Marrugeku Movement Workshop

Marrugeku’s 2024 workshop program is led by three dancers/co-choreographers from the company’s Burrbgaja Yalirra program. Meaning Dancing Forwards in Yawuru, the program supports the next generation of changemakers in contemporary, community-connected, intercultural and Indigenous dance. Emmanuel James Brown, Stanley Nalo and Miranda Wheen have each been co-devising artists on major works for Marrugeku and have conceived and co-created their own solo or duo projects within Burrbgaja Yalirra.

EJB, Miri and Stanley will lead a workshop for emerging professional dancers, dancemakers and artists interested in movement. The workshop will introduce Marrugeku’s devising approaches drawing on personal and cultural backgrounds to create contemporary movement. We will experiment with techniques to layer and structure movement, ideas, characters and cultural influences. Participants with martial arts, hip-hop, street dance, traditional or contemporary Indigenous dance or other movement-based practices are encouraged to attend. The workshop is also open to actors with some movement experience interested in improvisational movement processes to generate theatre.

$50
15 spots available only
Supported places also available, please get in touch with Marrugeku Producer Natalie at producer@marrugeku.com.au 

About Marrugeku
Marrugeku is led by co-artistic directors, choreographer Dalisa Pigram and director/dramaturg Rachael Swain. Together, over almost three decades, they have collaborated with diverse artists to develop new intercultural dance languages that build bridges between remote and urban dance communities and Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists. Based in Yawuru buru (Broome – WA) and the land of the Gadigal (Sydney – NSW) the company engages performers from diverse backgrounds and disciplines to co-devise each production, drawing on their own stories and experiences.

Marrugeku Associate Artists / Workshop Leaders 

Emmanuel James Brown (EJB)
EJB is an actor and traditional dancer who lives in Fitzroy Crossing. When not acting, he works with his Grandfather as a cultural tour guide. He has bush skills, cultural knowledge and fluency in the Bunuba language. EJB completed the one-year intensive course at WAAPA for indigenous students, giving him a Cert IV Aboriginal Theatre and went on to play Ilaji in Jandamarra by Steve Hawke for  Black Swan State Theatre Company in the 2008 Perth International Arts Festival. He played Darudi in the drama/documentary Jandamarra’s War for Wawili produced by Electric Pictures and directed by Mitch Torres for ABC TV. In 2014 he played Jandamarra in the concert version of the story for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House. He also worked with Yirra Yaakin in So Long Suckers. EJB is an Associate Artist with Marrugeku and is a co-devising performer in Jurrungu Ngan-ga and Burrbgaja Yalirra 2.

Stanley Nalo
Stanley Nalo is a hip-hop dancer, born in Nouméa and raised in Vanuatu. After college, he came back to Nouméa where he has danced with many break dance crews. He competed in various hip-hop battles in France including Battle of the Year 2011 (6th place), Juste Debout 2016 (final), and was winner of the European Street Tour event 2016. Stanley has worked with choreographers such as 9 Kader Attou and Brahim Bouchelaghem. In Nouméa, he is part of Moebius Company and performed in Humanité, choreographed by Yoan Ouchot and presented as part of WAAN DANCE FESTIVAL 2017 in Nouméa. Stanley has also been involved in other artistic projects such as "ilma" by la Cie qui balance (Elsa Gilquin), "troc en jambes" choreographed by Veronique Nave from Troc en jambes company (season 2021). During 2022 he has been dancing for both "endeuillés" by Clément Foussier and "Oeuvres", co-choregraphed by Pascal Teouri and Clément Foussier. Stanley has also been a music producer for several dance works for companies such as Nyian (Richard Digouë), la Cie qui balance (Elsa Gilquin) and the previous works mentioned "Endeuillés" and "ilma". Stanley was co-devising performing in Marrugeku’s work Le Denier Appel / The Last Cry which premiered in 2018. More recently Stanley as co-choreographer, concept and performer with Ses Bero’s created Bloodlines a duo as part of Marrugeku’s triple bill Burrbgaja Yalirra 2, which premiered in Sydney and then Perth in 2023 and went on to tour the Kimberley in 2024.

Miranda Wheen
Miranda Wheen is an independent dancer and choreographer based on Dharug country in Sydney. Her practice is rooted in contemporary dance, but also spans areas of intercultural collaboration, improvisation, teaching, community engaged arts, advocacy and dramaturgy for dance. She has been an Associate Artist with Marrugeku since 2017 and has performed/collaborated in their last four shows: Cut The Sky, Burrbgaja Yalirra, Le Dernier Appel and Jurrungu Ngan-ga. Miranda is a founding and current member of Sydney-based Dance Makers Collective (DMC). She directed DMC’s two most recent shows, Dads and The Rivoli, and is currently directing DMC’s new work in development. She also regularly teaches Pro Classes at DMC’s studios for emerging and professional dancers. She has collaborated with a wide range of artists and companies including; Martin Del Amo, Stalker Theatre, Shaun Parker and Company, Ghenoa Gela, Mirramu Dance Company, Julie-Anne Long and the Tsai Jui-Yueh Dance Foundation in Taiwan. She has taught and choreographed for the Pre-Professional year at Sydney Dance Company, been a Board member of FORM Dance Projects as well as Dance Makers Collective. For a time she trained at L’Ecole des Sables in Senegal in Traditional and Contemporary African dance. She graduated from the University of Western Sydney with the Dean’s Medal, and with First Class Honours from Macquarie University.

Marrugeku’s Burrbgaja Yalirra workshop program is supported by the Australian Government through the Indigenous Languages and the Arts program, NSW government through Create NSW and the Feilman Foundation.