Horizon — Bangarra Dance Theatre

Overview

Since its founding in 1989, the story of Bangarra Dance Theatre has been the story of First Nations culture and tales leaping, spinning, swirling and twirling across the stage via some of the best dance works that Australia has ever produced. Sometimes, including in the films Spear and Firestarter — The Story of Bangarra, those stories and that unparalleled artistry has also swayed across the screen. Wherever Bangarra's talents have spread, the end results have always proven a must-see.

In the organisation's 35-year history so far, however, it hasn't ever put together a show like Horizon before. Playing Arts Centre Melbourne on Wurundjeri Country from Wednesday, August 28–Saturday, September 7, this is the iconic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performing arts company's first mainstage cross-cultural collaboration, expanding its focus to include tales from across Oceania.

Joining forces: Māori choreographer and Arts Laureate Moss Te Ururangi Patterson, a veteran of Atamira Dance Company who is now the Chief Executive and Artistic Director at The New Zealand Dance Company; and Deborah Brown, a Helpmann Award-winning senior Bangarra dancer for 13 years with Torres Strait and Scottish heritage.

In a production that takes its name to heart by pondering the space where the sky and sea meet, Patterson and Brown's The Light Inside pays tribute to the duo's respective countries while musing on what it means when we peer at the horizon looking for guidance and the way home. Beforehand, audiences are also treated to Sani Townson's Kulka, with an expanded form from its 2023 debut at Dance Clan opening Horizon.

Images: Daniel Boud.