Adelaide Festival Masterclass: Bangarra Dance Theatre

The Mill in Partnership with Adelaide Festival present a masterclass with Bangarra Dance Theatre (NSW) - an exploration of cultural elements of dance in a contemporary setting.

About the masterclass:

While in Adelaide performing in Adelaide Festival, Bangarra is committed to engaging with the community beyond the performance and will be holding a contemporary dance workshop. This session focusses on exploring cultural elements of dance in a contemporary setting.

Facilitated by two of the company members, who share the rich culture and history that is sewn through their storytelling.

Wudjang: Not the Past follows the journey to honour Wudjang with a traditional resting place on Country. Combining poetry, spoken storytelling and live music with our unique dance language, this profoundly evocative piece of First Nations performance promises to be a benchmark Australian production.

Wudjang: Not the Past can be seen at the Festival Theatre from Tuesday 15 – Friday 18 March

Any cancellations due to Covid-19, tickets will be refunded

Please note participants will need to be double vaccinated to attend. Please have your vaccination certificate ready to check in to the masterclass. you will not be permitted entry without it.

Experience level:

First Nations and Indigenous high school / tertiary students (preferred) or dance specialist high school/tertiary level students. Age: 14 - 26 yrs.

Note: Dance specialist school children will require a teacher to attend and supervise

About the company:

Bangarra Dance Theatre is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisation and one of Australia’s leading performing arts companies, widely acclaimed nationally and around the world for our powerful dancing, distinctive theatrical voice and utterly unique soundscapes, music and design.

Led by Artistic Director Stephen Page, Executive Director, Lissa Twomey and Associate Artistic Director Frances Rings, we are currently in our 32nd year but our dance technique is forged from over 65,000 years of culture, embodied with contemporary movement. The company’s dancers are professionally trained, dynamic artists who represent the pinnacle of Australian dance. Each has a proud Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander background, from various locations across the country.

About the masterclass facilitators:

Rikki Mason is a descendant of the Kullili people from South West Queensland and is from Inverell in Northern New South Wales. Rikki also has Danish, German, Scottish and Irish heritage.

Rikki was born and raised in the country town of Inverell on land of the Gamilaraay people. He grew up playing football representing NSW Country Catholic Schools for Rugby League, NSW CHS for Touch Football and studying Koshiki Karate he was named Junior World Champion in 2000. He took his first dance class in 2007 at the age of 17 and went on to train at the Australian Dance Performance Institute (ADPI) and L’Ecole-Atelier Rudra-Bejart in Switzerland.

Rikki has performed with the Brisbane City Youth Ballet, Queensland National Ballet, Lucid Dance Theatre and Television shows including Everybody Dance Now (2012) and So You Think You Can Dance (2014).

Rikki joined Bangarra in 2014, and has since toured regionally, nationally, internationally and On Country in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities all over Australia. Performing On Country is always a highlight for Rikki as well as performing solo The Call from Walkabout on stages around the world. "Connecting and performing stories gifted to Bangarra from communities around Australia is a great honour."

Rika Hamaguchi is from Broome in Western Australia. She is a descendant of the Yawuru, Bunaba, Bardi and Jaru people in the Kimberley Region. Rika also shares Japanese, Chinese and Scottish ancestry.

Before joining Bangarra in 2015, Rika studied at NAISDA Dance College, where she was awarded the prestigious Chairman’s Award.

Rika is a senior artist with the company and is grateful to have worked with a number of artists and cultural tutors throughout her career. She is honoured to be able to perform and consult on a Kimberley work such as SandSong. She’d like to acknowledge The Kimberley community back home who have shaped her into who she is today.

Rika has toured nationally (Bennelong, lore, OUR land people stories, Dark Emu and 30 years of sixty five thousand), regionally (Kinship, Terrain, OUR land people stories, Bennelong, Spirit: a Retrospective) and internationally (Europe, Asia, America).

Photo credit: Daniel Boud

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