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A shirtless man swimming underwater in a pool wearing a cloth skirt has his face looking up towards the sky,

Horizon Term 2

26 June 2024

In the Drama Theatre

Schools

First Nations Contemporary Dance performance | Stages 4 - 6 | From two of the world’s great First Nations comes a brand-new work: Horizon. It’s the place where sea meets sky, the horizon we all look to, the compass that guides us home.

Bangarra Dance Theatre is a modern dance company unlike any other… remarkably imaginative and richly varied.

New York Times

Horizon explores the cultural forces that bind us together

There is a place between sea and sky—a sacred realm, where the sun rises and falls and the light is new.

From two of the world’s great First Nations comes a brand-new work: Horizon. Some call it a feeling, some call it the mother spirit. It’s the place where sea meets sky, the horizon we all look to, the compass that guides us home.

In Bangarra's first mainstage cross-cultural collaboration, leading Māori choreographer and Arts Laureate Moss Te Ururangi Patterson joins beloved Bangarra alumna Deborah Brown. Together they guide Bangarra's award-winning ensemble in stories that honour their mother countries and the spirit that calls them home.

Brown is a proud descendent of the Wakaid Clan and Meriam people in the Torres Strait, and has heritage from far across the seas in Scotland. She carries strength and resilience from her ancestors. Patterson, born near Lake Taupō, is a proud mokopuna (grandson) of the Ngāti Tūwharetoa tribe, and describes his sense of home as something alive, a fire inside, that he carries like a beating heart.

To open the work, Saibailayg (Saibai Islander) Sani Townson expands his acclaimed work Kulka, debuted in Dance Clan in 2023, to make a thrilling opening piece paying homage to Sani’s grandfather and his Torres Strait heritage.

Students are invited to explore the cultural forces that bind us together, across oceans and eons. Experience the resilience of the First Peoples of the Oceania region, that extends across the continent now known as Australia, the Torres Strait Islands and Aotearoa, our southern neighbour.

Horizon is a double bill opening with Kulka by Bangarra alum Sani Townson, followed by the primary piece, The Light Inside, choreographed by Bangarra alum Deborah Brown and Māori choreographer and Arts Laureate Moss Te Ururangi Patterson.

Presented by Bangarra Dance Theatre

 

Curriculum links

Exploring contemporary choreography, First Nations ceremonial practices, use of props costume and set design in Dance, Aboriginal Studies, English, Design and Technology and Drama.

Learning resources

The Opera House’s learning resources provide inspirational activities to watch, listen and read for students in the classroom or learning at home. 

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About Bangarra Dance Theatre

Acclaimed around the world for its distinctive theatrical voice, powerful choreography, unique soundscapes and design, Bangarra is Australia's leading First Nations performing arts company. 

Founded in 1989, Bangarra has been led by Artistic Director Stephen Page since 1991. The company’s dance technique draws on more than 65,000 years of culture, embodied in contemporary movement. Bangarra’s dancers are classically trained, dynamic artists who represent the pinnacle of Australian dance. Each has a proud Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander background.

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Ticket and Travel Subsidy

The Sydney Opera House is committed to providing the very best national and international performing arts experiences to NSW students as part of their educational studies.

The Sydney Opera House Arts Assist program provides the full cost of the Creative Learning performance ticket and $5 per student toward travel costs. School applications are assessed according to socioeconomic disadvantage, schools with special needs and individual responses regarding the School Profile and School Community.

The Sydney Opera House thanks and acknowledges our generous Arts Assist donors; The Greatorex Foundation and Sydney Opera House Ladies’ Committee.

Other information

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