Congratulations to NAISDA’s 2017 Diploma Developing Artists Lillian Banks and Brad Smith, who have both been accepted to join the critically-acclaimed Bangarra Dance Theatre for 12 months of professional experience and training through the Russell Page Graduate Program.
The pair will make their debut in February as part of Bangarra’s seven-city regional tour of the 2016 work OUR land people stories, before travelling to South Australia to perform in the highly-acclaimed Bennelong at Adelaide Festival. In June, they will take to the stage at the Sydney Opera House for Stephen Page’s world premiere of Dark Emu and embark on their first national tour.
Initiated in 2014, the Russell Page Graduate Program is named after the late Russell Page, a founding member of Bangarra and one of its most revered dancers, who passed away in 2002. The highly sought after program is central to Bangarra’s commitment to building a strong platform for the next generation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists to grow and thrive.
Both Lillian and Brad received critical acclaim and recognition for their stand-out performances in NAISDA’s 2017 end of year season of Restoration at Carriageworks.
We are immensely proud of both Lillian and Brad for this remarkable accomplishment and cannot wait to see them on stage with the Bangarra company, including a host of other NAISDA graduates.