West Australian Ballet Workshops
Join West Australian Ballet (WAB) for professional workshops with acclaimed choreographer and the Artistic Director of NT Dance Company, Gary Lang. Working with WAB on the development of Milnjiya, Milky Way – River of Stars for WAB’s 2018 Ballet at the Quarry season, this is a ground-breaking new work of Aboriginal dance meeting classical ballet.
Each session will begin with a warm up based on yoga, a ballet barre and contemporary technique, then move into a series of cultural steps and gestures derived from traditional dance, and work on repertoire from one of Gary’s upcoming pieces. Participants will be asked to bring their own understanding and experience of culture.
This is a ground-breaking collaboration between NT Dance and West Australian Ballet (WAB), fusing Aboriginal dance and classical ballet in a world premiere for WAB’s 2018 Ballet at the Quarry season. Gary’s vision for Milnjiya is to create a work around his people’s traditional song cycles and includes a traditional song man, didgeridoo (Yidaki) player and an Indigenous opera singer (Deborah Cheetham) integrated into the performance as part of the song cycle representing the spirit world.
This project is supported by the Australian Government Australia Council for the Arts, and Catalyst, the Australian Arts and Cultural Fund.