Bangarra Dance Theatre’s Illume: a culturally grounded testament to the potential of dance.
Frances Rings : Choreographer & Artistic Director of Bangarra Dance Theatre
Darrell Sibosado: Artistic & Cultural Collaborator
Gadigal Country, Sydney Opera House, 4th June 2025
reviewed by Sarah Kalule
A visually striking, splendid combination of visual art, music and dance, Bangarra Dance Theatre’s Illume debuted at Sydney Opera House’s largest theatre, the Joan Sutherland. After two decades in the smaller Drama Theatre, this was Bangarra’s time to grace the larger space—a venue long reserved for ballet, opera and other Eurocentric offerings; and I would say about time. Artistic Director Frances Rings marked this milestone with a work that affirmed Bangarra’s deep reverence for the continuity of Indigenous knowledge and cultural storytelling. With assistance from Artistic and Cultural Collaborator Darrell Sibosado, this reverence was evident in every aspect of the work. From the melodic chimes and sustained chords that gently underscored the audience’s arrival, we were taken on a carefully curated journey through Bardi and Jawi stories accompanied by symbolic patterns, textual set design, and the mystic intangibility of light. Dancers and design elements intertwined, stood apart, circled near, rearranged and settled. The choreography articulated the importance of Country, history, kinship and connection. It was a stunning performance, each section felt finely tuned and richly layered.
Illume was divided into eleven sections. In Shadow Spirits percussive rhythms and electronic techno synths filled the room while dancers stomped into the ground. In Mother of Pearl (Guan) a smaller group surveyed the geography of place while hands swiped heavily across arms and chests. In a transitional moment, a soloist made considered rotations of their spine and pushed a grand développé through thick air. In Manawan, velvety costumes caught glimmer as they passed under beams of light. In Blood Systems, patterns projected in stark blue-white light, fluorescent ropes wove into part-crosshatching, part-parachute, blinding the audience and exposing our witnessing gaze. Throughout the sections of Illume the dancers seamlessly flowed between unison, improvisation, solos and full ensemble sections. The spirit-filled choreography charged the space. It was highly detailed, sensorially overwhelming.
While awed by these fascinating elements, I left torn between the dazzling intensity of lights, action and sound, but yearned for a sharper assertion of urgency. The programme spoke to themes of climate change, displacement and the platforming of marginalised voices; but for me the message felt disrupted as I found myself lost in the spectacle. But perhaps this tension was the point, the work’s ambiguous manner was intentional, inviting the audience to do the work, the searching, and the reckoning with Illume’s themes. If this was the intention, then the unresolved friction between spectacle and narrative may have mirrored a significant relationship to Country—the importance of asking and being permitted. This was made clear through the work’s floor-to-ceiling partition which raised and lowered, at times veiling the performers and separating them from the audience. At other moments this partition was obscured by dark projections so we couldn’t see what was taking place, then it became transparent so that we questioned whether it was raised or hidden in plain sight. This blurring between the seen and unseen ensured it was only on the work’s terms that the audience was permitted to bear witness. Through this theme of permission, the partition symbolised a clear performer-audience divide, establishing a controlled gateway to accessing the work. The messaging I received was a reclamation of power, of narrative, of what is shared and what is kept sacred. Amongst the layering of many themes, one moment of difference stayed with me:
A physical and spiritual unveiling.
A quietening.
A firepit ignited.
Smoke rising.
Ash falling onto a circle of six.
Tender bodies bathing one another with smoke’s remains.
A collaborative couple rearranging red-brick plinths.
Smoke swelling through the crowd.
Hot air embracing the highest point of my forehead.
This potent and poignant moment, Gajoorr into Middens, resembled a ceremony, or perhaps a remembering. I kept thinking, how lucky are we, the audience, to be invited into this sacred space. We are reminded of our visitation, here, on Country. We are asked to pause, to listen and to reflect.
After an abundance of movement that felt like it reached into the universe and burrowed deep into the earth, this moment zeroed in.
The spectacle dialed down.
The technical dancing ceased.
A communion commenced: gathering, clothing, stillness.
In contrast to the other sections filled with flashing lights, pulsing sounds and complex choreography, this quiet moment held dramatic weight, counterpointing the work’s overall flow. It offered a different pace, a different depth. Here, the simplicity of bonding around fire became a threshold into tens of thousands of years of practice, knowledge and ancestry. I could have watched this for hours. It could have been the entire work, and I would have been satisfied. This moment was a well performed take on less is more, and an impressive contribution to the overall work.
Illume is a testament to the potential of dance theatre that is both visually captivating and culturally grounded. Despite the first night jitters (a point that Rings mentioned as it was their first time presenting with all production elements combined) the standing ovation was well deserved. Frances Rings, Darrell Sibosado, the dancers of Bangarra Dance Theatre, and the entire creative team of Illume are to be commended for their immense dedication and their unwavering commitment to truth-telling through dance, theatre, music, visual art and light.
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Gadigal Country, Sydney Opera House, 4th-14th June 2025
Choreographer: Frances Rings
Artistic & Cultural Collaborator: Darrell Sibosado
Performers: Lillian Banks, Tamara Bouman, James Boyd, Eli Clarke, Kallum Goolagong, Daniel Mateo, Maddison Paluch, Edan Porter, Courtney Radford, Roxie Syron, Zeak Tass, Jye Uren, Kassidy Waters, Donta Whitham
Set Design: Charles Davis
Costume Design: Elizabeth Gadsby
Emerging Costume Designer: Rika Hamaguchi
Lighting Design: Damien Cooper
Video Design: Craig Wilkinson
Composer: Brendon Boney
Cultural Consultants: Trevor Sampi & Audrey (Pippi) Bin Swani
Rehearsal Director: Rikki Mason
Production Manager: Cat Studley
Bangarra Company Manager: Joseph Cardona
Bangarra Artistic Director & Co-CEO: Frances Rings
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Sarah Kalule is an artist exploring choreography, literature and experimental performance. With a strong interest in contemporary art theory, her current practice delves into her diasporic histories, theatrical jazz and presenting the body in space through bold imagery.