Sheltering at the Sydney Opera House is a triple-bill from the acclaimed Bangarra Dance Theatre. Bangarra’s unique style of dance fuses traditional First Nations movement and narratives with contemporary dance to tell stories that resonate and challenge the audience. Sheltering acknowledges and honours the theatre’s history through the work Sheoak, while looking forward to the future with the performances Keeping Grounded and Brown Boys.
Created in Dance Clan 2023, Keeping Grounded, choreographed by Indjalandji-Dhidhanu and Alywarre woman Glory Tuohy-Daniell, is an exploration of our connection to the earth beneath our feet. Opening with a stunning scene of dancers, lain on the stage under a mass of netting, they begin physically pulsing with the music. The combination of movement and lighting gives the impression that here is the beating heart of the land.
The world is full of distractions, moments disguised as important that ultimately bring us further away from the land that held us, that keeps us grounded in truth. Keeping Grounded explores this push and pull and the healing that can occur when we finally return home. Visually stunning, the use of the netting as an extension of the performers is profound. It both holds and restricts them, connects and displaces them – a barrier that both prevents you moving forward but through which you can see what is just out of reach. What happens if you let go? Will the net catch you?
Choreographed and Directed by Gomeroi mari (Northern NSW), and Tongan from Ma’ufanga, Tongatapu man Daniel Mateo, Brown Boys is a short video performance exploring identity and what it means to be a brown boy. We see a young man surrounded by the weight of his cultural identity – both literally and figuratively. A combination of poetry and movement, as the performance progresses the man begins to remove the roof and walls of the structure he’s been standing in, as if peeling away layers of stereotypes and misconceptions, exposing himself to the light in a stunning display of defiance and truth.
In 2015 then Prime Minister of Australia, Tony Abbott, publicly declared that living in remote Aboriginal communities was a “lifestyle choice”, and used this to justify closing 150 remote Indigenous communities in Western Australia. Sheoak, choreographed by Artistic Director and Co-CEO of Bangarra, Frances Rings, was created as a response to these comments and the misconceptions it created.
Eleven years after it first premiered, Sheoak encourages its audience to reflect on what has not been achieved. To sit with the heavy realisation that this work is as relevant now as it was in 2015. It is now a message of resilience and survival, of belonging. Connection to Country, that unshakeable bond of body, mind and spirit, is fully embraced and explored. Knowledge shared through movement, resilience born of pain and community forged in the fire of the land from which all life began and will return again.
The use of wood to create the visual of a man’s rib cage, combined with the costuming which resembled this particular anatomy, was poignant and quite biblical. According to Christianity, God created Eve from Adam’s rib, signifying unity between men and women. More broadly it could be interpreted as a sign of rebirth, of creation and a return to the body.
Sheoak also paid tribute to composer Roy David ‘Dubboo’ Page, whose beautiful and haunting score provided the backbone of the performance. This is what Bangarra does exceptionally well – effortlessly combining music, movement, visual artistry and storytelling to create work that brings First Nations stories the platform they deserve.
The dancers showcased across these performances in Sheltering were utterly captivating. The physical strength and the emotional depth which they bring to the movement is really what makes these narratives so powerful. To articulate a story through movement, through sheer presence, is an incredible gift, and one that Bangarra continues to create and foster.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Sheltering by Bangarra Dance Theatre will perform at the Sydney Opera House until 13 June 2026.
For more information and to purchase tickets head to the Sydney Opera House website.
Reviewer attended on 3 June 2026.
Photos: Daniel Boud (unless stated).
Dancers
Courtney Radford
Kallum Goolagong
Kassidy Waters
Jye Uren
Maddison Paluch
Daniel Mateo
Emily Flannery
James Boyd
Chantelle Lee Lockhart
Amberlilly Gordon
Donta Whitham
Edan Porter
Zeak Tass
Tamara Bouman
Roxie Syron
Eli Clarke
Maddison Fraser
