BURRBGAJA YALIRRA 2 - Marrugeku

Q Theatre Loft, 305 Queen St, Auckland

17/10/2024 - 18/10/2024

Tempo Dance Festival 2024

Production Details


Curated by Marrugeku’s co-artistic directors Yawuru/Bardi choreographer Dalisa Pigram and Anglo Pākehā director Rachael Swain.

Presented by Marrugeku


Burrbgaja Yalirra 2 – this powerful triple bill traces histories of relocation, adaptation, and survival in two fiercely physical dance solos and an awe-inspiring duo, each exploring the presence of ancestors in contemporary life.

Filipinx performance artist Bhenji Ra’s mesmerising solo, No New Gods is set before, during and after a lunar eclipse. With fierce Filipino stick fighting, Ra summons the Bakunawa who swallowed the moon, a serpent-like dragon believed to be the cause of eclipses, earthquakes, rains, and wind. In choreography that pulses with power, dominance and resistance Ra channels the flora and fora of the Philippine archipelago.

Bloodlines is a rhythmic meditation on Pacifica life by captivating duo, Broome-based Aboriginal (Kunjen) and Torres Strait Islander (Erub/Meriam) dancer, Ses Bero, and Nouméa based Kanak/Ni Vanuatuan/Papua New Guinean dancer, Stanley Nalo. As they grapple with the brutal history of ‘blackbirding’ – the forced labour of South Sea Islanders on the Queensland sugar cane plantations from 1860. Bloodlines celebrates the gentle power of young warriors today and acknowledges their ancestor’s presence in spirit and in rhythm.

Nyuju embodies longing for Country in the central Kimberley, told through the paintings of senior Wangkatjungka artist Nyuju Stumpy Brown which are beautifully reflected in animations. Created and performed by her great-grandson, Bunuba/Gooniyandi/Walmajarri/Wangkatjunka dancer and actor Emmanuel James Brown Nyuju connects dance and Country in a visual feast for the senses.

Burrbgaja Yalirra translated as ‘Dancing Forwards’ in Yawuru is a program of dance research laboratories and new short works, curated by Marrugeku’s co-artistic directors Yawuru/Bardi choreographer Dalisa Pigram and Anglo Pākehā director Rachael Swain. The program builds capacity in the next generation of leading change makers in community and culturally informed contemporary dance. Marrugeku is Australia’s leading Indigenous and intercultural dance theatre company based in Broome, Western Australia.

https://www.qtheatre.co.nz/shows/burrbgaja-yalirra-2-marrugeku

Loft, Q Theatre, Auckland
$15 – $45 (plus service fees)
80 minutes, no interval
17 – 18 Oct 2024
Thu 17 Oct, 6pm – 7:20pm
Fri 18 Oct, 9pm – 10:20pm


Performance artist Bhenji Ra
Dancers: Ses Bero and Stanley Nalo.
Senior Wangkatjungka artist Nyuju Stumpy Brown (painting turned to animations)'
Dancer and actor: Emmanuel James Brown
Curated by Marrugeku’s co-artistic directors Yawuru/Bardi choreographer Dalisa Pigram and Anglo Pākehā director Rachael Swain.


Dance-theatre , Dance ,


80 minutes

Connecting through story is not new for EJB, he has 60,000 years of experience

Review by Teokotai Paitai 19th Oct 2024

Renowned performance artist, Bhenji Ra skillfully directs us to sit in the sound and allow voices of old and new to consume us. Creatures scorn and growl as they smell fear grow amongst a fresh audience. Filipino stick fighting slay on stage, and we’re shifting in our seats hoping for solace to arrive. Horror is a genre in performance, and Bhenji Ra brings forth Existential Being.

This is a committed performance, because spirit is a commitment. An appreciation of watching Bhenji Ra respect her heritage with such ferocity develops into admiration for her storytelling nuance.

Shaken, we await the next serving to roll out. It sang itself into space, rolling and bumping along the way. Laughter and familiar dialogue conjure up summer vibes, and reggae bumps along in the background, we become familiar with a different source of darkness. One that drew the sadness of Blackbirding. It is our history throughout the Moana. This duo of Ses Bero and Stanley Nalo remind us of family. Recognisable movement from our Torres Strait and Kanaky cousins lift our spirits, and we are grounded. Utilising the space, this beautiful collaborative movement delight was a feast strategically centered to guide this audience into the vision of Marrugeku. The subtlety within this work extends its voice from whispers to defiance, bleeding sweat and tears. The working of the deconstructing of the set delivered sorrow, and at the end humour. Sugarcane will always have this connection. These two warriors grounded this work and tie past, present and future together with humility and grace.

With love. Always.

We knew there were three works, and this third work was the masterclass in storytelling. We watched every step plant themselves into red earth of 60,000 years ago. Every stamp shifting time and space and revealing the universe and dreamtime stories of connection. Emmanuel James Brown (EJB) commanded, humbled and assured us. The sound of ancient is the sound of language and respect, as it lands on ear drums. Dreamtime shifts into a lost reality of modern living, where universe becomes snakes that feed grog and constrict a beloved peoples’ right to dignity and their own sovereignty. Connecting through story is not new for EJB, he has 60,000 years of experience.

Fakaue lahi atu, EJB.

Burrbgaja Yalira 2 seeks to develop unapologetic storytelling amongst their artists, and we are grateful. This work allows Aotearoa audiences to see our First Nations family across an ocean that connect us. Marrugeku have graced our shores with strength and dimension in their offering to this year’s Tempo Dance Festival. Take a bow, we are richer in our appreciation of our connection.

Fakaue lahi atu ki, Moss Patterson, for your curation of Tempo ‘25, and to Aaron Huata and the Tempo Board for simplifying our lives with Dance that speaks to Stories of Land and Place.

We wish Marrugeku all our love and support on the tour of Fiji and Vanuatu.

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