The Australian Consulate-General in Ho Chi Minh City announced a special performance featuring one of Australia’s leading indigenous dance groups “Descendance” on April 16 at the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Cultural House.
The performance in Ho Chi Minh City is part of Descendance’s tour to Vietnam this year. They will also perform in the central provinces of Thua Thien - Hue and Da Nang.
In Thua Thien - Hue, the group of five artists have been invited to showcase their talents at the opening ceremony of Hue Festival on April 7 followed by several other performances during the Festival. In Da Nang, Descendance will perform at the Da Nang University of Technology on April 13.
Since being established in 1993, Descendance has performed extensively across Australia in movies, theatre, television, cultural centres and international festivals.
Descendance has also toured over 40 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa and the United States making them one of Australia’s leading international cultural exports to the world. Descendance was the winner of the World Dance and Peace Prize at the World Culture Open organised by UNESCO in Korea in 2004, where they competed among entrants from seventy countries.
The Descendance Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Dance Theatre was born from the mighty Ngaru Aboriginal Dance Company, Sydney's first professional independent traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Dance troupe established in 1993. In 2000 the name was changed to "Descendance".
Descendance has over fifty dancers from diverse tribes across Australia. Descendance today is helping create work for many other Aboriginal artists in areas outside dance, from modelling, painting and popular music, to writing and acting.
Descendance along with world music artistic director Jose Calarco has begun a new genre of contemporary indigenous performance; this fusion style has never been undertaken by an Aboriginal company before. It has accumulated a distinguished resume of live performances, and have been invited to perform for international celebrities such as Nicole Kidman, Mel Gibson, Janet Jackson, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Descendance also has performed for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Ambassadors, Governor Generals, Presidents, Prime Ministers, and many other political dignitaries both in Australia and abroad.
