Dance Like You Mean It: Jacob Boehme in Blood on the Dance Floor
Image by Bryony Jackson
By Rachel Rosenberg
Jacob Boehme is an innovative artist whose work delves into the difficult intersections of his cultural experience. He is the creator and performer of Blood on the Dance Floor, a mixed-medium piece that uses dance, theatre, text and photography to tackle the identity politics around being Aboriginal, gay and HIV+.
Descended from the Narangga and Kaurna nations of South Australia, Boehme uses his training in Aboriginal dance to tell an honest, insightful story that begins with a “gay elder” and eventually incorporates a conversation between Jacob and his father. Alongside the ILBIJERRI theatre company, known for producing inventive shows by Australian First Nations artists, he mixes personal memoir with cultural and generational histories.
What inspired you tocreate Blood on the Dance Floor?
“I made the decision towrite Blood in 2013, based on a fewimportant numbers: it was the 30th anniversary of the first HIV diagnosis inAustralia, it was my 15-year anniversary of being HIV+ and my 40th birthday waslooming.”
Did you always loveto dance?
“Absolutely. I come froma family of dancers. It’s in the blood.”
Blood on the DanceFloor is about identity; delving into some of your experiences as an HIV+Aboriginal gay man. Previously, you said that you did not find much relatablerepresentation in media or theatre. Has that changed at all?
“Unfortunately, not thatmuch. If we want to see ourselves on stage, in film, on TV, we’re going to haveto write it, make it and produce it ourselves it seems.”
Image by Dorine Blaise
What is the mostchallenging aspect of the show for you?
“As a performer, themost challenging part of the show is delivering the story about [my] old friendAnthony. It was shocking and harrowing then and it still takes everything in meto deliver that yarn without completely losing it.”
I read an interviewwith you from 2016 wherein you described yourself as an “outsider[s] to theMelbourne dance scene”. Do you still feel that way or have things changedwithin the community there?
“Yes, to some degree Ido. I come from a generation of dancer/choreographers trained at NAISDA [NAISDA Dance College] where story forms the foundation of your dance practice.You dance for a reason. And if you don’t have your story, you don’t have yourdance.”
What would you mostlike people to take away from the performance?
“Hope. If there was onething I would like for audiences to feel at the end of the show, it would behope.”
Catch Jacob Boehme’s hopeful and innovative performance before it leavesVancouver. Blood on the Dance Floorruns February 6-9 at SFU Goldcorp Centre of the Arts (149 West HastingsStreet). VisitDanceHouse for tickets.
Rachel Rosenberg isa writer and library technician who is a proud member ofthe LGBTQ2+ community. She writes for Book Riot and can befound on Instagram @penandmitten
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