Key Facts:
- Bangarra Dance Theatre will tour internationally in September, premiering FuturesPast at the 54th Festival Internacional Cervantino in Mexico and at the Teatro Julio Castillo in Mexico City.
- The Mexico tour builds on Bangarra’s three decades of international touring and aims to forge new cultural exchange relationships with First Nations artists and institutions across Latin America.
- The Mexico performances follow Bangarra’s appearance at La Biennale di Venezia in July, where the company will perform Terrain
- Bangarra has been awarded the prestigious Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in Dance by Biennale Danza 2026, making them the first Australians and the first company to receive the honour since the award’s inception.
This September, Australia’s pre-eminent First Nations performing arts company, Bangarra Dance Theatre, will embark on an international tour, with the international premiere of FuturesPast at the 54th Festival Internacional Cervantino in Guanajuato, Mexico, and at the Teatro Julio Castillo of Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura (INBAL) in Mexico City this September and October.
Drawing from Mirning woman and Bangarra’s Artistic Director and Co-CEO, Frances Rings’ choreographic career, FuturesPast embodies the spirit, artistry, and strength that have defined Bangarra’s work for 37 years.
FuturesPast carries audiences from the dawn of time, through a cycle of belonging that transcends generations. The work structured in three acts – Old World, People, and Country, journeys through the significant impacts that have challenged Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, honouring the spirit of resilience that has shaped their survival.
The performances in Mexico build on Bangarra’s three-decade history of international touring while opening exciting new pathways for cultural exchange and long-term relationships with First Nations artists and cultural institutions across Latin America. Through storytelling and exchange, this tour strengthens cultural understanding, expands Bangarra’s global First Nations creative network and embeds Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices within international conversations – on issues that connect across cultures and borders.
Bangarra’s tour to Mexico will follow performances of Terrain at La Biennale di Venezia this July, where the company’s global impact for the past 37 years will be recognised with the prestigious Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in Dance by the Biennale Danza 2026, the dance division of La Biennale di Venezia, becoming the first Australians and the first company to receive the esteemed award since its inception.
About us:
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body and through the Australian Cultural Diplomacy Grants Program.
Bangarra greatly appreciates the involvement of the Australian Latin America Foundation in negotiating and realising this tour of FuturesPast.
