8 April 2026 (matinee). Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House.
Almost 20 years ago, in October 1997, Bangarra Dance Theatre and the Australian Ballet collaborated on a production, Rites, choreographed by Stephen Page, then artistic director of Bangarra. It was a landmark event and the work has since been restaged and has toured and been the subject of a major exhibition in Melbourne. Flora, choreographed by current director of Bangarra, Frances Rings, follows that collaborative tradition.
Flora, in typical Bangarra style, consists of several sections (in this case 12) making up a storyline. The storyline focuses in this case on the evolution of Australian flora beginning with ‘Mother Seed’ and moving eventually to ‘Bush Flowers’. Early moments show bodies representing seeds or young plants entering the earth (stage) from above. As the work continues various moments in the progress of growth are presented.
For me the highlight of the work was the section that opened Act II. Called ‘10 Days’, it represented the actions of Sir Joseph Banks who, while in Australia in the early years of British colonisation, removed hundreds of species of Indigenous plants from their natural environment and took them back to England. The program notes state, ‘The collection of species and objects to display in museums reduces First Nations People and cultures to artifact status.’
Both the set (Elizabeth Gadsby) and costumes (Grace Lillian Lee) for this section were exceptional and, in addition, it was at this stage that political elements surfaced strongly. I am not sure, however, that the reference to the removal of the notion of ‘Aboriginal people’ from the official (political) understanding of the Australian community (as unbelievable as that policy was) needed to be so stark and loudly presented. But then Rings usually makes no bones about her determination to make a political statement through her works.
The final section ‘Bush Flowers’ was another highlight, largely (once more) as a result of Grace Lillian Lee’s totally spectacular costumes. But I did wonder, given their emphasis on extensive detail, if they were difficult to move around in, but the dancers performed effortlessly.
Although there was much to admire in Flora, especially from a visual point of view and from the accompanying score composed by William Barton, the choreography did not move me. While the movement was always fluid and made excellent use of the space of the stage (on, around and above it), the movement itself often seemed without any reference to the actions it was accompanying. If the online descriptive analysis had not been written (and read) would we have had much of an idea, especially in the early sections, about what was taking place?
Very recently I read a book called Diaghilev. Creator of the Ballets Russes, which I had not seen before. Edited by Ann Kodicek, it contained articles by several authors, including one by Irina Vershinina on the music Diaghilev chose for the works he commissioned. In that article I read a comment from designer Léon Bakst in which he said, ‘Our dances, our settings, our costumes—they are all so exciting because they reflect that most elusive and secret thing—the rhythm of life.’ I really wish I had read the comment (and the book) before I saw Flora. The concept of ‘the rhythm of life’ would perhaps have allowed me to see Rings’ choreography in a different light rather than with the frustration that kept rising in my mind.
Michelle Potter, 12 April 2026
Featured image: A scene from Flora. The Australian Ballet and Bangarra Dance Theatre, 2026. Photo: © Kate Longley
I watched this performance as a member of the general public. I paid $207 for my ticket.
Kate Longley’s photo of Flora — with Golden Flowering dancers upside down atop the poles held aloft by Red Earth dancers, while Gardening Dancers rake the earth — is truly astonishing — as indeed the dance work must have been for this image to exist. What a remarkable collaboration between two companies.
I am reading The Rite of Spring – Music of Modernity – by Gillian Moore. Everyone knows about the premiere of Le Sacre du Printemps in Paris 1913, but who knows what works preceded and followed it on the triple bill? Read this book to find out the mind-blowing answer. The book is impeccably researched, tightly and intensely written, a grippng read.
Thanks for your comment Jennifer. Bangarra productions have always had a very strong visual element to them and Flora was no exception.
I was however especially interested in your comment about Gillian Moore’s book, which I haven’t read. I certainly must get a copy. You are right that the works that accompanied The Rite of Spring at its opening performance in 1913 are not well known. I didn’t know what they were.
I finally found the answer in a book published in Paris in 2009 les ballets russes. (Yes, the title has no upper case letters!). The program was Les Sylphides, Le Sacre du printemps, Le Spectre de la rose and Danses du Prince Igor. I am assuming this is correct as the book was published by the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
But I will nevertheless get myself a copy of the Moore book.
What stunned me was to learn that Nijinksy danced in both Les Sylphides and Le Spectre de la Rose on the same night as his Sacre premiere… !! Moore tells us what the weather was like on the night, who was in the audience, who later wrote they were there when in fact it is known from other published sources they were at the second performance, an altogether quieter affair … such fastidious research is rare …
I don’t know the compositions of William Barton … but wonder if Flora would work to Stravinsky’s Rite? I am always interested when two independent choreographies are set to the same music and performed in tandem.
Thanks Jennifer. I think it would certainly be interesting to see Flora danced to the Stravinsky, although I don’t think it would ever happen. William Barton is an Indigenous man and I feel sure that his background is something that Frances Rings is very happy to pursue (apart from the fact that he is an outstanding composer and performer).
Then Flora is very much structured in what I might call a ‘Bangarra mode’. That is it is a narrative put together in a series of sections. They are, despite each being joined in terms of the unfolding of the storyline, quite separate and I just feel that the Stravinsky wouldn’t fit well with that structure.
Anyway, these are just random thoughts that arose in my mind after pondering your interesting comment. Not meant to be anything beyond a ponder!