Igniting cultural pride through dance

Over the last few months, Bangarra Dance Theatre's Youth Programs team has navigated border closures and quarantine arrangements to visit communities across Australia. 

Just recently, the "Rekindling" team worked closely with 18 dancers from the Karratha Senior High School to create a performance for the Songs for Peace festival, held in Ngurin Cultural Centre in the remote, tiny community of Roebourne, W.A, on September 19.

Roebourne is more than 1500 km from Perth and 38 km from Karratha. Songs of Peace is an annual concert staged around the International Day of Peace and is a community response to decades of community conflict and reputational damage sustained by the town. The event begins as a series of music and songwriting workshops in the community and prison, and ends in a large outdoor annual concert featuring nationally celebrated artists from a range of cultural backgrounds, collaborating with local musicians.

The Rekindling team also worked with students at the Ngurin Centre, including collaborating with one student to create two dance pieces for their upcoming audition at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.

Bangarra’s Rekindling program inspires pride, kinship and a sense of strength in young Aboriginal and Torres Strait IslanderLook out for our news on Bangarra Dance Theatre in our October e-news! people. Led by Sidney Saltner, together with Sani Townson (Youth Program Coordinator) and Mitchell Harrison-Currie (Russell Page Graduate Program Youth Programs Trainee), the team delivers programs in partnership with each local community.

Watch highlights from Rekindling's latest gathering below:

Look out for our news on Bangarra Dance Theatre in our October e-news!