SandSong: Stories from the Great Sandy Desert

Bangarra launch their latest work. At the heart of this land is the Living Water – Jila – that resides in desert waterholes across the region and is the basis of cultural beliefs and practices. Sandsong tells the unique story of this Place and the survival of its People with performances from June in Sydney to September in Melbourne 2021.

Between the 1920s and 1960s, Aboriginal people were removed off their Country and onto pastoral stations where they were forced into hard labour, usually for no wages and only minimal rations. Despite this displacement and cultural disruption, the Traditional People of the Western Desert have maintained unbroken connection to Land and Country – keeping songs, stories and kinship strong.

SandSong is a journey into ancient story systems framed against the backdrop of ever-changing government policy and of the survival of people determined to hold strong to their Culture.

SandSong is created by Bangarra Dance Theatre in consultation with Wangkajunga/Walmajarri Elders from the Kimberley and Great Sandy Desert regions, drawing on the stories, knowledge and memories of the past to create a new narrative for our Indigenous futures.

This work honours the legacy of Ningali Josie Lawford-Wolf and her family – past, present and future.

For further information visit; https://www.bangarra.com.au/

Image courtesy of Bangarra