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 is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM, and serves as the Chair of La Mama Theatre's volunteer Committee of Management. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, and was awarded the status of Melbourne Fringe Living Legend in 2017. In 2020 he was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize. Most recently, Richard was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Green Room Awards Association in June 2021. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts