N環球 
Sydney Opera House hosts free DanceRites festival for two days from today
DanceRites 2026, Australia's national First Nations dance competition, runs free on the Sydney Opera House Forecourt on October 24-25, with more than 300 dancers from 18 groups representing over 50 Nations and Clans competing on a 12-metre sand circle stage for a A$50,000 prize pool. Saturday opens with a smoking ceremony and Welcome to Country.
Why it matters
DanceRites is Australia's only national dance competition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups, now in its ninth edition: here dance carries language, history, identity and connection to Country, not just performance. The Opera House stands on Tubowgule, a place of gathering, ceremony and celebration for Aboriginal people long before the building itself — and this festival continues that tradition.
Full report
According to the Sydney Opera House, DanceRites 2026 takes place on the Forecourt on Saturday, October 24 and Sunday, October 25. Entry is free, all ages are welcome, and the event is livestreamed on the Opera House's channels. Eighteen groups representing more than 50 Nations and Clans will perform, with more than 300 dancers taking the stage; 11 groups are making their DanceRites debut and 10 have travelled from regional and remote communities.
Saturday begins at 2 p.m. with a smoking ceremony and spoken Welcome to Country, followed by competition heats and guest performances including the Jannawi Dance Clan and the Mackay Torres Strait Islander Cultural Group; Canadian powwow group the Wabanaki Dancers close Saturday's program. Sunday brings the Wild Card performance, the Cultural Dance and Song Cycle finals, an audience workshop with NAISDA, and the winners ceremony.
The total prize pool is A$50,000: A$25,000 for the winner, A$8,000 for the runner-up, A$8,000 for best Wild Card dance, and two A$4,500 Rites of Passage awards. This edition also honours the late founder Rhoda Roberts AO, with a tribute performance by the Jannawi Dance Clan at Saturday's opening.
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