Students connected through cultural dance as they joined a decade-long legacy of being part of the Yanggaa Garaba Aboriginal Dance Ensemble. Photos: Keeli Dyson.
Hundreds of First Nations students from the Illawarra and beyond are connecting with Country and expressing their culture as part of an ensemble which has been showcasing stories and traditions through performance for more than a decade.
When Alira Morgan first took to the Southern Stars stage at eight years old, the Yanggaa Garaba Aboriginal Dance Ensemble was just a small handful of performers using movement to come together and share stories with each other and their audience.
Now the 21-year-old is leading more than 200 students from the Illawarra, Southern Highlands and South Coast as they embark on their own journey.
“It’s a real full-circle moment, having been a performer during my primary school and high school life and now being a choreographer,” Alira said.
“It’s all about sharing the knowledge and having them understand what each step is about and it’s a form of expression and it’s also a form of representing our people and culture and our stories and our totems as well.
“It’s just really special to be in a position to be able to teach them that.”
It was the same stage where these students will be performing later this year that Alira found her passion for cultural dance, pursuing it further at Australia’s longest running First Nations dance college, NAISDA.
But the impact of this group isn’t just for those looking for a career in the performing arts, with students previously improving their academic performance just for the opportunity to be involved and experience the connection and friendships that are forged within the ensemble.
“I think such a special part of it is students doing better in school just so they can be a part of these things,” Alira said.
“I feel privileged because it’s not every day that you get such a large number of Aboriginal kids to want to participate in something like this so I’m really grateful for their participation as well.”
Southern Stars alumni Alira Morgan led students in moves and lessons linked with their culture.
Students learnt more about the significance behind these practices and meaning within their movements as they gathered at Albion Park High School for the annual Yanggaa Garaba On Country Day.
The event in the lead-up to Southern Stars launched in 2023 to allow the group to meet their peers on the land of their ancestors, learn about the specifics of the land where they meet and how the connections are applied to their performances.
And it’s already creating bonds between students from Year 3 through to high school.
“I really like it because I like meeting new people,” Kiama High School’s EJ Stewart-Reid said.
“We’re just representing our culture by dancing and just having fun with all the age groups and students.”
“It’s just to show off who we are,” Berkeley Primary School’s Georjah-Lee Ranitu said.
“It’s exciting and all the moves are cool and seeing everyone trying their best.”
The group was founded to help students experience their culture through dance but has quickly grown to include vocals, didgeridoo and clap stick playing, ochre, cultural paintings, smoking ceremonies, weaving, beads and costume making, all of which can be seen on the stage at Southern Stars.
It’s become a staple of the annual show, allowing thousands of other performers and audience members to gain insight into the experiences of First Nations young people from our region.
“They’re sharing the intimate parts of who they are as a culture to the rest of our community,” Albion Park High School principal and Southern Stars executive producer Neal Reed said.
“That legacy piece of ‘I’ve done this, I’ve been involved in this’ can help shape a way of seeing the world.”
And it’s hoped that legacy empowers young people to continue vital traditions.
“I think it is definitely a passing of knowledge and story,” Alira said.
“And it’s really important that those stories are being passed to our next generation and our children so that they can then teach those stories for themselves.”
