All forms of cultural interaction are expressive and creative. In particular, what the performing arts express is not always the conscious, the ideal and the rational, but more often the preconscious, pre-verbal, asocial and irrational, touching on darker undercurrents of human and extra-human interrelations, experiences, beliefs, fears, desires and values. So what is performance and how does it differ in cultures? A performance is a translation of an idea into a synaesthetic experience. In the context of this thesis, however, translation does not imply reductive literal translation as can be attempted by analogy in spoken or written descriptions and notation systems. The translation is one through which participating groups and individuals seek to understand the being in the world of the Other by means of mutual, embodied negotiation of meaning - sensually, experientially, perceptually, cognitively and emotionally - that is, by means of performance. As a contribution towards a social theory of human performance, the author offers reflections on an exchange between two performance ecologies - those of a group of Aboriginal Australian performers from Mimili, Central Australia and a mixed ethnic group of Australian performers from Penrith, NSW, Australia. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)