DANCE RITES
23 - 24 NOV
FREE EVENT
A CELEBRATION OF FIRST NATIONS DANCE
Witness the powerful coming together of traditional customs, language and contemporary culture, with hundreds of First Nations dancers from all around Australia and performers from around the world.
Join us on the Forecourt, as we celebrate the UN International Year of Indigenous Languages and share in this free festival of live dance, music and community.
Join us for the heats and finals of the Dance Rites competition as hundreds of the greatest First Nations dancers from around Australia come together to share their cultural knowledge and compete to win!
Your handbook for the song and dance of Australia's ancient cultures
Also part of Dance Rites
Indigenous Enterprise are a professional Native American dance group, made up of champion dancers from tribes and Nations in Canada and the United States. They arrive in Sydney for Dance Rites to proudly showcase their tradition and culture through powwow dancing in a colourful feast for the eyes.
Embracing the future without losing sight of the past, OKA draws upon their indigenous connection to place and country to create their signature feel good Australian earth sound, an irresistible blend of influences spanning house, big beat, reggae-dub, Roots, Jazz and world music.
Rhyan Clapman, aka DOBBY, is a drapper - a rapper and a drummer. A proud Filipino and Aboriginal artist, he uses hip hop as a tool to express knowledge, culture, identity and family.
Curated by Tura New Music, The Narli Ensemble will perform a version of Kimberley Echoes - a powerful cross-cultural celebration of Kimberley country and its people, inspired by local artists, traditional Joonba song and dance and the provocative Kimberley landscape. Ever-evolving, full of spontaneity and life.
Internationally acclaimed Aboriginal dance group Nunukul Yuggera prides itself on being one of the very best Australia has to offer. The winners of Dance Rites 2018, they are making a triumphant return to delight the audience with their mesmerising brand of performance. Prepare for the Dreamtime to unfold before your eyes.
Daily sunset sails lighting explores ancient First Nations stories. The projection is available daily at sunset, 7pm, 8pm and 9pm.
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Dance Rites 2019 Acknowledgements
A very special thank you to Yuwaalaraay artist Lucy Simpson for the creation of the 2019 Dance Rites artwork.
Thank you to our donors for their commitment and ongoing generosity to the Dance Rites Travel Fund.
* Founding Dance Rites Donor
~ Sydney Opera House Idealist
Event Partners
Event Sponsor
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