Unungkati Yantatja – one with the other

Unungkati Yantatja – one with the other, the powerful creative forces of Stephen Page, esteemed composer William Barton and Sydney Dance Company.

Page’s choreography embodies Barton’s composition, calling out to land, sea, sky, and creature, whilst carefully connecting us all to the spirit of our creation breath.

This work saw Barton joined live on stage with the award-winning Omega Ensemble, who commissioned the underlying, powerful score. Blown gently across the stage, Unungkati Yantatja  is a dedication to the force of our earthly breaths, intrinsically connecting us to country, to each other and to the continual rhythm of life.

Choreography: Stephen Page
Music commissioned by: Omega Ensemble
Music performed by: William Barton with the Omega Ensemble
Lighting Design: Damien Cooper
Set Design: Jacob Nash
Costume Design: Jennifer Irwin

Proudly supported by the Girgensohn Foundation, Sandra McCullagh and the Carla Zampatti Commissioning Fund.

Musical score commissioned by Omega Ensemble and adapted for the stage with the generous support of Ian Plater, Julianne Maxwell, The Darin Cooper Foundation, Peter Howard and the Simpson-Michel Foundation.

Excerpt from Continuum 2025 program.

I was invited by Rafael Bonachela to choreograph a work for this triple bill, after he had heard and fell in love with the score.
He had connected with an initial 20 minute recording of William Barton and Omega Ensemble’s Breath – the gift of life and felt that it was a composition that needed to be explored through dance. After 30 years with Bangarra, I was planning on a small break from dance to build projects in different creative fields, but Sydney Dance Company was where I started my career as a dancer and that circularity felt special to me.

Developing Unungkati Yantatja – one with the other has been a different process for me. Usually, I start with a blank canvas, creating my work from there. We’d start with stories – traditional and contemporary, then build the choreography and score around it. With this project I was brought in when they had some of the ingredients – the score was already set. This was an interesting challenge, and I started working to find my way into the story – what was William, his creative spirit, feeling during the development of the composition?

William talked about his fascination with circular breathing, and how the initial composition was developed with David Rowden, Artistic Director of Omega Ensemble playing two ancient wood instruments – the Yidaki and clarinet that both have this practice. We talked about how sacred breath is also such a human necessity. This drove the development of the work for me. We aligned on the genesis of the story, the universality of breath – the inhale and exhale of breath, and the breath in all things whether its humans, plants, animals, sky, water. This felt like a truth in all cultures, but also so linked to the kinship systems in First Nations storytelling. Stephen was the Artistic Director of the Adelaide Festival in 2004, and currently sits on the Adelaide Festival Board.

I’ve found a really incredible connection with the Sydney Dance Company dancers during the development of this work. There are few companies, globally, that work at such a high standard technically. They have such a unique creative spirit and connect as a clan so well. I really enjoyed bringing the knowledge I have of dance, my distinctive language and William’s story that I’ve been entrusted with, to make something important, with the physical artistry of these incredibly talented dancers.

It was wonderful that I could call upon my creator clan, who I’ve worked with for many years: Jacob Nash for set design, Jennifer Irwin for costume design, and Damien Cooper for lighting. They know the contemporary spirit, and they’re exceptionally creative and good at what they do. It’s great to have them work with me again. I’m thankful for William who invited me to take care of his composition and to lead this story creatively and to Rafael to invite me to work with the company again.

★★★★½ “The combination – on just one stage – of Barton’s presence, Page’s masterful choreographic instincts, and the artistic excellence of the SDC dancers and Omega Ensemble is almost an embarrassment of riches.”– Sydney Morning Herald 

“Page’s… movement is filled with sincerity and care.” – Dance Australia 

★★★★½ “Barton’s musicality and mere stage presence is nothing short of magnetic.” – Sydney Morning Herald 

“The combination of instruments, voice and breath is textural, cinematic and profoundly moving.” – Dance Australia 

Continuum – Premiere
Roslyn Packer Theatre, Walsh Bay Arts Precinct, Sydney
22 October – 1 November 2025