Deadly dancing

Under the The Tropical North Queensland Drought Resilience and Innovation Hub (TNQ Hub), the Sustainable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Enterprise Program (SATSIE) was extremely proud to be able to support the AFL Cape York House Aboriginal & Torres Strait Cultural Dance Teams on their dream to perform on the steps of the Opera House at the Dance Rites Competition.

Not only did they achieve the dream of travelling to Sydney, both the Torres Strait Islands and the Aboriginal teams competed in the Top 10 Finals event with the Aboriginal Dance Team receiving runner up.

AFL Cape York House is a not-for-profit organisation assisting young people to transition from remote communities across Far North Queensland by working with families and individuals. They provide educational, employment and training opportunities for Indigenous youth from across Cape York and the Torres Strait.

The Cultural Dance Program was established to encourage the preservation and celebration of cultural traditions among Indigenous youth. “Education is a key ingredient in building community resilience. This is why the hub has proudly supported this program. It allows young Indigenous people to maintain a strong connection to culture while improving educational and training outcomes,” said Professor Allan Dale, Program Lead for the hub’s SATSIE Program.

Dance Rites 2023 is Australia’s national First Nations dance competition and was held November 25-26 in Sydney. It is a festival of live dance, music and community that celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and was held at Bennelong Point; a First Nations meeting place for tens of thousands of years.

AFL Cape York House Cultural Support Officer Bernard Singleton said the competition was an opportunity for the young people to go out with a bang at the end of the school year before many of them head home for the school holidays. “Dance Rites came right after the end of the football season and right before they all start flying home to community, so a lot of moving parts were required to make this happen,” he said.

“We’ve had amazing support from the AFL Cape York Foundation and we have a great team in the office, but ultimately it was up to the boys and girls to perform and put the icing on the cake.”
“Both the Aboriginal Dance Team and Torres Strait Islander Dance Team performed amazingly well.” (AFL Cape York, Bernard Singleton, 2023). “The young people were extremely proud to be there, but also their families and communities over the last couple of days have just shown so much support and pride,” AFL Cape York Girls House boarding manager Sean Hunter said.
“This was the first competitive event our dancers have participated in and it was an opportunity for them to build on their confidence, engage in culture, and show off their cheeky character as they performed. “We are so grateful to the AFL Cape York Foundation, JCU, and Cairns Airport for their sponsorship and support.”

The triumphant group was welcomed home by around 50 friends and family at Cairns airport.