Crocodile Man Pineapplewoman

Crocodile Man Pineapple Woman

By Clara Mills ArtsHub | Saturday, August 20, 2011
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Amongst the yards of fabric and jars of sequins of Tracks Dance Company’s costume designer, Ann Gibb, is a photograph of an elegant woman posing like a Hollywood starlet, thigh deep in mud, holding a rope which is tied around a croc.

The woman is Ann’s mother, a glamorous Thai woman who sold pineapples by the side of the Stuart Highway and threw flamboyant parties. Ann’s father, originally a Hungarian refugee, was a crocodile hunter. Crocodile Man Pineapple Woman is based on their love story. It is also a dance which embodies the elements which makes the Top End unique: the vibrant markets, the color, the heat, the humidity, the cheeky humor, the crocodiles and the 1970’s vibe of working hard then letting your hair down each night and enjoying the feeling of holiday which the tropics creates.

Tracks Dance Company has been a part of Darwin’s cultural landscape since 1988. Unashamedly local, Tracks creates site-specific dance performances which celebrate Northern Territory culture. Crocodile Man Pineapple Woman is no exception.

Playing at the Gardens Park Golf Links, the audience follows the dancers to three locations as the juicy tale unfolds. Scene One opens with Pineapple Woman and her chorus of performers dancing amongst the audience as they recreate the sounds and vibe of the Saturday morning Parap Markets. The cheeky humor of the tropical market culture and good natured spirit of Territorians is hammed up.

Scene Two starts with a short walk to the lake where the audience sit on the bank and watch the love story between Pineapple Woman and Crocodile Man unfold across the water. The open air venue, the mosquitoes and frogs add to the atmosphere created by the water, the clever use of lighting, shadow and silhouettes.

Finally everyone is ushered across the links by the Country Women’s Association hostesses to a circular stage, where every seat is front row, for a celebration of love, disco and cultural difference. The scene is high energy, playful and very cute. Fusing traditional Thai dance with Hungarian folk and Seventies’ disco, Tracks capture the awkward, macho, tiny tight King Gee shorts-wearing character of a Territory crocodile hunter as he falls more in love with his vivacious and cheeky bride.

Crocodile Man Pineapple Woman is an endearing love story told with color and energy, and is definitely worth seeing this Darwin Festival.

Rating: Three and a half stars

Crocodile Man Pineapple Woman
Tracks Dance Company
Directed by Tim Newth and David McMicken
Choreographed by Joanna Noonan, David McMicken, Jessica Devereux, Sue Ross, Nathawan Ryan and Tim Newth
Costume Design by Ann Gibb

Gardens Park Golf Links
August 12-16 and 19-23

Darwin Festival 2011
August 11 – 28