In the deep darkness just before dawn, workmen find bones while excavating for a dam. Among them is a Yugambeh man, Bilin, who convinces his colleagues to let him keep the ancestral bones. This ancestor is Wudjang, who longs to be reburied the proper way. With her young companion spirit, Gurai, she dances and teaches and sings of the past, of the earth, of songlines. With grace and authentic power, a new generation is taught how to listen, learn and carry their ancestral energy into the future. Wudjang: Not the Past follows the journey to honour Wudjang with a traditional resting place on Country.
Wudjang: Not the Past, an epic-scale contemporary corroboree brings together 17 dancers, four musicians and five actors for Bangarra’s largest stage production to date.
Wudjang: Not the Past is deeply rooted in Director Stephen Page’s own Yugambeh Country, in a story with branches spreading across our continent’s past and troubled present.
Combining poetry, spoken storytelling and live music with Bangarra’s unique dance language, this profoundly evocative piece of First Nations performance promises to be a benchmark Australian production.
Featuring Bangarra Dance Theatre Dancers, Elaine Crombie, Elma Kris, Jess Hitchcock, Justin Smith and musicians Amaru Derwent, Brendon Boney, Tessa Nuku and Véronique Serret.
more info