Bangarra Dance Theatre
![]() Bangarra Dance Theatre at Australian Human Rights Commission event in 2011 | |
Formation | 1989 |
---|---|
Founder | Carole J. Johnson, Rob Bryant, Cheryl Stone |
Purpose | Indigenous Australian contemporary dance company |
Website | https://www.bangarra.com.au/ |
Bangarra Dance Theatre is an Indigenous Australian contemporary dance company.
History[]
Bangarra Dance Theatre was founded in October 1989 by Carole J. Johnson, an African-American modern dancer and founder of the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA), Rob Bryant, a Gumbaynggirr man and graduate of NAISDA, and Cheryl Stone, a South African-born student at NAISDA.[1]
Johnson toured Australia in 1972 with American choreographer Eleo Pomare and his company, and remained in Australia.[2] In 1975, Johnson became the founding director of the Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Scheme, now known as the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA).[2]
Johnson had a three-part plan for Aboriginal dance in Australia. It was to establish a school to give academic qualifications, and train dancers as members of a student and graduate performing company that would also teach.[2] It would further provide a path for the dancers to other dance-related areas, including choreography, tour management, and all front and back of house skills. The other key aim was to maintain authentic cultural continuity, friendships, and close ties to traditional communities. Johnson mentored Stone, who studied alongside the dancers. She[who?] planned the formation of Bangarra Dance Theatre and, in 1989, became its founding artistic director.[2] "Bangarra" is a Wiradjuri word meaning "to make fire".[3]
Stephen Page has been the artistic director since 1991. Bangarra's first full-length show, Praying Mantis Dreaming, was produced in 1992. In 1994, Page, with Bernadette Walong as associate director, created Ochres[2] and productions have followed annually since 2000. All have been successful within Australia and some have toured the United States and the United Kingdom. The group also made significant contributions to the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.
The company has received the Helpmann Award for Best Ballet or Dance Work a number of times.[4]
In 2019, the company marked its thirtieth anniversary with the launch of a digital archive and exhibition called Knowledge Ground.[1][5]
Works[]
- 1992 – Praying Mantis Dreaming
- 1995 – Ochres
- 1997 – Fish
- 1997 – Rites (with The Australian Ballet)
- 2000 – Skin (Spear, 2015 film, based on this)
- 2001 – Corroboree
- 2002 – Walkabout
- 2003 – Bush[6]
- 2004 – Unaipon
- 2004 – CLAN
- 2005 – Boomerang
- 2006 – Gathering with the Australian Ballet
- 2007 – True Stories[7][8]
- 2008 – Mathinna, based on the life of Palawa girl Mathinna[9]
- 2008 — Rites (with The Australian Ballet)[10][11]
- 2009 — Fire – A Retrospective[12]
- 2010 – of earth & sky
- 2012 – Terrain
- 2013 – Blak
- 2014 – Patyegarang[13] and Kinship
- 2015 – lore
- 2016 – OUR land people stories
- 2017 – Bennelong[14]
- 2018 – Dubboo - life of a songman[15]
- 2018 — Dark Emu[16]
- 2019 — Spirit[17]
Films[]
- Jindalee Lady (1992), featuring then lead dancer . This was the first fiction feature film directed by an Aboriginal director (Brian Syron).[18]
- Spear (2015) – drama film directed by Stephen Page, based on the live performance Skin (2000).[19][20][21]
- Firestarter – The Story of Bangarra (2020) is a feature-length documentary film about the dance company, directed by and Wayne Blair.[22] It covers 30 years of Bangarra's existence, charting the story of the three Page brothers' (Stephen, David and youngest brother, the dancer Russell) roles in the development of the company. The film had its world premiere as the closing night film of the Brisbane International Film Festival on 11 October 2020,[23][21] and eight days later won the Adelaide Film Festival's Feature Documentary Award.[24]
People[]
Page brothers[]
- Stephen Page AO, artistic director
- David Page (1961–2016), composer and musical director[25][26]
- Russell Page (1968–2002), dancer[27][28][29]
Others[]
- , who featured in the film Jindalee Lady (1992),[18] and former Head of Culture and Training Operations at NAISDA[30]
- Ella Havelka, dancer
- Elma Gada Kris, dancer and choreographer
- Banula Marika, dancer and musician[31]
- Ningali Lawford-Wolf[32]
- , appointed as artistic director of Australian Dance Theatre from the end of 2021[33]
- Frances Rings, dancer and choreographer
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Tan, Teresa (13 December 2019). "This dance company is keeping ancient Indigenous knowledge alive and well in the 21st century". ABC News. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Burridge, Stephanie (October 2002). "Dreaming the future: the emergence of Bangarra Dance Theatre". Australasian Drama Studies (41): 77–89. ISSN 0810-4123.
- ^ "Bangarra Dance Theatre (1989 – ) at Australia Dancing". Archived from the original on 10 April 2007. Retrieved 22 April 2007.
- ^ Jefferson, Arts Editor Dee (16 July 2018). "Sydney Theatre Company the biggest winner at this year's Helpmann Awards". ABC News. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ "Welcome to Knowledge Ground - Bangarra Dance Theatre". Bangarra Dance Theatre - Knowledge Ground. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ Toured the UK in 2006, Hutera, Donald (18 September 2006), "Bush", The Times, London, ISSN 0140-0460, retrieved 27 September 2007
- ^ Balfour, Tim (4 April 2009), "Fire in the Belly" (PDF), The West Australian, archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2011, retrieved 11 October 2009
- ^ Balfour, Tim (2 June 2009), "Talented Dancers Embody Culture" (PDF), The West Australian, archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2011, retrieved 11 October 2009
- ^ Pybus, Cassandra (10 May 2008). "A savage lesson in 'civility'". Arts reviews. Retrieved 20 June 2008.
- ^ Hutera, Donald (27 September 2008), "Stephen Page on the Rites and wrongs of an historical divide: An Australian version of Stravinsky's ballet with Aborigines is a powerful symbol of reconciliation", The Times, London, ISSN 0140-0460, retrieved 27 September 2007
- ^ "Aboriginal ballet hits Paris stage". ABC. 30 September 2008. Archived from the original on 3 October 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
- ^ Majhid Heath, (11 September 2009), Review: Bangarra Dance Theatre performance of Fire – A retrospective, Indigenous Arts & Events: Performance, Australian Broadcasting Corporation Archived 26 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 28 September 2010
- ^ "Patyegarang's gift". Deadly Vibe. 208. June 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
- ^ "Bennelong". AMPAG. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
- ^ "Dubboo — life of a songman | Bangarra". www.bangarra.com.au. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- ^ "Dark Emu | Bangarra". www.bangarra.com.au. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- ^ "Spirit | Bangarra". www.bangara.com.au. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Jindalee Lady". Ozmovies. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
- ^ "Spear Review". Variety. 11 September 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
- ^ Schafter, Monique (16 October 2015). "From stage to screen: Bangarra Dance Theatre's Spear re-imagined as feature film". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Ward, Sarah (13 October 2020). "Film Review: Firestarter: The Story of Bangarra is vivid and important". screenhub Australia. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
- ^ "Firestarter - The Story Of Bangarra". Adelaide Film Festival. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
- ^ "Announcing the BIFF 2020 Closing Night Film – Brisbane International Film Festival". Brisbane International Film Festival. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
- ^ Tiley, David (20 October 2020). "Adelaide Film Festival winners: 'art can become a weapon'". ArtsHub Australia. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ David Page, Composer at Bangarra Dance Theatre. Retrieved 29 April 2016
- ^ Linda Morris, (29 April 2016), Bangarra Dance Theatre shattered by death of composer David Page, Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 April 2016
- ^ "Russell Page, 1968 – 2002". National Portrait Gallery. 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
- ^ "Loved ones left wondering why a dazzling talent is gone". The Age. 20 July 2002. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
- ^ "Bangarra dancer Russell Page dies". The Sydney Morning Herald. 16 July 2002. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
- ^ "A catch up with Raymond D Blanco". NAISDA Dance College. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ^ "Banula Marika". Bangarra Knowledge Ground. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
- ^ "Lillian Crombie and Ningali Lawford-Wolf honoured by Australian performers". 31 October 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
- ^ Carter, Mahalia (6 June 2021). "Daniel Riley announced as the first Indigenous artistic director to lead non-Indigenous dance company". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
Further reading[]
- "Bangarra Dance Theatre". Ausstage. Flinders University.
- Tan, Teresa (13 December 2019). "Bangarra Dance Theatre marks 30 years with digital archive and exhibition". ABC News. ABC Arts. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
- "Bangarra Dance Theatre Australia". Dictionary of Sydney. Dictionary of Sydney Trust. [CC-By-SA]
- Bangarra Dance Theatre at Australia Dancing, Pandora Archive
- Knowledge Ground
- "Johnson, Carole (1940-)", Trove, 2012
- "Carole Johnson" (podcast and text). Delving into Dance. 17 September 2017.
External links[]
- Contemporary dance companies
- Dance companies in Australia
- Organisations serving Indigenous Australians
- 1989 establishments in Australia