Cello Stories: Songs, music and stories from Beanstalk Arts

Brolga the Dancer: Beanstalk Arts Cello Stories

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Episode notes

This week's story is not such well-known tale, but I'm particularly excited to share this, as it's one of my all time favourites to tell. Brolga is a story of music, dancing, and finding ways to flourish in adversity. It's based on the Australian Dreamtime myth of the Brolga crane, and features a baby born who just LOVES to dance, inspiring all her friends to dance with her. As she gets older, and her friends get more and more serious, Brolga wonders if she should get a 'proper job' but the village elders assure her that dancing and joy is needed more than ever, and send her off to learn more dance moves from the animals, on the condition she returns every evening to share her new dance moves with her friends. We'll sing and dance with the birds and the spiders, before she encounters a grumpy wizard determined to capture Brolga, and stop her dancing so she can cook him dinner instead...

Fear not - Brolga is strong, fast and smart, and easily escapes the wizard using the dance moves she has learnt from the animals, but is left *slightly* changed, transformed into a bird by a stray drip of magic... At first she is very sad to have been turned into a bird, but quickly realises that whilst she looks different, her dancing soul is still the same, her friends still love her without really batting an eyelid that she's now a bird, and she lives - in crane form - happily ever after! (and if you google 'Brolga Crane' you should be able to find some videos of this dancing bird)

I'm excited to share this podcast with you - this is a story that has given me lots of comfort at rockier 'wizard facing' moments in my own life! I love that it talks about the importance of the arts, about finding our own path in life and respecting all our different choices, and ways of dealing with change. PLUS it features a brilliant, strong, determined female lead - there's no need for any princes to rescue her! 

Most of these songs are my own original compositions, or versions of traditional songs, but the song at the end 'everyone is playing along with me' is one I learnt from the incredible EY music practitioners Steve Grocott and Shirley Stump at one of their training days a few years ago. You can hear lots of Steve's music at https://stevegrocott.bandcamp.com and find out about Shirley at https://yobabymusic.wordpress.com/birthing4blokes-birth-preparation/. 

I hope you enjoy this podcast! If you do, do check out my website at www.beanstalkarts.co.uk or instagram at @beanstalkarts - if you're in SE London, you'd be welcome to join our face to face classes or ukulele groups (plus I have some online grown up and kids ukulele things a-happening!). We have a new album coming soon, but you can listen to our current tunes on Spotify by searching for 'Becky, Boris and the Beats' or on Bandcamp at https://beckyborisandthebeats.bandcamp.com. Please do share with your friends and leave a review!