Your Guide to DanceX: Bangarra Dance Theatre

X What is Yuldea?

Frances Rings’ first work as Artistic Director is a ceremonial affirmation of history and heritage. Yuldea awakens the earth and sky worlds to tell the story of the Aṉangu people of the Great Victorian Desert to explore the moment traditional life collided with the industrial ambition of a growing nation. In 1917, the two halves of the Transcontinental Railway met at the precious water soak on the edge of the Nullarbor, Yuldi Kapi.

Great metal serpents scarred the landscape, draining all water from the sacred soak. Then came the black mist of the atomic testing at Maralinga, forcing the Aṉangu people to leave their desert homelands where they had lived for millennia. Now memories lay scattered, like the Aṉangu people, displaced from their home. Remnants of colonial progress are swallowed by sand. But the Aṉangu endure, determined to keep strong their knowledge systems of land and sky, honouring their eternal bonds of kinship between people and place. 

Yuldea features original music by Leon Rodgers with featured songs by multi-award-winning duo Electric Fields (Zaachariaha Fielding and Michael Ross). Designers Elizabeth Gadsby (Set), Jennifer Irwin (Costume) and Karen Norris (Lighting) create a desert world on stage.

Synopsis provided by Bangarra Dance Theatre.

X Who is Bangarra Dance Theatre?

Formed in 1989, Bangarra Dance Theatre is one of Australia’s leading performing arts companies. Featuring a dynamic ensemble of professional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performers, Bangarra was led by the renowned creative visionary, Stephen Page, for over 30 years. The word Bangarra means “to make fire” in the traditional language of the Wiradjuri people, and the company's works are inspired by over 65,000 years of First Nations culture and history. The Australian Ballet first worked with Bangarra in 1996 on Stephen Page’s short work, Alchemy, and we have continued to collaborate throughout the past 30 years, united by our passion for creating art and sharing it with the wider community. 

Bangarra creates moving works that weave dance, art, poetry and music with traditional Indigenous culture. Now under the leadership of Frances Rings, Bangarra Dance Theatre continues to captivate audiences with their rich storytelling and exceptional company of artists.

We are memory.  
Glimpsed through shimmering light on water. 
A story place where black oaks stand watch. 
Carved into trees and painted on rocks. 
North – South – East – West. 
A brittle landscape of life and loss.