REVIEW: Sheltering
- Ashlyn Hunter
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
Some say art is about stepping outside your comfort zone. About learning something entirely new, shedding your familiar skin, or stepping into another character’s world. For me, heading into the Sydney Opera House to review Bangarra Dance Theatre was exactly that: a leap into uncharted territory. As a theatre lover, I am someone who is used to text and spoken dialogue to help navigate a story. To be prodded into learning a storyline without many words to fall back on felt intimidating. Yet, through this production, I found there is an incredible magic that happens when you strip away the verbal communication. A profound emotional connection can be forged
through pure body movement, bypassing the brain and speaking directly to the heart.
Bangarra Dance Theatre’s Sheltering comprises of three separate works. This triple bill includes opening work, Keeping Grounded (choreographed by Glory Tuohy-Daniell), which then moves into Brown Boys (by Daniel Mateo and Cass Mortimer Eipper), a short film composed of dance and poetry. Then is Frances Rings finale, Sheoak. All of these pieces seamlessly weave together three distinct eras of First Nations truth-telling.
From the moment the performance begins, it is clear that the dancers of Bangarra Dance Theatre are impossibly skilled, dynamic, and fearless. They move with a level of grace that exemplifies exceptional skill, especially when using minute and extremely controlled movements to intentionally convey meaning. I will always have an immense appreciation for artists who can execute physical feats I could never think of.
The opening sequence was perhaps my favourite moment of the entire show. The performance begins with a singular net, marred by a few gaping holes, which becomes the focal point of the stage. The choreography starts with an incredibly fluid, dynamic synchronicity as the ensemble moves as one cohesive organism. However, the brilliance lies in how this single prop is utilized across this routine to tell a sweeping, heartbreaking story. The dancers use the net to suspend themselves,
hanging from its threads with breathtaking ability, or remaining trapped within its confines. As the piece progresses, you watch this beautiful synchronicity intentionally fade, brilliantly mirroring the damage done to the characters connection to the land. Whether the net acts as a literal snare or a metaphor for a struggle to connect with the land through colonisation, it was enchanting to see this prop carry an entire narrative arc. The set designer for this metaphorical net, Shana O'Brien, did an incredible job.
The technical design elements elevate the storytelling to a whole other level. Karen Norris’s lighting design utilises both powerful upstage and haunting backstage lighting to carve shadows into space. But it isn't just the sheer scale of the lighting that impresses; I found that it was specifically the intimacy of how it contorted and formed around Kallum Goolagong in a mesmerising solo dance. The shadows cast by the lights accentuated the lines of his shoulders, locking the audience into his every meticulous movement. It was truly extraordinary to witness an entire theatre fall completely silent and collectively transfixed by the rawness etched into his
shoulder blades as he moved.
The undisputed stellar point of this piece is the production’s innovative use of props. Whether it is the incredible net structure mentioned previously, or rigid jackets used to visibly restrict the dancers, acting as a symbol of control. Or perhaps the enchanting lighting of a blanket that I can only describe as galactic and ethereal in movement; folding and forming around bodies that the audience couldn’t see. I found these works ability to show disruption to land and weave story through the power and gravity of movement breathtaking.
Ultimately, Sheltering is a profound piece of cultural storytelling. Getting to witness these histories and endurances expressed so powerfully through movement is a privilege. Bangarra has crafted a production that is as physically stunning as it is vital to watch, and it’s a show I would urge everyone to experience.
‘Sheltering’ by Bangarra Dance Theatre plays at the Sydney Opera House until June 13.
