Frances Rings still pinches herself daily since taking on the mantle of Bangarra Dance Theatre’s artistic director and co-CEO in 2023. “It’s incredible to be in this role,” she says. “It is such a deeply weighted responsibility, to be a steward of First Nations stories, of relationships, connections and our creative and cultural song line.”
How do you shoulder a weight like that?
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“You can talk to many leaders in their fields about how lonely the role at the top is, and it’s not a space many First Nations people inhabit, so there were lots of sleepless nights at the start,” Rings acknowledges.
What I’ve learned: to listen
Her best advice for creative leaders dealing with that pressure? Learn how best to listen. “The biggest thing, with this role, is the Bangarra spirit, which has its own energy and way of letting you know how it wants to be directed,” she says.
It’s equally about listening to what people need in return. “When I understood that all people want is to be able to understand the company’s journey and how they can connect with it, that’s when things started to transform, and that’s when you transform,” she says of flourishing within the role.
You have to be open to that journey being one step forward, two steps back sometimes. “Because there’s this level of accountability that you have to assume, when you hold a position like this and, if things go wrong, the first thing you do is accept accountability and take the weight of that,” Rings insists.
Learning to overcome fear and embrace creative risk is essential. “Trust your gut and follow your instincts, sticking to your goals and purpose,” Rings says. “Dance has never let me down. It’s the companion I share with my husband [Scott Clement], and it’s always been there as a haven, a safety mechanism that makes my spirit sing.”
Creativity is a tool that allows us to better understand the world and our place in it, Rings says, and we shouldn’t be afraid of failing. “Once you learn to shoulder that, you know that all of those little mistakes, the falling over and getting back up again, that trial and error keeps you authentic.”
What I’ve learned: stronger together
Authenticity is at the heart of Bangarra and Rings’ aspirations for the company. A descendant of the Wirangu and Mirning Tribes, her first breathtaking work at the helm, Yuldea, was inspired by returning to her Country in far-western South Australia.
Rings’ latest five-star choreographic movement, Illume, builds on collaboration with Goolarrgon Bard and multidisciplinary artist Darrell Sibosado, as informed by his traditional lands on WA’s Dampier Peninsula. The company is now embarking on a national tour, following Illume’s lauded debut at the Sydney Opera House, where it became the first Bangarra work to open on the Joan Sutherland stage.
Collaboration is vital to any creative company’s success, Rings suggests. “Illume was our first time working with a visual artist,” Rings says. “I’ve long admired Darrell’s craft and thought there was something incredibly theatrical about his sculptures and light installations.”
Sibosado is a fellow graduate of NAISDA (National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association), Australia’s leading performing arts institution for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, making him the perfect fit for one of the company’s most ambitious works yet. The crew also included lighting designer Damien Cooper, set designer Charles Davis and composer Brendon Boney, all of whom joined Rings and Sibosado on Country.
“You’re putting together a team that are at the top of their game to bring that story to life,” Rings says. “It was immersive. Darrell would have an idea, Charles is on his computer and we’re putting it together in community, surrounded by camp dogs.”
Sibosado’s practice fit beautifully with what Rings was trying to achieve. “There’s something simultaneously old and new in his works that aligns with what we do at Bangarra,” Rings says. “It’s not so much that he went home and reinvented himself through his visual arts practice, as it is an emergence through being back on Country.”
What I’ve learned: it’s OK to disagree
Collectives don’t always see eye-to-eye, and that’s fine too. “There are always difficult conversations when you’re collaborating,” Rings says. “But that’s where the magic is, when you’re trying to find the right balance, guided by the story every step of the way.”
Seeking permission from Elders and spending time understanding the rhythms of the place are all vital elements of Bangarra’s creative process. “I deeply respect that process of going back and reconnecting with your land, your spirit and your elders, and with this cultural practice of carving these incredible symbols into mother of pearl shells,” Rings says. “That was so evocative to me, that from a shell, you can connect back to the cultural life of ancestors and ceremony.”
Being open to inspiration is integral to creative leadership. “Darrell would get up in the morning when the sun rose and the birds were loudest, and I’d follow him anywhere,” Rings says. “You don’t have a watch, you just allow the day to roll out like the clouds bringing the wet season, watching the light that bounces off the water, sand dunes and the glimmer of the middens. Seeing the way he treads on Country, the elegance. Dance has never left his body.”
Again, it’s about being open to listening. “What became the centrepiece of the intention of Illume was Darrell saying, as he carved those shells, that each one of us lives as a part of that big design. When we live in harmony, we keep adding to that pattern. There’s just so much in that sentence. You can read it literally, culturally, as a model for sustainability, whether you’re a blackfella or a whitefella. There’s so much depth in it.”
What I’ve learned: on the road
One of the greatest responsibilities of leadership within a cultural institution is prioritising caring for the company’s most important assets: its people. Particularly when they are on tour.
“If you’re new in the company, it’s incredibly exciting, getting to travel Australia and internationally, performing in the best theatres,” Rings says. “You get to talk to incredible artists – with Bangarra having alumni all across the country – and audiences, and meet with community, with many mobs.”
But dance is a rigorous practice that requires a great deal from a performer. “If you’ve been with a company for a few years, it can be difficult to keep packing that bag,” Rings says. “After 12 years of dancing with Bangarra, I loved the company, but towards the end, it was really challenging. It depends on what stage of your life you’re at.”
Rings wakes up with the aches and pains of a remarkable career in the arts, on stage and off. “You’re travelling the world, sitting on buses and planes, touring extensively. It’s what keeps you grounded. It’s addictive, it’s about the craft, it’s about the resilience and that thick skin that you build up.”
What I’ve learned: about self-care
That resilience requires self-care. “You’ve got to have a ritual, to make sure that you’re looking after yourself,” Rings says. “That you get out of the hotel room and are connecting with Country, with family, and that keeps your spirit healthy and strong, because that’s what’s going to get you through.”
Creative companies must make that journey as easy as possible for their touring artists. “We’ve always got a green room that’s full of delicious food for the dancers. We make sure they have access to incredible dance teachers from around the country. Our tour books are a bible, full of information from where to get the best coffee to what exhibitions are on, so we can best help them connect and make memories.”
Memories can be transformative, not just for touring artists, but for the audience members who witness the work of a company like Bangarra.
“When I was a young girl growing up in Port Augusta, I didn’t see myself in society or on TV,” Rings recalls. “The other night, I visited NAISDA for their phenomenal mid-year show. Afterwards, one of the young dancers was with her family, and she smiled at me over her shoulder as I was leaving. You see that look in someone’s eye and you recognise it.”
It’s the look that says ‘seeing is believing’ and, hopefully, one day being. “I say to that young girl, here is my pathway I am walking, but it is yours to follow. You’re on track. I’m just a steward. I’m making way for the next leaders coming through. They’re stronger than ever, and it’s such a blessing to be in this role and bear witness to that.”
Bangarra is touring Illume around Australia, find dates and places here.
