Name: An Act of Being
Start: 2025-05-23T08:00:00
End: 2025-06-14T13:00:00
Location: Barangaroo Reserve

Yellow wattle blooms across skin. Bodies stretch, recoil and resist unseen forces as words of colonisation are scrawled across their forms. The weight...

Location:

Walumil Lawns
Australia

Venue:

Barangaroo Reserve

Price:

Free

Artist Details

Frances Rings

Frances Rings is the Artistic Director and co-CEO of Bangarra Dance Theatre. A celebrated choreographer and dancer, she has created critically acclaimed works such as Terrain, Sheoak and SandSong. Frances has also collaborated with leading dance companies in Australia and internationally. She was Head of Creative Studies at NAISDA Dance College and is a champion for First Nations storytelling through dance. Her work is deeply rooted in Country, culture, and connection.

Cass Mortimer Eipper

Cass Mortimer Eipper is an award-winning director, filmmaker and choreographer, renowned for his fusion of dance and cinematic storytelling. His work has been featured by Bangarra Dance Theatre, Sydney Dance Company, and Sydney Opera House. Cass has choreographed for companies including Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and West Australian Ballet. His critically acclaimed work Grey Rhino was widely praised for its bold artistic innovation. Cass’s expertise in visual storytelling and movement continues to push creative boundaries.

Leon Rodgers

Leon Rodgers is a Melbourne-based composer and sound designer, creating scores for film, documentaries and the commercial sector. A recipient of the David Page Music Fellowship (2021), Leon has collaborated with First Nations filmmaker John Harvey and composed for Bangarra Dance Theatre’s Yuldea. With a background in music production, songwriting and performance, his work blends atmospheric soundscapes with rich storytelling, bringing emotional depth and cultural resonance to every project.

Karen Mundine

Karen Mundine, a proud Bundjalung woman, is the CEO of Reconciliation Australia, leading national advocacy and engagement for First Nations rights. She played a pivotal role in historic events, including the Apology to the Stolen Generations and Corroboree 2000. A key architect of the Australian Reconciliation Barometer, she works across government, business and civil society to drive meaningful change. Karen sits on the boards of Sydney Festival and the National Museum of Australia and is a champion of reconciliation and equity.

Collaborators:
Bangarra Dance Theatre / Reconciliation Australia

Event Details

Yellow wattle blooms across skin. Bodies stretch, recoil and resist unseen forces as words of colonisation are scrawled across their forms. The weight of history is undeniable, as these figures are pulled across and between four screens as if being dragged from the past and into the present, and back again.

This evocative projection blends contemporary dance, physical theatre and cutting-edge gostMESH technology to explore the ongoing impact of government policies on First Nations communities. Created by the acclaimed Bangarra Dance Theatre in collaboration with Reconciliation Australia, An Act of Being marks the 25th anniversary of the People’s Walk for Reconciliation across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Historic documents, constitutional text and fragmented data are projected onto moving bodies—living, breathing proof of displacement and resistance. Suspended mid-air, tethered by elastic cords, they fight to break free.

An Act of Being is an act of truth-telling, a reclamation of identity and a vision of a future shaped by the strength of generations past.

Bangarra Dance Theatre

Bangarra Dance Theatre is Australia’s leading First Nations performing arts company drawing on over 65,000 years of culture embodied in contemporary movement. Bangarra’s dancers are professionally trained, dynamic artists with a proud Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander background. Together, they represent the pinnacle of Australian talent.

Reconciliation Australia white logo

Reconciliation Australia is an independent not-for-profit organisation and the lead body for reconciliation in Australia. It promotes and facilitates reconciliation by building relationships, respect and trust between the wider Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Country represented by installation: Australia

Location

-33.856744676185, 151.2013186496

Access and Inclusion

Audio Described Audio Described - Audio description is a service provided for patrons who are blind or have low vision. Trained audio describers give live, objective, verbal descriptions.
Features Audio Features Audio - The event features audio.
Wheelchair Accessible Wheelchair Accessible - Access to the venue is suitable for wheelchairs (toilets, ramps/lifts etc.) and designated wheelchair spaces are available.

An Act of Being