Araluen Arts Centre opens Season 2019 with Bangarra Dance Theatre’s award-winning production Bennelong

The Department of Tourism, Sport and Culture’s Araluen Arts Centre presents the landmark production Bennelong by Bangarra Dance Theatre this March.

“Bennelong is a remarkable work that was created by Bangarra’s Artistic Director Stephen Page and is regarded as the strongest and most compelling work to have emerged from the company in its 30-year history,” Acting Director of the Araluen Cultural Precint, Mr Micheal Smith said.

“We are extremely proud to be presenting Bennelong after its strong premiere in 2017 and then its sell out season during the 2018 Adelaide Festival.”

Bennelong tells the remarkable story of Woollarawarre Bennelong, a senior man of the Eora nation, from the Port Jackson area in Sydney. Bennelong was one of the first Aboriginal men to be taken from his people and, against his initial will, introduced to European ways.

“Bennelong became an intermediary between his clan and the colonists, and is one of the first Aboriginal people to have their life story recorded and documented through the early diaries of the British military,” Mr Smith said.

“Page is renowned for his richly nuanced storytelling abilities and he’s pieced together key moments of Bennelong’s life to tell the story of a complex and conflicted man.”

Bangarra was awarded seven awards at last year’s Helpmann Awards, including Best New Australian Work and Outstanding Performance by company dancer Beau Dean Riley Smith for his portray of Wollarawarre Bennelong.

“Never quite belonging to his new tribe, and earning suspicion from the old, Bennelong paid the price of first contact by being exiled from both communities. With extraordinary curiosity and diplomacy, Bennelong led his community to survive a clash of cultures and left a legacy that reverberates through contemporary life,” explains Bangarra Dance Theatre Artistic Director, Stephen Page.

Entering its third decade in 2019, Bangarra is one of Australia’s leading performing arts companies, internationally acclaimed for combining more than 65,000 years of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture with powerful contemporary dance, immersive soundscapes, music and design.

“Bangarra’s regional tour is a rare opportunity to see a masterwork outside of the major city centres and is a must-see experience for everyone,” Mr Smith said.

Bennelong by Bangarra Dance Theatre will be live onstage at the Araluen Arts Centre on Thursday 7, Friday 8 and Saturday 9 March, 7.30pm.

Ticket prices are $70.00 for adults, $67.50 for concession and $65.00 for Araluen Arts Centre Members. Araluen Arts Centre Member with a concession card can purchase tickets for $60.

Tickets are available online at www.araluenartscentre.nt.gov.au or from the Araluen Box Office on (08) 8951 1122.

Images: Bennelong by Bangarra Dance Theatre. Premiere at the Sydney Opera House, 2016. Photos by Daniel Boud.