Over the past week, the Australian arts industry has recognised the outstanding artistic achievements of Bangarra Dance\u00a0 Theatre and its artists, with four awards across the Helpmanns, Australian Arts in Asia Awards and last night\u2019s Australian Dance Awards.<\/p>\n
On Monday July 29 2013, Bangarra Dance Theatre received two Helpmann Awards at the prestigious Sydney Opera House\u00a0 ceremony. Dancer Deborah Brown was awarded the Helpmann for Best Female Dancer in a Dance or Physical Theatre\u00a0 Work for her performance in the 2012 work Terrain. Terrain choreographed by Frances Rings also received the Helpmann\u00a0 Award for Best Ballet or Dance Work. Artist in residence David Page was also nominated for Best Original Score for\u00a0 Terrain.<\/p>\n
On Thursday August 1 2013, the inaugural Australian Arts in Asia Awards took place at Luna Park in Sydney, recognising\u00a0 Australian artists who have engaged with Asia and who have contributed to strengthening cultural links between Australia\u00a0 and Asia. Bangarra Dance Theatre performed at the ceremony and received the inaugural Australian Art in Asia Award in the\u00a0 Dance category for their production Spirit and its recent tours to Mongolia, Thailand and Vietnam. Bangarra shared this\u00a0 award with Annalouise Paul for Game On.<\/p>\n
Bangarra\u2019s Artistic Director Stephen Page said, \u201cThese awards are a wonderful affirmation for the company that we are\u00a0 achieving artistic excellence while we pursue the equally important role of building connections. Whether Bangarra is\u00a0 performing on stage at the Sydney Opera House or a theatre in regional Victoria, running an indigenous youth workshop in\u00a0 remote New South Wales or presenting a performance for brand new audiences in Vietnam, the high quality of our work is\u00a0 what helps create meaningful engagement. During our recent South Asian tour of Spirit, audiences were fascinated by\u00a0 Bangarra’s fusion of traditional culture with modern dance theatre. There was an instant connection with the spiritual,\u00a0 grounded nature of Bangarra\u2019s work and they understood the story-telling that strongly influences our productions.\u2019<\/p>\n
Last night the annual Australian Dance Awards took place in Canberra. Shane Carroll one of Australia\u2019s most outstanding\u00a0 contributors to dance received the Services to Dance Award. Over the last two years Shane Carroll has overseen the\u00a0 development and implementation of Bangarra\u2019s new youth program Rekindling, designed to connect Aboriginal young people\u00a0 with their culture through story-telling and dance. Rekindling has been successfully established in four communities across NSW during 2013 and planning is underway for further communities in NSW as well as Queensland next year. Ms Carroll\u2019s\u00a0 expertise has also been felt by independent Aboriginal artists working with an important sector capacity building program\u00a0 supported by Bangarra and the NSW Government Birrang \u2013 expanding Aboriginal dance horizons in NSW.<\/p>\n
CEO Catherine Baldwin says, \u201cBangarra recognises the valuable insights and knowledge Ms Carroll brings to these\u00a0 innovative initiatives, working with artists to deliver significant benefits to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Both Birrang and Rekindling programs provide opportunities for dancers to build resilience that supports their professional career development.\u201d Bangarra Dance Theatre is Australia\u2019s premier national Indigenous performing arts company. Under the brilliant and\u00a0 inspirational artistic direction of Stephen Page, Bangarra has strived to maintain the cultural integrity and spirit of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tradition, combining it with contemporary expressions of stories, dance and music to create unique theatrical experiences, and to deliver these experiences to audiences across Australia and around the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Over the past week, the Australian arts industry has recognised the outstanding artistic achievements of Bangarra Dance\u00a0 Theatre and its artists, with four awards across the Helpmanns, Australian Arts in Asia Awards and last night\u2019s Australian Dance Awards. On Monday July 29 2013, Bangarra Dance Theatre received two Helpmann Awards at the prestigious Sydney Opera<\/p>\n