Bangarra Announces National Tour Program for 2020

In 2020, Australia's leading Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performing arts company, Bangarra Dance Theatre, will enter its fourth decade with a powerful new contemporary program, SandSong: Stories from the Great Sandy Desert.

Curated by Bangarra Artistic Director, Stephen Page and Associate Artistic Director, Frances Rings, and choreographed by Page and Rings alongside the Bangarra dancers, SandSong: Stories from the Great Sandy Desert will tour to Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne and Bendigo from June to September.

Resonating under the vast Kimberley sky lie the stories of people and Country. Through the pindan red dust and dry spinifex grass, the undulating sandhills give rise to the movements of people in a shifting cycle of displacement and discontent.

At the heart of this is the Jila: Living Water, a symbol of ancient knowledge and power, and a connection back to the Ancestral lands of the old people.

As we journey through the cultural landscape, we uncover ancient Story systems embedded in the land, and passed on to a new generation struggling to navigate cycles of government policy and social dysfunction across a fractured cultural divide.

In this new work, created by Bangarra Dance Theatre in consultation with the Wangkatjungka / Walmajarri Elders from the Kimberley region, SandSong draws on the knowledge and memories of the past to create a new narrative for our Indigenous futures.

Through a dance theatre language that is truly unique in the world, and performed by Bangarra's internationally-acclaimed dance ensemble, SandSong will include immersive soundscapes composed by Steve Francis, exquisite stage designs by Jacob Nash, atmospheric lighting designs by Nick Schlieper and stunning costume designs by Jennifer Irwin.

Also in 2020, Bangarra will tour its acclaimed production, Bennelong to six venues across Regional NSW and WA, Sydney Coliseum Theatre and Perth Festival.

Tickets for Bangarra's 2020 national tour are available from Monday 18th November https://www.bangarra.com.au/.