Bangarra premieres 'Bennelong'

Bangarra Dance Theatre's major new work for the year will be Bennelong, choreographed by artistic director Stephen Page.

Bennelong explores the life of Woollawarre Bennelong, a senior man of the Eora, from the Port Jackson area in Sydney. Living in the days of first contact between Aboriginal people and European settlers, Bennelong was one of the first Aboriginal men to be taken from his people and introduced to European ways. He was also one of the first Aboriginal people to have his life story recorded and documented through the early diaries of the British military.

A celebrated and mythologised figure, Bennelong led his community to survive a clash of cultures with curiosity, courage and diplomacy. “In a way, we are all Bennelong – forever trying to navigate our way through two worlds,” says Page. “Everyone has heard of the name Bennelong, however his extraordinary story is not really understood in the way that shows the enormous capacity of a man who opened up the conversation between European and Aboriginal people.”

The work will open at the Sydney Opera House on 29 June and travel to Canberra, Brisbane and Melbourne through August and September.

See www.bangarra.com.au.