Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement award ceremony

“With its eighteen versatile and dynamic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dancers, Bangarra Dance Theatre (a Wiradjuri word meaning “to make fire”) is one of the leading and internationally renowned performing arts companies in Australia. Each one of the dancers, proud of their background, draws from a cultural legacy that has spanned 65,000 years across generations, creating powerful works that bring together dance, music and poetry. Since its inception in 1989, Bangarra has made a significant impact on the Australian and global theatre scene, touring productions telling the stories of First Nations peoples.
Stephen Page, a Nunukul/Ngugi man of the Quandamooka Peoples and a Munaldjali man of the Yugambeh Nation, was the artistic director of Bangarra for over thirty years. From 1991 – 2022, Page shaped the company and a landmark body of more than 27 works, transforming the landscape of Australian performing arts and catapulting Bangarra onto the world stage as contemporary First Nations storyteller.
This legacy has been carried forward since 2023 by award-winning choreographer Frances Rings, a descendant of the Mirning Tribe from the west coast of South Australia. Under Rings’ leadership as Artistic Director and Co-CEO of Bangarra, “the company continues its mission to promote awareness and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Striat Islander cultures”.
(from the motivation for the award).