The Light Inside

World-renowned, and a leader in Australian performing arts, Bangarra Dance Theatre returns to Wollongong after a long absence, with their highly acclaimed collaborative work: The Light Inside. After wowing audiences in its debut at the Sydney Opera House (as part of double bill Horizon), Bangarra’s first mainstage cross-cultural collaboration sees leading Māori choreographer and Arts Laureate, Moss Te Ururangi Patterson, join forces with beloved Bangarra alumna and proud descendent of the Wakaid Clan and Meriam people of the Torres Strait, Deborah Brown. Together they guide Bangarra’s award-winning ensemble in stories that honour their mother countries and the spirit that calls them home. Brown is a proud descendent of the Wakaid Clan and Meriam people in the Torres Strait, and has heritage from far across the seas in Scotland. She carries strength and resilience from her ancestors. Patterson, born near Lake Taupō, is a proud mokopuna (grandson) of the Ngāti Tūwharetoa tribe, and describes his sense of home as something alive, a f ire inside, that he carries like a beating heart. Experience the resilience of the First Peoples of the Oceania region, that extends across the continent now known as Australia, the Torres Strait Islands and Aotearoa, our southern neighbour.