Réunionese dancer brings 'music of freedom and rebellion' maloya to WA stages

When Dr. Muriel Hillion started performing songs and dances from her homeland for audiences in Western Australia, her parents were quite surprised. Dr. Hillion stated that they found it very strange because this performance was taking place on a stage. Unlike most Reunion Islanders who perform in their backyards, Dr. Hillion brought this culture to the stage, especially in terms of dance.

Music is an integral part of life in Reunion Island, a remote tropical island near Mauritius off the east coast of Africa. According to Dr. Hillion, there, "you start dancing earlier than you start walking." The local song and dance style, known as maloya, was developed by enslaved and indentured laborers from Africa and Asia, who were brought to Reunion Island by French colonists to work on plantations in the 17th century.

Dr. Hillion explained, "Because they were far from home, they were trying to find a way to reconnect, and that's why they created maloya." She added, "Maloya was performed in rituals, as a way to connect with ancestors, but also to talk about the difficulties of daily life." Dr. Hillion also mentioned that until 1981, French authorities informally banned maloya, deeming it "the music and dance of the devil."

While pursuing her postdoctoral degree, Dr. Hillion researched the history of maloya and spoke with many Reunion Islanders who said that if the police heard them performing maloya, they would come to their homes and sometimes even destroy their instruments. In 2009, Dr. Hillion moved to Western Australia and became one of the first people in Australia to perform maloya on stage. She also started teaching others, including inmates at a women's prison in Perth. The desire to teach maloya prompted her to formally study and document the dance movements, which were traditionally improvised.

Dr. Hillion said, "I analyzed it and found three common steps, which are mainly related to cooking and cleaning the house." She stated that these movements likely originated from enslaved Reunion Islanders performing maloya while doing their daily chores, a tradition passed down through generations. Dr. Hillion recalled, "My aunts used to clean the house every day, and they would play music, and they would put half a coconut shell under their feet and put wax on the concrete floor. Then they would wipe the floor back and forth with one foot, and that's one of the steps of maloya."

Dr. Hillion said that maloya is hailed as "the music of freedom and rebellion," especially during the island's annual celebration of the abolition of slavery in 1848. Dr. Hillion's maloya performance group, Salama, toured southwestern Western Australia for the first time over the weekend. Salama consists of about a dozen dancers and musicians from around the world, including the Seychelles, Guinea, Poland, and Sri Lanka, and now Busselton. Anniemaire Clifton-James, the group's newest member, who was born in Bunbury, had the opportunity to perform at home at the city's multicultural festival.

The classically trained dancer said, "The way you move your hips, it's so free, it's the most beautiful, serene, infectious joy." She joined the group through her partner, Pavan Kumar Hari, a percussionist with Salama who was initially drawn to the philosophy behind maloya. Dr. Hillion said she loves seeing the group evolve as new people and new cultures join, just like the origins of maloya and her own identity. She said, "My ancestors came from France, ancestors came from Africa, came from Madagascar, came from India. In Reunion Island, we celebrate everything together. When they celebrate Ramadan, we celebrate together, when the Indians, the Tamils celebrate their festivals, everyone is invited."