[Bangarra Dance Theatre : programs and related material collected by the National Library of Australia]

Bangarra Dance Theatre is an Indigenous Australian contemporary dance company, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisation, and one of Australia's leading performing arts companies. It was founded in 1989 by Carole Johnson, an African-American and founding director of National Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA). Bangarra is the Wiradjuri word meaning "to make fire". Stephen Page has been the artistic director of Bangarra Dance Theatre since 1991. The first full-length show Praying Mantis Dreaming was produced in 1992, and new works have been produced annually since. The company has toured overseas extensively, and made significant contributions to the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2000 Summer Olympics.