Bangarra Dance Theatre's The Light Inside is a mesmerising cross-cultural collaboration that pushes the boundaries of Indigenous storytelling. The work honours the First Peoples of the Oceania region, and explores cultural resilience and togetherness between Aboriginal Australians, Torres Strait Islanders and our Māori neighbours.
Following a smoking ceremony outside lllawarra Performing Arts Centre (IPAC), Merrigong Theatre Company treated Wollongong audiences to 2025's first performance of The Light Inside on Thursday night. The work will be shown at IPAC again today (Friday, 14 February) and tomorrow (Saturday, 15 February) as part of Bangarra’s 2025 Regional Tour.
“People really enjoy the cross-cultural aspect of it. We’re all Indigenous and doing Torres Strait Islander and Māori dance. We’re a strong Blak company telling strong Blak community stories," said Kallum Goolagong, a Banagarra dancer and proud Wiradjuri and Darkinjung man.
Bangarra Dance Theatre is Australia’s leading Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performing arts company. The Light Inside emerged as part of the national tour of Horizon, which captivated audiences at The Opera House last year.
“[The production] is always living and breathing and changing and evolving,” artistic director Frances Rings said in a Q&A after last night's show.
“We give our choreographers the time and space to create a cultural lifecycle in the creation of our work. We are always working with the communities involved, and coming back and forth in a circle of reciprocity.”
Choreographed by Deborah Brown and Moss Te Ururangi Patterson with the awarded Bangarra Dance ensemble, The Light Inside is captivating from the start. Soundscapes composed by Steve Francis and Brendon Boney paint the show with a blend of ambient natural sounds, traditional language and emotive music.
The Light Inside demonstrates lighting, sound composition and movement in masterful partnership.
“It’s all about the story – and that story comes from when we go out on country and when we sit with elders, when you’re like a six-year-old and like a sponge and you’re taking in all of the sights and sounds, the information. That’s all really important,” Frances said.
Set designer Elizabeth Gadsby and associate set designer Shane O’Brien provide the perfect space to explore cross-cultural commonality, with a reflective floor that seems to ripple like water with the movement of the dancers on stage.
The ensemble moves with equal parts precision and flow through expressions of both Māori and Torres Strait culture and beliefs. The entire ensemble often moves together on stage, with a few notable solos highlighting connection to each choreographer’s motherland.
Lighting designer Karen Norris works to characterise the space and dancers (costumed by Jennifer Irwin) as they move through the elements of peaceful water and fiery intensity.
“Our experience is not one-dimensional, the First Nations experience is deep. Our past lives with us today,” Frances said.
“That’s ever present on stage. It becomes a timeless space, and the show is kind of shape-shifting through different stories and generations.
“We drive that from a place of authenticity but also with the beautiful elements of lighting and costume and sound to bring it to life.”
Book tickets via Merrigong