Dance / Sheltering, Bangarra Dance Theatre, Canberra Theatre, until May 27. Reviewed by SAMARA PURNELL.

Sheltering is a triple-bill dance production that honours past and present, with a remount of the 2015 work Sheoak alongside two works from emerging artists.

Dancers move under a heavy net, slowly spreading and rising until they emerge, to a slow thump, a beat that builds to a galactic sound. Keeping Grounded is the contemporary work choreographed by Glory Tuohy-Daniell.

Holes that look like burns allow dancers to move in and out of the net, beginning playful, swaying in the net and popping through the holes. Some lovely partner work was on display. The choreography is angular with some movements being robotic and with moments of jerking or vibrating.

The dancers were costumed in tops and pants in a neutral palette before re-emerging in unitards of brown and ochre.

A straightjacket was passed between the dancers, possibly to symbolise intergenerational incarceration, but it also looked to represent a struggle with fitting into an imposed routine.

Brown Boys is a short film by Daniel Mateo and Cass Mortimer Eipper, filmed against the stark white backdrop of a film studio set. Mateo stands in a small straw structure and recites slam poetry recalling what it was like growing up a brown boy, while extreme close-ups focus on his hands, feet, his tattoos and  brown eyes. As the film concludes and the camera zooms out, he is owning his identity and culture, standing proud with waist-high earth, forming a protective skirt around him.

A remount of Sheoak, premiered in 2015 and choreographed by Bangarra artistic director Frances Rings was the final piece in Sheltering.

The program notes explain: “Sheoak tree branches symbolise indigenous culture passed through generations.”

Striking costumes by Jennifer Irwin were exceptional to observe – fitted shorts in a silver and black snake print, with black and white textured bodices depicting a backbone, ribs, perhaps even gills.

The work covers a lot but there is a focus on feminine energy as redemptive and protective. Chantelle Lee Lockhart embodies the keeper, a shamanic figure.

The side-lighting, dramatic costumes, and the soundscape creates a mysterious and captivating atmosphere. The male group dance, with unified choreography is a highlight, before the women appear in pretty, sheer tunics and silhouetted by dawn, with a softness and calming energy.

Large sticks are used as a burden to carry, a fence to form, a hunting tool and a legacy to pass on, before curved branches descend forming a ribcage in a striking stage design.

The segment of two dancers wrapped in a glowing blanket wasn’t clear in its purpose and didn’t fit in. The work concluded with ghostly figures emerging from mist and imagery of a fossil tree.

It was exciting to see that many new, talented dancers have joined Bangarra, with Roxy Syron and Donta Whitham giving especially eye-catching performances.