Skip to main content

YuldeaTerm 2

28 June 2023

In the Drama Theatre

Sydney Opera House Presents

Dance Performance | Stages 4 - 6

From the incomparable storytellers of Bangarra Dance Theatre comes a major new work. Frances Rings’ first work as Artistic Director is a ceremonial affirmation of history and heritage. Yuldea awakens the earth and sky worlds to tell the story of the Anangu people of the Great Victorian Desert.

Behind the scenes

For an introduction to Yuldea, please watch this behind-the-scenes video. 

Watch on YouTube

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.

Resources for teachers

Inspirational activities to watch, listen and read for teachers and students in the classroom or learning at home.

Find classroom resources

Yuldea is a ceremonial affirmation of history and heritage

We are memory.
Glimpsed through shimmering light on water.
A story place where black oaks stand watch.
Carved into trees and painted on rocks.
North – South – East – West.
A brittle landscape of life and loss.

At Yuldea, stories hover in the sky. The stars reveal a divine Songline, stretching between earth and sky. 

Frances Rings’ first work as Artistic Director is a ceremonial affirmation of history and heritage. Yuldea awakens the earth and sky worlds to tell the story of the Anangu people of the Great Victorian Desert. 

Yuldea explores the moment traditional life collided with the industrial ambition of a growing nation. In 1917, the two halves of the Transcontinental Railway met at the precious water soak on the edge of the Nullarbor, Yuldi Kapi.

Great metal serpents scarred the landscape, draining all water from the sacred soak. Then came the black mist of the atomic testing at Maralinga, forcing the Anangu people to leave their desert homelands where they had lived for millennia.

Now memories lay scattered, like the Anangu people, displaced from their home. Remnants of colonial progress are swallowed by sand. But the Anangu endure, determined to keep strong their knowledge systems of land and sky, honouring their eternal bonds of kinship between people and place.

Yuldea features original music by Leon Rodgers with featured songs by multi-award-winning electronic pop duo Electric Fields (Zaachariaha Fielding and Michael Ross). Designers Jacob Nash (Set), Jennifer Irwin (Costume) and Karen Norris (Lighting) create a desert world on stage. 

Presented by Bangarra Dance Theatre

Trailer

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.

Join our family of teachers and educators

Hear about upcoming performance and workshops for schools, along with the latest digital resources for students and teachers.

Sign up to our newsletter

Other information

Excursions at the Opera House

A Day Out at the House

Offer your students to an unforgettable day out at the Sydney Opera House with our new curated program. Students can attend a Creative Learning Performance or Workshop onsite accompanied by a Walking Tour of our internationally renowned performing arts centre, all in time to back by the final school bell.

A group of girls wave at the camera in school uniform. The Sydney Opera House sails are seen blurry in the background.

Arts Assist

Does your School need financial assistance to attend a Sydney Opera House excursion?

Schools Tour

Filled with stories that demonstrate the power of creativity, students join a guided tour to learn how architect Jørn Utzon created a sculpture on Sydney Harbour that changed the course of 20th century architecture.

A young girl wearing a school uniform stares out a window in a Sydney Opera House foyer. The Sydney Harbour Bridge is seen in the background.

Checking availability