Geraldton boarder a shot at national Indonesian language award

A fusion of Aboriginal dance and Indonesian language has landed a Geraldton primary schooler a shot at a national award.

The National Australian Indonesia Language Awards are open to anyone, from primary school students to professional level speakers.

Five entries have been shortlisted for the people’s choice award, including a video by Geraldton boy David Smith and his classmates at Wesley College in Perth. “They just went and did it in their free time,” language teacher Laura Wimsett said.

“I checked over the script for them, but that was it.”

This year’s awards theme was Travel. Entrants were asked to make a five-minute video in which they performed, entirely in Indonesian, a song, dance, play or monologue on the topic.

The video with the most votes will receive $1500.

The Year 7 boys, with the help of a Year 10 friend, took skills learned in Aboriginal dance classes, and produced a video where a welcome to country dance is explained for an Indonesian audience.

“Nobody’s going to have seen an Aboriginal dance in Indonesian before. It’s so original — I think they’ve got a good chance,” Ms Wimsett said.

The boys are the youngest of the five entrants, with the Year 7s in only their first year of Indonesian study.

Despite their inexperience, the video was choreographed and shot in just three hours. Voting closes at 9pm on Friday, with the winner drawn on December 3.

To vote, visit naila.org.au.