Between Sea and Sky

Bangarra Dance Theatre first brought this cross-cultural work to the main stage of the Sydney Opera House in June 2024. “The Light Inside” is a wondrous collaboration between leading Māori choreographer Moss Te Ururangi Patterson and Bangarra choreographer, Deborah Brown. The work explores the spiritual ties between land, water, and sky—the natural forces that shape First Nations identities across Aotearoa, Australia and the Torres Strait—in one 70-minute production. “The Light Inside” covers two distinct landscapes, Deborah Brown’s “Salt Water,” moving seamlessly into Patterson’s “Fresh Water.” Having debuted at the Sydney Opera House, “The Light Inside” is now touring across Australia.

Performance

Bangarra Dance Company: “The Light Inside” with choreography by Deborah Brown and Moss Te Ururangi Patterson

Place

The Civic Theatre, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, March 2025

Words

Claudia Lawson

Bangarra Dance Theatre in “The Light Inside.” Photograph by Daniel Boud

As a dawning light breaks on the Civic Theatre Stage in Newcastle, on the traditional lands of the Awabakal and Worimi peoples, we see a a mountainous skyline. In the dawn light, Bangarra dancer Daniel Matteo takes to the stage, and the depth and wonder that Bangarra bring to every performance is already evident. As the work builds, three female dancers embody the shape of sails, highlighting the adventurous, seafaring spirit of First Nations people. The set and the lighting move with the same grace and fluidity as the dancers. Scenes merge effortlessly and enchantingly. The horizon disappears, and suddenly we are deep in the salt water. Brown’s ingenious choreography is perfectly symbiotic with the oceanic rhythms. Movements suggest a gentle narrative of storms and stars, while leaving enough room to bask in the imagination of the sea. The highlight of the work is “Reef,” with Steve Francis and Brendon Boney’s delightful score hinting at ocean sounds, coral, pearls, and clams. Daniel Matteo’s opening solo, along with Lillian Banks’ enthralling Blue Star linger long in the memory. Local star on the rise, James Boyd also brought a sense of soaring pride to the performance.

Daniel Matteo in “The Light Inside.” Photograph by Daniel Boud

Without intermission, we are transported to Patterson’s “Fresh Water.” There is a clear shift in energy—“Fresh Water” is immediately more intense in its offering. Patterson, born near Lake Taupō in New Zealand, describes his sense of home as “a fire inside” that he carries like a “beating heart.” This internal flame evident in his choreography. Patterson’s first vignette acknowledges the Atuatanga, the “Godly state” within Māori consciousness. From here we journey through the Great Whirlpool of Parata to the Lake of One Hundred Winds, where we witness the highlight of the night—a grippingly intense performance of the Haka. It pulsates from the stage, the music a rhythmic beating as the dancers move in unison, the audience spell bound. Then in one of the most unusual and captivating pieces of choreography I have witnessed, Patterson presents Makawe Tapu, “sacred hair,” where four dancers, Emily Flannery, Chantelle Lee Lockhard, Jye Ulren and Daniel Matteo, dance with their heads flipped upside-down, their long hair pulled skywards, while braiding and intertwining their bodies.

Bangarra Dance Theatre in “The Light Inside.” Photograph by Daniel Boud

Portraying tens of thousands of years of tradition, language, story, song and culture comes with untold responsibility, and Bangarra have once again delivered with the a wondrous work, “The Light Inside.”

Claudia Lawson

Claudia Lawson is a dance critic based in Sydney, Australia, writing regularly for ABC Radio National, ABC Arts, and Fjord Review. After graduating with degrees in Law and Forensic Science, Claudia worked as a media lawyer for the ABC, FOXTEL and the BBC in London, where she also co-founded Street Sessions dance company. Returning to Sydney, Claudia studied medicine and now works as a doctor. She is the host of the award-winning Talking Pointes Podcast.

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