To say it’s an exciting time for Bangarra Dance Theatre—a company of professional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performers and storytellers—is an understatement.
As part of its Dance Clan program, the company is launching a series of brand new works from emerging Indigenous choreographers and creatives on Gadigal Country, at the Studio Theatre in Walsh Bay.
For over 25 years, Dance Clan has fostered the talents of a new generation of dancers and choreographers, launching the careers of storytellers including Deborah Brown, Sani Townson, Tara Gower, and Yolande Brown. In Bangarra’s own words, “Dance Clan is one of the ways we cultivate the ground to raise the next generation of cultural leaders.”
Now, it’s Lillian Banks’ turn. A proud Yawuru woman and storyteller, Lillian has choreographed original works to be performed in Dance Clan. The best part? She had the opportunity to collaborate with her mother’s designs in her work.
We spoke to Lillian about her work with Dance Clan and can’t wait to see it in action. See you there?
Dance Clan has a long history of fostering new voices and talent within Bangarra. What does being a part of this powerful legacy mean to you, especially as a young woman?
Being someone who has so much respect for the dancers before me and where Bangarra came from, it is such an amazing opportunity.
Seeing Fran [Artistic Director and co-CEO Frances Rings] create her early works from Dance Clan is such a beautiful thing – and knowing I get to do the same thing and explore my voice and story is very powerful, and it’s a way for us to challenge ourselves early in our career, to be able to find who we are as individuals, and not just as a Bangarra Dancer.
Can you share about how your upbringing has shaped the emotions and themes in your choreography? How did Broome shape your work?
Living in a full house of eight (two men and six women), there was never a dull moment. There was always laughter and big energy around. I’ve always held those moments and feelings close to me – especially now that I am away from home.
Emotionally, you can always feel when we were all in the happy moment, and in the same way, grieving was always hard. So those emotions play a big part in how I want the sections in the work to turn out and the stories behind each section.
I think Broome has always shaped the way I move, but I think it’s the connection that I always talk about – which is the biggest thing that has shaped me, and what will always be where I draw inspiration from when creating my work and dancing with the company.
How has choreographing been different to dancing? Did you face any challenges?
The big difference for me would have to be me trying to find my way of moving, and the communication behind what exactly I want the dancers to do.
In Bangarra we all have such different styles and so figuring out the way I move to match each dancer or a way to incorporate it in their style has been a challenge.
I think the difference really is that you’re on the other side looking in – which can feel a bit strange in the moment. Being a dancer myself, I’m able to physicalise what I want, and so I have been working on finding the right communication in the space.
You’re collaborating with your mother’s designs. What has it been like working together – and did collaborating enhance the storytelling?
Collaborating with my mum has always been a dream of mine, and it still will happen in the future, but I just think this was the perfect time to incorporate her design because Dance Clan, and Bangarra overall, is set up to be such a safe space.
We get to work with costume designers that could make the costume come to life in a way you never thought it could look like from the inspiration images used. For example, using my mother’s designs, we’ve been able to use the costumes in some sections to further represent the waters and lands.
I feel like it didn’t enhance the story, because I always knew from the moment I got chosen for Dance Clan that it was something I wanted to do. But I think it’s a beautiful way for the both of us to come together and enhance our relationship, making us feel closer despite so much distance apart.
As someone bringing a new story to Bangarra’s rich history, how do you envision the future for First Nations stories in dance and film?
I think Bangarra itself has always allowed us to be who we are and to share our stories and lived experiences within the works we do create.
So a program like Dance Clan is so important for our next generations and future to find what exactly we want to share and have an open conversation with dancers who understand these stories in a safe space.
I think the future is in safe hands with dance itself because we’re building and finding our culture again – and we also know the importance of keeping the story, language and dance alive to pass down to the next generation, it’s just a difference way of sharing stories
I think involving film is also such an amazing opportunity because it just shows all the different ways of keeping your story alive and showing it on different platforms.
What achievement are you most proud of to date?
I think the first achievement is being with the company for seven years. Also being a part of the Freeman documentary.
But I think the biggest achievement is seeing my family proud of who I am today and being able to share what I am doing and keeping our story alive by dancing in the way I know best.
Bangarra Dance Theatre’s Dance Clan is showing from 29 November – 14 December.