Year 8 Drama Excursion

Sandsong by Bangarra Dance Theatre

On Wednesday the 31^st of August, the Year 8 Drama students travelled to Melbourne to see a live performance of Sandsong by Bangarra Dance Theatre at the Melbourne Ats Centre.

Bangarra Dance Theatre

Bangarra Dance Theatre are a company of professional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performers. They are one of Australia’s leading performing arts companies, sharing their culture with Communities and audiences across Australia and the world. Each of the dancers are professionally trained, dynamic artists with a proud Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander background. Together, they represent the best of Australian talent. Bangarra have been making our indelible marks on the Australian theatre landscape for 32 years. Bangarra’s mission is to promote awareness and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Find out more here: Home | Bangarra

“... Irrespective of the colour of your skin, your connection to country or your interest in the performing arts, [Bangarra presents] the best kind of integrated contemporary performance on offer...”

AUSTRALIAN STAGE 2016

Sandsong

Under the vast Kimberley sky, the red pindan dust stretches across the desert homelands of the Walmajarri, where the ancient knowledge of People and of Country is preserved through Songlines that have endured for hundreds of generations.

At the heart of this land is the Living Water - Jila – that resides in desert waterholes across the region and is the basis of cultural beliefs and practices. SandSong tells the unique story of this Place and the survival of its People.

Between the 1920s and 1960s, Aboriginal people were removed off their Country and onto pastoral stations where they were forced into hard labour, usually for no wages and only minimal rations. Despite this displacement and cultural disruption, the Traditional People of the Western Desert have maintained unbroken connection to Land and Country - keeping songs, stories and kinship strong.

SandSong is a journey into ancient story systems framed against the backdrop of ever-changing government policy and of the survival of people determined to hold strong to their Culture.

SandSong is created by Bangarra Dance Theatre in consultation with Wangkatjungka/Walmajarri Elders from the Kimberley and Great Sandy Desert regions, drawing on the stories, knowledge, and memories of the past to create a new narrative for our Indigenous futures.

Find out more here: SandSong: Stories from the Great Sandy Desert | Bangarra

Student Responses:

“I was shocked, I thought we were going to watch a movie”

“10/10 that was the best thing I have ever seen”

“That felt like it went for 10 minutes, not 75”

“I am still talking about it after 3 days. I was so blown away”

Tessa Kirk

Performing Arts Teacher