The ACPA dancers are coming to the Sydney Opera House for Homeground. What should audiences expect?
A sizzling fusion of traditional Aboriginal and contemporary – Australia’s First Nation’s dances recontextualised for the 21st century.
Who are the performers involved, and where do they come from?
We are from all over Australia – every state – we think of ourselves as one mob, though. At ACPA we are a very tight-knit community.
ACPA doesn’t only concentrate on dance – what other programs does it run?
Students can study acting and music as well. We get the likes of Michael Attenborough from the RSC to come in, Missy Higgins in music. We have three wonderful heads of school – Stella Majewsky is our international head of acting; she has taught all over the world and arrived a couple of years ago from Ireland. Nathaniel Andrew is our head of music and Bradley Chatfield our head of dance. Bradley is one of the best ballet dancers this country has ever produced and has won best dancer in Australia many times; Nathaniel has been on over 40 albums as a world-class bass player.
Currently, ACPA is based in Brisbane. Are there plans to expand across Australia?
Not at the moment – but who knows?
How important is it for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to explore their culture in performance? What about the non-indigenous community?
We are the world’s oldest living culture – we’ve been around since the Dreamtime – and hopefully will be here for a long time to come. It’s in our blood; that should be shared with the whole of the world.
Homeground is being held at theSydney Opera HousefromSaturday November 22 to Sunday November 23, tickets online.
