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Wiradjuri and Gamilaraay dancer, choreographer and actor Beau Dean Riley Smith was photographed by Daly River artist Jacob Nash backstage in the paint-up room, preparing for his performance in the title role of Bangarra Dance Theatre’s Bennelong. Reserved for the dancers, the paint-up room is a sacred space where ochre is applied to the body as an expression of cultural identities and histories. Nash also designed the sets for Bennelong while head of design at Bangarra. Both men won Helpmann Awards for this production.
‘Song, dance and visual art all exist together within one story,’ says Nash. ‘My relationship to the design of the show, to these dancers, to this paint up room and these portraits – the whole thing informs me. It’s the blood. These guys are the storytellers and I’m in this room seeing them become those characters, moments, spirits.’
Rebecca Ray goes backstage with Bangarra’s Head of Design and photographer Jacob Nash.
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