Bangarra Dance Theatre’s youth team is heading out on the road in search of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander secondary school students to take part in Rekindling.
Rekindling is an intensive dance-based program for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander secondary school students to explore “who you are” and “where you come from”. With help and guidance from elders within their communities, participants research and gather stories to develop dance, performance and creative skills to produce dance theatre, in collaboration with local elders. Previous dance experience is not needed, just a willingness to learn and share.
The Rekindling team will be heading to four new communities this year, Heywood and Horsham in Victoria, Yarrabah in Queensland and Broome in Western Australia. It will be the first time that Rekindling has visited Victoria and WA.
“This is Rekindling’s fourth year and we’ve connected with 250 young people so far,” says youth program director and Bangarra alumni Sidney Saltner. “That reach ripples out to the community, from the Elders who generously share their stories and their time, to school teachers who encourage the kids to register, and to the families who support them learning about their identity.”
Artistic director of Bangarra Dance Theatre, Stephen Page, says the program has grown beyond his dreams. “Rekindling proves our ongoing commitment to nurturing and developing the next generation of cultural leaders,” says Page. “It was extremely exciting to see that nine students who participated in Rekindling in 2014 then went on to be accepted into NAISDA Dance College and another four into ACPA (Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts). I’m sure we’ll see even more success stories like that in the future as we encourage these kids to embrace their talent and their heritage.”
National Audition Dates
Heywood (Vic)
Audition: Monday February 22 2016
(online registrations close Sunday February 21)
Horsham (Vic)
Audition: Thursday February 25 2016
(online registrations close Wednesday February 24)
Yarrabah (Qld)
Audition: Monday February 29 2016
(online registrations close Sunday February 28)
Broome (WA)
Audition: Thursday March 3 2016
(online registrations close Wednesday March 2)
Register online at www.bangarra.com.au/rekindling