Birrang Cultural Connections to offer cultural workshops in education settings, with the vision of creating content that is educational, interactive and exciting. They have two children, Ella and Arlo, who have inspired them to create picture books that reflect their culture and experiences as young Aboriginal children growing up in Australia today.
Janelle Burger is an Indigenous Australian (Noongar) and Italian illustrator based in Paris, France. Her work is influenced by pop culture, fashion, video games and food. She has worked for a variety of clients, including creating gift cards for Papyrus, fine art prints for Rosenstiels, online illustrations for Tamu McPherson’s website All the Pretty Birds, and illustrating the book Get Changed by fashion stylist Kat Farmer. When she’s not drawing, Janelle likes to ride her bike around Paris, taking photos of cats and old men wearing berets whilst holding a baguette in their hands.
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