Rise 2026: Guuranda X Rise

GUURANDA X is a family-friendly performance experience that invites people of all ages to gather, listen and move together.Led by Narungga artists, the work brings song, movement and ceremony into a shared space, creating a welcoming environment where children and adults can experience something side by side. It is designed not as a spectacle to sit back and watch, but as a moment of connection to step into together.Each presentation of GUURANDA X grows from the place in which it is shared. The work responds to local landscapes, communities and cultural contexts, allowing the performance to shift and adapt rather than remain fixed. In this way, no two experiences are the same. Rather than telling a single story from beginning to end, GUURANDA X opens a shared moment, one that encourages curiosity, care and a sense of belonging among those who gather.At the heart of the work are First Nations principles that guide how knowledge is shared, how Country is respected, and how responsibility is carried forward for future generations. In Narungga and many First Nations cultures, culture itself is living and evolving. Songs change as people move, stories adapt to new places, and ceremony responds to the moment in which it is held.These ideas are woven gently throughout GUURANDA X, offering families a chance to reflect together on how stories are passed on, how relationships are built, and how care for place is practised. The experience is designed to be welcoming for children, while offering layers of meaning for adults. Young audiences are invited to listen, move and imagine, while older audiences are encouraged to reflect on their own relationships to Country, community and responsibility. There is no requirement to understand everything; instead, GUURANDA X creates space for shared feeling, shared learning and shared presence.GUURANDA X is not just something to watch. It is something to share. It is an invitation for families to come together, to learn from one another, and to imagine how we might walk into the future with care, leaving only one set of footprints behind.Featuring a dynamic cast of Indigenous Australian and Scottish performers, alongside a community choir made up of local voices, this site-specific production is a powerful celebration of collaboration, and a truly unique and unmissable experience.This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body, and with support from the British Councils Connections Through Culture Programme.Credits:
Artistic Director & Choreographer - Jacob Boehme
Lyrics by Jacob Boehme and Sonya Rankine
Original Melodies - Sonya Rankine
Choral Arrangements by Kavi Annadurai, Netra Mani & Piyush Agarwal
Music by KC Taunoa-Brown
Performers - Aunty Lynette Newchurch, Sonya Rankine, Karra Nam, Kaylan, Sima
Scottish dancers -
Lynda Buchan, Lorna Steele-McGinn, Michael Sharpe
Moray Community ChoirAbout the artist
Jacob Boehme is a Narungga/Kaurna artist, director, choreographer and cultural leader whose practice spans contemporary performance, large-scale public ceremony, cultural exchange and community-centred creation.Over the past two decades, his work has shaped how First Nations stories, knowledge systems and ceremonial practices are shared in contemporary performance contexts in Australia and internationally.Notes about the performance:
Guuranda is a moving outdoor performance. Therefore outdoor wear and comfortable shoes should be worn. Full information about meeting points and locations for the performance will be shared with ticket holders 48 hours prior to the event. If you would like to attend but have access requirements, please contact us directly at info@dancenorth.scot.Suitable for all ages