The story of Bangarra Dance Theatre
The professional dance company drawing on 65,000 years of culture.
Bangarra Dance Theatre are a company of professional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performers. Their mission is to create inspiring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander experiences that promote awareness and understanding of their cultures.
As one of Australia’s leading performing arts companies, Bangarra Dance Theatre are widely acclaimed nationally and around the world for their powerful dancing, distinctive theatrical voice and utterly unique soundscapes, music and design. Their powerful works draw on 65,000 years of culture.
Bangarra Dance Theatre have been making an indelible mark on the Australian theatre landscape for over 30 years, born in 1989 from the energy of NAISDA (National Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Association) founder Carole Y. Johnson, along with NAISDA graduates, and Rob Bryant and Cheryl Stone.
In the early 90s, brothers Stephen, David and Russell Page took on the newly born dance group and turned it into one of Australia’s leading performing arts companies.
Stephen Page remained as Bangarra’s Artistic Director for 32 years, developing an unsurpassed body of works that have become milestones in Australian performing arts history, setting a benchmark for storytelling, and firmly establishing Bangarra as a critical part of the Australian cultural ecosystem.
Today, Artistic Director Frances Rings leads the company on their mission.