Bangarra Dance Theatre

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 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]

In early December 2021, Page announced that he would be stepping down from the role of artistic director in 2022, handing over to Frances Rings, former dancer and choreographer with Bangarra and later associate artistic director.[6] Bangarra's last performance with Page as director is Wudjang: Not the Past, which premieres at the Sydney Festival in January 2022 before touring to Hobart and then Adelaide as part of the Adelaide Festival in March 2022.[7]

• Jindalee Lady (1992), featuring then lead dancer Raymond Blanco. This was the first fiction feature film directed by an Aboriginal director (Brian Syron).[13]

• Spear (2015) – drama film directed by Stephen Page, based on the live performance Skin (2000).[31][32][33]

• Firestarter – The Story of Bangarra (2020) is a feature-length documentary film about the dance company, directed by Nel Minchin and Wayne Blair.[34] 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,[35][33] and eight days later won the Adelaide Film Festival's Feature Documentary Award.[36]

• Dance in Australia

• "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.

• Bangarra Dance Theatre