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).[6]
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.[6] 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[who?] planned the formation of Bangarra Dance Theatre and, in 1989, became its founding artistic director.[6]Bangarra is a Wiradjuri word meaning "to make fire".[7][8]
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[6] 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.[citation needed]
In 2019, the company marked its thirtieth anniversary with the launch of a digital archive and exhibition called Knowledge Ground.[2][10]
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.[11] 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.[12]
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.[13]
Raymond D. Blanco, who featured in the film Jindalee Lady (1992),[19] was former Head of Culture and Training Operations at NAISDA,[20] and the first Indigenous Australian to lead a dance company when he took over the reins of the Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre in 1991[21]
Daniel Riley, dancer and choreographer with Bangarra since around 2009, appointed as artistic director of Australian Dance Theatre from the end of 2021[24]
Frances Rings, dancer and choreographer, artistic director from 2022
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).[19]
Firestarter – The Story of Bangarra (2020) is a feature-lengthdocumentary film about the dance company, directed by Nel Minchin and Wayne Blair.[40] 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,[41][39] and eight days later won the Adelaide Film Festival's Feature Documentary Award.[42]
Awards and nominations
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.
Year
Nominee / work
Award
Result (wins only)
Ref.
1997
Stephen Page (Artistic Director of Bangarra Dance Theatre)
Outstanding achievement in choreography
Won
2004
Frances Rings for Unaipon (Bangarra Dance Theatre)
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.
The Helpmann Awards is an awards show, celebrating live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Performance Australia since 2001.[47] Note: 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards commenced in 1984 and recognise outstanding achievements in dance, drama, comedy, music, opera, circus and puppetry.
