Torres Strait and Cairns dancer Lolarose Lyons has been selected as a featured dancer for Stories of Our Land, a new musical work exploring the diverse cultural identities, lived experiences and Country of young First Nations performers. Photo: Supplied.
The stories of young First Nations performers across Australia will intertwine in a new musical work to be unveiled in Brisbane next month.
Presented by The Youth Mill Performing Arts Foundation (TYMPAF), Stories of Our Land will feature Cape York and Torres Strait talent alongside those with cultural connections spanning Queensland, the Northern Territory, Victoria, Western Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
Together, they will carry audiences across island, coastal, rainforest, inland and urban Country, reflecting the diversity of the performers’ cultural identities, lived experiences and connections to place.
Moa Island and Cairns’ Lolarose Lyons will bring a wealth of both cultural and stage performance experience to the show as a featured dancer alongside Sunshine Coast dancer Jahmarly Davis.
Thursday Island-born Attani Enosa will fill Princess Theatre with her emotive vocals, along with Mer Island singer Josiah Nehow, Western Australian and New Zealand singer Lenae Haerewa-Kaa, and Victorian singer Breanna Lee Wilson.
The production will be guided by narrator Diana David, a Far North Queensland woman with connections to the Gunggandji, Southern Kaanju, Kulkalgau Ya and Kalau Kawau Ya peoples.
Her voice will help viewers seamlessly put together the performers’ individual stories of home, family, identity and belonging portrayed through dance, vocals, live strings, First Nations artwork and cinematic performances filmed on Country before everything culminates in the final act — a full-cast performance of Land Called Australia.
TYMPAF CEO and artistic director Margaret Lim said Stories of Our Land was about empowering young First Nations voices and inviting audiences to experience First Nations cultures from the authentic perspectives of young people, expressed through story, music and performance.
“Every performer brings their own story, culture and lived experience to the stage, creating a powerful journey that is deeply personal while speaking to something we all share — connection,” she said.
“This production celebrates the strength, diversity and creativity of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, while honouring the cultures and communities that have shaped them.”
