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Artistic Director and Choreographer
Stephen Page
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Artistic Director and Choreographer
Patyegarang
Stephen Page discusses Patyegarang for the Canberra Theatre Centre's 'Collected Works 2014'
A young woman of intense and enduring courage, Patyegarang is a proud spirit, an educator and visionary -- today inspiring respect and knowledge of Aboriginal language and culture.
Through his distinctive choreography, Bangarra Dance Theatre Artistic Director Stephen Page imagines the sensations and emotions of 'first contact' when this courageous young Aboriginal woman shared her language, her time and her friendship with colonist, Lieutenant William Dawes.
Page embraces the spirit of Patyegarang to create a remarkable narrative dance work that tells the story of this astonishing act of generosity and cultural exchange, while drawing reference from the notes that Dawes, an astronomer, mathematician and linguist, faithfully recorded.
Patyegarang guided Lieutenant William Dawes to understand the deep, spiritual significance of Aboriginal ancestors, myths and creation stories, which will be celebrated in 2014 in this new dance theatre work by the internationally acclaimed Bangarra.