The Competition

Waangenga is a star of the stage after dancing as a celebrated principal artist for over 13 years with Bangarra Dance Company. He won an Australian Dance Award and Greenroom Award for his performance in the 2014 production of Patyegarang. Waangenga broke out on screen in 2009 featuring in the acclaimed film Bran Nue Dae, and then again in The Turning (2013) and Stephen Page’s SPEAR (2016). Most recently he won the Helpmann Award for Best Male Dancer in 2018. He hopes to inspire his deep love and connection to Country and culture through his work.

Deborah has over 15 years of experience in dance theatre, including performing as a Senior Artist and choreographer with Bangarra Dance Theatre. In 2013, she made her choreographic and directorial debut, creating a short dance film titled Dive for Bangarra, leading her to create IBIS as part of the lore national season in 2015. Her career highlights with Bangarra included returning to Country - including Mer Island and Yirrkala – performing at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Harvey Theatre and partnering with The Australian Ballet at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.

While completing her Masters in Screen Directing at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS), she has been exploring directing theatre and choreographing. In 2017, she returned to acting as the lead Layla, in the short film Water, directed by John Harvey. She choreographed and assisted the new Australian production, Spinifex Gum, including their sell out seasons at Adelaide Festival 2018 and Sydney Festival 2019 and performance at Garma Festival 2019. She was also assistant director and choreographer for The Long Forgotten Dream for Sydney Theatre Company and more recently Winyanboga Yurringa at Belvoir St Theatre. She is currently assisting on The Beauty Queen of Leenane at STC.

Matthew Doyle is a descendant of the Muruwari people and grew up in Southern Sydney on Dharawal land. At fifteen he was accepted into the prestigious Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre (AIDT), where he completed a three year course. In 1990 he became a founding member of their professional company.

Matthew has since become one of Australia’s leading performers and has toured extensively. He has recorded many CDs and collaborated many Australian, musicians, dancers and composers including the Bangarra Dance Theatre, Christine Anu, Professor Michael Atherton, Yothu Yindi and Leah Purcell. He has performed at Stomping Ground, Survival and The Festival of The Dreaming (in his acclaimed self-devised work Wirid-Jiribin: The Lyrebird) and was part of the closing ceremony at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. A documentary titled ‘My Spirit is Black’, a biography of Matthew’s life, was filmed by ABC TV in 1986.

Matthew started the Year 2000 with his sunrise didjeridoo performance atop the peak of the Sydney Opera House for the ABC Millennium broadcast, and appeared in the opening ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. In 2005 he was in Japan for the World Expo and in 2006 he toured nationally with Taikoz Japanese Drummers and performed at the Musée du quai Branly, Paris. Matthew performed on top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 2007 for the 75th Birthday celebrations.