Bangarra is offering low cost tickets for Community Night performances to local community groups and organisations, as well as individuals, directly because of the generous support it receives from The Balnaves Foundation. In 2017, it is expected that this partnership will increase access to Bangarra to over 1,200 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members.
Community Nights are an important way of giving back to the people and communities that inspire Bangarra’s stories. They are also often the very first public performances of our new works in Sydney, ensuring that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are our first, and most important, audiences.
Bangarra is pleased to be partnering with The Balnaves Foundation in 2017 to deliver these special Community Night performances in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. Bangarra is the only Major Performing Arts company in Australia with its cultural origins in this land.
The Community Nights program is part of our commitment to deepen our relationships with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities who inspire the positive experiences that Bangarra creates for all. With each theatre full of those proud of their culture, these nights are celebratory shows with an enthusiastic and warm crowd.
A recent Sydney Community Night for Bennelong was fully subscribed and an upcoming Community Night will be held in Melbourne on Wednesday 6 September at Arts Centre Melbourne. The Community Night will return to Sydney as part of the Ones Country – the spine of our stories season at Carriageworks on Thursday 30 November.
For Hamish Balnaves, general manager of The Balnaves Foundation, supporting Bangarra to increase access to their productions is important to the Foundation’s aim of creating a better Australia. “The Balnaves Foundation is proud to support Bangarra’s commitment to ensuring that their inspiring, authentic and positive work is accessible to all,” said Mr Balnaves.
“Both organisations have shared values; we agree that sharing stories and passing down knowledge through the generations makes communities better and stronger.”
Bangarra’s critically acclaimed work, Bennelong opens at Arts Centre Melbourne this week. For more information about the Community Night, visit: www.bangarra.com.au for details.
Image: Bangarra presents Bennelong – photo by Daniel Boud