It’s exciting to have Bangarra Dance Theatre perform for the first time at QPAC’s new Glasshouse Theatre.
The acclaimed Indigenous company has just been awarded the prestigious Golden Lion for Lifetimes Achievement in Dance at the Venice Biennale, making history as the first Australian recipient and the first entire company to receive the award. Bangarra will be honoured at the 20th International Festival of Contemporary Dance in Venice on July 26.
The Golden Lion, usually reserved for individual choreographers or dancers, recognises Bangarra’s monumental 35-year body of work in bringing First Nations storytelling to the global stage.
Led by artistic director and Mirning woman, Frances Rings, the company will also use the festival’s global stage to present the European premiere of Rings’ seminal work, Terrain.
Meanwhile, we are fortunate that Bangarra is here in Brisbane doing what it does best – inspiring and intriguing us in equal measure with three powerful works: Keeping Grounded, Brown Boys and Sheoak – all of which honour Bangarra’s past while looking to the future.
The Bangarra aesthetic is unique, and all three works are captivating and have the usual spiritual dimension
An intergenerational thread connects this bold triple-bill, drawing deeply from First Nations perspectives and offering a profound journey into the intricate bonds between people and place. Rooted in Indigenous knowledge, the concept of shelter is reimagined as a sacred, transformative space – a haven of protection, connection and the sharing of stories across generations.
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The Bangarra aesthetic is unique, and all three works are captivating and have the usual spiritual dimension. We are transported to a place between two worlds in all three pieces.
Get yourself seated a bit early if you can, grab a program and read about what you are about to see or do a bit of Googling first, perhaps, if you are looking for explanations. I find that it’s OK to just let it all wash over me and to experience Bangarra intuitively to start with, then I will read the program in depth afterwards to explain things.
As usual the soundscapes are integral to each piece and Sheoak is special because it features a composition by the late David Page, who was a master.
The first piece is Keeping Grounded by choreographer Glory Tuohy-Daniell, which was first created in Dance Clan 2023 and has been reimagined in 2026 for a new stage. This work sits between past and present, exploring what it means to remain culturally and physically grounded in a world increasingly shaped by technology, and how this shift ripples through our mental and physical well-being. Grounding begins with something simple: bare feet meeting the earth.
“My interest lies in the body — its memory, its resilience and its capacity to restore,” Touhy-Daniell says. “Grounding is not about the earth instantly healing us, but about what happens when we return to it. In that contact, the body softens, slows and shifts into a state where healing becomes possible.
“This work is an offering — an invitation to notice. To consider how small, almost forgotten actions can create an effect through the body and mind. A step barefoot. A moment of stillness. A return. It speaks to the body’s quiet intelligence and its ability to adapt, reminding us that what was once an everyday act may hold the key to coming back into balance.”
The second piece, Brown Boys, is a filmed work by Daniel Mateo. It’s a kind of theatrical spoken word journey. Co-directors Daniel Mateo and Cass Mortimer Eipper navigate the introspection of a young man surrounded by the fabric of his cultural identity.
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“We are part of a shared community, a village,” Mateo says. “I want to give this film to boys who grew up like me, so they can connect and, through that, the village expands.”
Mateo is the star of this short film that forms a perfect bridge between Keeping Grounded and the final work, Sheoak.
Sheoak was initially developed in 2015 as part of the Lore double-bill program. At the time, the threat of Aboriginal community closures, along with misconceptions about living in remote Aboriginal communities being simply a “lifestyle choice”, felt both distressing and disrespectful, especially given the deep cultural and ancestral ties to Country. The piece uses the sheoak tree — a symbol of resilience and cultural continuity — to explore First Nations survival, intergenerational knowledge and connection to Country.
The choreographer is Frances Rings. The soundscape is poignant for us and for her.
“I am deeply grateful to our Songman — David Duboo Page for his moving score, and to Stephen Page and the Page family for their generosity in granting permission for this remount,” Rings says.
“In many ways, a sheoak tree symbolises flourishing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities – its branches are our culture passed through generations, its trunk stands for strong leadership and self-determined governance and its roots anchor us in culture and lore. These themes are also embedded in our values at Bangarra and drive our purpose.”
The Page family is from Brisbane, of course, and that makes this piece even more resonant.
The combined effect of all three works is to heighten our awareness while entertaining us, as Bangarra does. What they do is special and that is underlined by their Venice Biennale gong. Before they receive it, though, you have the opportunity to catch them on stage here. Do yourself a favour.
Sheltering continues at Glasshouse Theatre, QPAC, until July 18.
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