Bangarra Dance Theatre is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance company focused on contemporary dance. It was founded by African American dancer and choreographer Carole Y. Johnson, Gumbaynggirr man Rob Bryant, and South African-born Cheryl Stone. Bangarra () means "to make fire" in Wiradjuri.
Stephen Page was artistic director from 1991 to 2021, with Frances Rings taking over in 2022. The company has received many Helpmann Awards as well as other accolades. Bennelong (2017) and Dark Emu (2018) have been among Bangarra's most successful works, playing to huge audiences around the country. Terrain has also been performed multiple times since 2012, most recently at the Venice International Festival of Contemporary Dance in July 2026.
History Bangarra Dance Theatre was founded in October 1989 by Carole Y. Johnson, an African-American modern dancer and founder of the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA), Rob Bryant, a Gumbaynggirr man and graduate of NAISDA, and Cheryl Stone, a South African-born student at NAISDA. The word bangarra () means "to make fire" in the Wiradjuri language, and is pronounced with the "eng" sound rather than a hard G.
Clive Joseph Robin "Rob" Bryant (later known as Uncle Rob Bryant), born in Bellingen, New South Wales in 1947, was a retired leading aircraftman of the RAAF and a Vietnam veteran. Stone had been born in South Africa, growing up in Cape Town and moving to Australia as a teenager in 1969. She participated in the six-week Black Theatre workshop established by Johnson in Redfern, Sydney, in 1975
Johnson toured Australia in 1972 with American choreographer Eleo Pomare and his company, and remained in Australia. In 1975, Johnson became the founding director of the Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Scheme, now known as the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA).
Johnson had a three-part plan for Aboriginal dance in Australia. It was to establish a school to give academic qualifications, and train dancers as members of a student and graduate performing company that would also teach. It would further provide a path for the dancers to other dance-related areas, including choreography, tour management, and all front and back of house skills. The other key aim was to maintain authentic cultural continuity, friendships, and close ties to traditional communities. Johnson mentored Stone, who studied alongside the dancers. She planned the formation of Bangarra Dance Theatre and, in 1989, became its founding artistic director. Bangarra is a Wiradjuri word meaning "to make fire".Bangarra Dance Theatre (1989 - ), at Australia Dancing, via Pandora Archive
Stephen Page has been the artistic director since 1991. Bangarra's first full-length show, Praying Mantis Dreaming, was produced in 1992. In 1994, Page, with Bernadette Walong as associate director, created Ochres and productions have followed annually since 2000. All have been successful within Australia and some have toured the United States and the United Kingdom. The group also made significant contributions to the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. The opening ceremony was co-directed by Stephen Page along with Rhoda Roberts, and Page co-choreographed a segment called Awakening, which was narrated by Ernie Dingo.
In 2012, Rings first choreographed the nine-part piece Terrain, which was inspired by the South Australian salt lake Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre and Aboriginal people's Connection to Country.
Bennelong (2017) and Dark Emu (2018), were Bangarra's biggest ever works, playing to around 70,000 people across the country. Dark Emu was co-created by Stephen Page with former Bangarra dancers Daniel Riley and Yolande Brown, inspired by Bruce Pascoe's book of the same name. It became the most successful production in Bangarra's history, and was highly critically acclaimed.
In 2019, the company marked its thirtieth anniversary with the launch of a digital archive and exhibition called Knowledge Ground.
In early December 2021, Page announced that he would be stepping down from the role of artistic director in 2022, handing over to Frances Rings, former dancer and choreographer with Bangarra and later associate artistic director. Bangarra's last performance with Page as director was Wudjang: Not the Past, which premiered at the Sydney Festival in January 2022 before touring to Hobart and then Adelaide as part of the Adelaide Festival in March 2022.
In 2023, Rings, a Kokatha woman, was choreographer and artistic director for the company's new work, Yuldea. It tells the story of the South Australian town of Ooldea, which was settled in the early 20th century as it was close to the water source known as "Yooldil Kapi" by the Aboriginal groups who lived in the area, including the Kokatha, Mirning, and Wirangu peoples. Rings' father, a German migrant, worked on the railway, and her mother was born nearby. Yuldea has four acts – Supernova, Kapi (Water), Empire, and Ooldea Spirit. The creative team included Gamilaroi astronomer Karlie Noon, and musical duo Electric Fields, and Bangarra's chief composer, Leon Rodgers. The voices of people from Yalata were recorded for the last track.
Waru – journey of the small turtle, directed by Stephen Page and written by his son Hunter Page-Lochard, premiered in Sydney in 2023, and ran for two seasons before going on tour from 26 June to 9 November 2024. It was the first children's work performed by Bangarra, and won Best Production for Children in the Sydney Theatre Awards in 2023.
In July 2026, Bangarra Dance Theatre was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in Dance by Biennale Danza 2026, the dance division of the Venice Biennale. This was the first time an Australian dance company has received this honour. The company performed the European premiere of Terrain on 25 and 26 July at the Teatro Malibran.
Cultural identity In September 2026, after a process of consultation with Wiradjuri elders and language specialists, including Uncle Stan Grant Snr and Letetia Harris, the company held a cultural workshop to help all members understand Wiradjuri culture, as well as the origin and correct pronunciation of the name of the company. Bangarra announced the correct pronunciation formerly, and Rings would like its staff, alumni, audiences, and others to use this pronunciation. She believes that language reclamation is important, as "the doorway to Country, they're the doorway to knowledge and understanding about kinship and family and lore and all of those practices that give us our identity".
People Page brothers Stephen Page , artistic director 1991–2021 David Page (1961–2016), composer and musical directorDavid Page, Composer at Bangarra Dance Theatre. Retrieved 29 April 2016Linda Morris, (29 April 2016), Bangarra Dance Theatre shattered by death of composer David Page, Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 April 2016
Russell Page (1968–2002), dancer
Others
Raymond D. Blanco, who featured in the film Jindalee Lady (1992), was former Head of Culture and Training Operations at NAISDA, and the first Indigenous Australian to lead a dance company when he took over the reins of the Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre in 1991 Lillian Crombie, dancer Ella Havelka, dancer Elma Gada Kris, dancer and choreographer Banula Marika, dancer and musician Ningali Lawford-Wolf Daniel Riley, dancer and choreographer, artistic director of Australian Dance Theatre from 2022 Frances Rings, dancer and choreographer, artistic director from 2022
Works
1992 – Praying Mantis Dreaming 1995 – Ochres 1997 – Fish 1997 – Rites (with The Australian Ballet) 2000 – Skin (Spear, 2015 film, based on this) 2001 – Corroboree 2002 – Walkabout 2003 – BushToured the UK in 2006, 2004 – Unaipon 2004 – CLAN 2005 – Boomerang 2006 – Gathering with the Australian Ballet 2007 – True Stories 2008 – Mathinna, based on the life of Palawa girl Mathinna 2008 — Rites (with The Australian Ballet) 2009 — Fire – A RetrospectiveMajhid Heath, (11 September 2009), Review: Bangarra Dance Theatre performance of Fire – A retrospective, Indigenous Arts & Events: Performance, Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 28 September 2010 2010 – of earth & sky 2012 – Terrain 2013 – Blak 2014 – Patyegarang and Kinship 2015 – lore 2016 – OUR land people stories 2017 – Bennelong 2018 – Dubboo - life of a songman 2018 — Dark Emu 2019 — Spirit 2023 – Yuldea 2023 – Waru – journey of the small turtle 2024 – Dance Clan
Discography Albums + List of albums, with selected details Title Details Clan: The Music (with David Page) Released: 2004 Format: CD Label: Nikinali Music (NN002) Boomerang - The Music Released: 2005 Format: CD Label: Nikinali Music (NN003) Lore - Dance Stories of Land and Sea (with David Page and Steve Francis) Released: 2015 Format: CD Label: Bangarra Dance Theatre (BDT2015)
Films
Jindalee Lady (1992), featuring then lead dancer Raymond Blanco. This was the first fiction feature film directed by an Aboriginal director (Brian Syron). Spear (2015) – drama film directed by Stephen Page, based on the live performance Skin (2000). Firestarter – The Story of Bangarra (2020) is a feature-length documentary film about the dance company, directed by Nel Minchin and Wayne Blair. It covers 30 years of Bangarra's existence, charting the story of the three Page brothers' (Stephen, David and youngest brother, the dancer Russell) roles in the development of the company. The film had its world premiere as the closing night film of the Brisbane International Film Festival on 11 October 2020, and eight days later won the Adelaide Film Festival's Feature Documentary Award.
Awards and nominations In 1993, Bangarra was a joint winner of the Group Award in the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards, sharing the award with Italian Australian theatre company Doppio Teatro.
In July 2026, the company was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in Dance at the Venice Biennale.
Australian Dance Awards The Australian Dance Awards recognise excellence and promote dance in Australia. They are awarded under the auspices of the Australian Dance Council (Ausdance) for performance, choreography, design, dance writing, teaching and related professions. they commenced in 1997.
(wins only) ! |- | 1997 | Stephen Page (Artistic Director of Bangarra Dance Theatre) | Outstanding achievement in choreography
| rowspan="2"| 2004 | Frances Rings for Unaipon (Bangarra Dance Theatre) | Outstanding Achievement in Choreography
| Fire - A Retrospective (Bangarra Dance Theatre) | Outstanding Performance by a Company
| 2010 | Bangarra Dance Theatre for Belong | Outstanding Performance by a Company
| 2012 | Bangarra Dance Theatre for Belong | Outstanding Performance by a Company
| 2015 | Waangenga Blanco (Bangarra Dance Theatre) | Outstanding Performance by a Male Dancer for Patyegarang
| rowspan="3"| 2016 | Bangarra Dance Theatre for Lore | Outstanding Performance by a Company
| Elma Kris for Lore (Bangarra Dance Theatre) | Outstanding Performance by a Female Dancer
| David Mack for Frame of Mind (Bangarra Dance Theatre) | Outstanding Performance by a Male Dancer
| 2017 | Bangarra Dance Theatre for OUR Land People Stories | Outstanding Performance by a Company
| 2018 | Beau Dean Riley Smith for Bennelong (Bangarra Dance Theatre) | Outstanding Performance by a Male Dancer
Deadly Awards The Deadly Awards, (commonly known simply as The Deadlys), was an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. They ran from 1996 to 2013. (wins only) ! |- | Deadly Awards 2008 | Stephen Page and Bangarra Dance Theatre | Outstanding Achievement in Entertainment
| Deadly Awards 2009 | Stephen Page and Bangarra Dance Theatre | Achievement in Theatre or Live Performance
Helpmann Awards