Your Guide to DanceX: Gary Lang NT Dance Company

X What is The Other Side of Me?

Gary Lang’s The Other Side of Me premiered in 2023 in Darwin as part of the Darwin Festival. Following its acclaimed debut, the production toured Western Australia before returning to the Northern Territory in a series of performances in 2024.

The Other Side of Me is based on real-life events, collected from the personal letters and poems of a young Aboriginal man born in the Northern Territory in the 1960s. Adopted by an English family and raised in a remote hamlet in the English countryside, the piece conveys his struggle to belong across two cultures, caught between two families across two continents.

In collaboration with the United Kingdom’s Northumbria University, Lang shares the conflict of reconciling origin and identity as part of a broader story of the Stolen Generations. A profoundly moving production, The Other Side of Me investigates an imbalanced system, the strength of the human spirit, and what it means to be ‘home’.

X Who is Gary Lang NT Dance Company?

Located in Australia’s Northern Territory, Gary Lang’s Northern Territory Dance Company are known for their innovative works that unite First Nations dance with classical ballet to create a new genre of performance.

Founded by Larrakia dancer and choreographer Gary Lang, a previous alumnus of NAISDA, Bangarra Dance Theatre, and Dance North, Lang’s unique choreography is a powerful investigation into cultural identity that bends the idea of tradition.

Since 2002, Lang has been sharing First Nations stories through works that challenge the status quo and reflect the spectrum of art and artists in Australia. Located in Australia’s most isolated capital city, the diverse Darwin community are represented in the company that includes dancers of Aboriginal, Filipino, Torres Strait Islander, African, and Anglo heritage.