How Bangarra Dance Theatre is a Living Archive of First Nations Storytelling
"Dance is integral for passing knowledge because it's what we've done for millennia."
In partnership with 
First Nations dance company, Bangarra Dance Theatre, has been awarded a prestigious Golden Lion by the Venice Biennale. The company will receive the global arts honour in July, making them the first Australian recipients (and the first company) to receive the recognition. The Golden Lion is presented for a lifetime of achievement in dance, and, with 37 years of Australian cultural storytelling, the honour is more than deserved.
Bangarra (which means "to make fire" in the Wiradjuri language) sparks important conversations and social change through its storytelling and cultural works. Not only are the works the company produces a celebration of culture, but they're also a defiant act of preservation and progression that honours the wisdom of Elders and supports the voices of emerging artists.
"The company wouldn't be possible if we hadn't [stood on] the shoulders of Elders and community doing the work for us," says Daniel Mateo, a Gomeroi and Tongan man, company dancer and co-director of Brown Boys alongside Cass Mortimer Eipper. The dance film is one of the stories performed in Sheltering, a triple-bill, intergenerational performance of contemporary works that's touring Australia from May. Each piece offers a profound journey into the intricate bonds between people and place and shares stories pulled from 65,000 years of First Nations culture.
Daniel Boud
"Dance is integral for passing knowledge because it's what we've done for millennia," says Daniel. "These teachings help us navigate this world. I believe this is why Bangarra is remarkable at what it does: it's ingrained in each dancer from the beginning that dance [contains] knowledge and is one of the ways to pass it on. We do that each time we take a story to the stage."
Holding Both the Past and Future
While Bangarra represents the living archive of First Nations storytelling, it also aims to support emerging talent and look to the future. This is exemplified by Brown Boys.
"My film Brown Boys focuses on the kinship of Country to people. How we return to Country and how it's medicinal for us. It tells the lived experiences of a lot of brown boys, including myself." Daniel shares that he wanted to "bring light" to the First Nations male experience and hopes that it encourages the younger generation to grow into their bodies "willingly and proudly".
"Our history is riddled with the atrocities of the Stolen Generations and erasure of culture, people and land. It's affected every single Blak person in Australia. This film is a map to show all these young Blak men to come home to themselves."
Daniel Boud
Bangarra's work has been described as both preserving culture and pushing it forward. How does Daniel help to create that balance?
"Bangarra is the mouthpiece to so many experiences as well as history and knowledge that hadn't had the chance to be spoken. Our past is a reminder of who we are as a nation. What we do with that is make sure we're heading in the right direction," says Daniel. "We have that job to do because there are Elders and communities who have done that for us. The more we echo from the past, [the more] it gives us momentum for the future."
Daniel Boud
With Bangarra Dance Theatre being recognised on the global stage at the Venice Biennale Danze 2026 in July, the 37-year-old performing arts company is finally receiving its flowers and continuing to spotlight the important First Nations stories that need to be heard not just across the world, but also in our own backyard. The works that are an act of both preservation and progression.
Sheltering Tour Dates
May 23–27 — Canberra Theatre Centre, Ngunnawal Country
June 3–13 — Sydney Opera House, Gadigal Country
June 8–27 — Arts Centre Melbourne, Wurundjeri Country
July 9–18 — Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Meanjin
Purchase tickets to Sheltering.
Image Credit: Daniel Boud
