THE LIGHT INSIDE Begins its 2025 Regional Tour in Wollongong

After its acclaimed premiere in 2024 as part of the national tour of Horizon, Bangarra Dance Theatre will bring their first cross-cultural collaboration, The Light Inside, to the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre from 13th to 15th February as part of its 2025 Regional Tour. 

This powerful work from two of the world’s great First Nations choreographers will visit Wollongong, Newcastle, and Adelaide in February and March, and Bendigo, Geelong, Wangaratta, and Ballarat in October. 

Māori choreographer and Arts Laureate Moss Te Ururangi Patterson joins beloved Bangarra alumna Deborah Brown to guide the company’s award-winning ensemble in stories that honour their mother countries and the spirit that guides them home. 

The Light Inside honours the First Peoples of the Oceania region, spanning across the continent now known as Australia, the Torres Strait Islands and our southern neighbour, Aotearoa. This story of resilience explores the cultural forces that bind us together, across oceans and eons.

Patterson, a proud mokopuna (grandson) of the Ngāti Tūwharetoa tribe, was born near Lake Taupō. He has created a significant body of work for Atamira Dance Company; New Zealand’s pioneering contemporary Māori dance theatre and this year, brought his extensive experience to the role of Chief Executive and Artistic Director at The New Zealand Dance Company. Throughout his career, Patterson has choreographed for major events and grassroots levels with acclaimed Indigenous artists and has been honoured with choreographic awards from Tempo Dance Festival, Toi Māori, and Creative New Zealand. Describing his sense of home as a living entity, he carries it within like a beating heart.

Brown is a proud descendant of the Wakaid Clan and Meriam people in the Torres Strait with Scottish heritage. A Senior Dancer with Bangarra for thirteen years, Deborah was awarded the Helpmann Award for her mesmerising performance in Frances Rings’ critically acclaimed Terrain. In 2013, Brown made her choreographic and directorial debut with Dive. Since then, she has collaborated with leading artists across the country in works of powerful storytelling.

As part of the tour, the company will deliver workshops to schools and communities across these regions. Bangarra’s regional workshop program commits to sharing their stories and cultures with audiences across the country and fostering the next generation of cultural leaders.

Bangarra Dance Theatre’s artistic director, Frances Rings, says, “The Light Inside is the fresh and dynamic product of an important relationship between two First Nations artists, exploring cultural kinship with water and sky, and what it means to call somewhere home. 

I can’t wait to share this story with the communities across regional New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria. This tour is an opportunity to open audiences up to a broader global First Nations perspective, sharing issues that impact our People and Country across the ocean.”

Merrigong Theatre Company’s Artistic Director and CEO Simon Hinton added “What a joy it is to welcome Bangarra Dance Theatre back to Wollongong after some years. This iconic company always creates powerful, inspiring works, and The Light Inside is no exception. With its extraordinary cross-cultural themes, it provides an incredible opportunity for our audiences to see a deep, moving, cultural collaboration between two contemporary First Nations cultures.”

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