How dance connects First Peoples on the world stage

The opportunity to explore cultural connections goes well beyond the sharing of art – it connects with cultural values; our relationship with the land and with people.

Bangarra’s 2015 production, Ochres – Tara Robertson. Photo by Edward Mulvihill.

For Stephen Page, Artistic Director of Bangarra Dance Theatre, the opportunity to meet with and perform for First Nations people in countries such as India – where Indigenous peoples such as the Bhil, Gond and Warlis are collectively known as the adivāsi – goes well beyond the sharing of dance practices.

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Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in 2020. In 2021 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association. Most recently, Richard received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts