# Descendance

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{{Short description|Australian Aboriginal dance company}}
{{Distinguish|descendant (disambiguation){{!}}descendence}}
[[File:Descendance no Dia do Índio 01.jpg|thumb|Descendance performing in 2016 during [Indian Day](/source/Dia_do_%C3%8Dndio) celebrations in [Brazil](/source/Brazil)]]
'''Descendance''' ('''Descendance Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Dance Theatre'''), previously known as the '''Ngaru Dancers''',<ref>''Daily Telegraph'', 25 April 2002, "Pick of the week."</ref> is an [Indigenous Australian](/source/Indigenous_Australian) [dance company](/source/dance_company).

==History==
Ngaru Dancers was formed in 1999<ref name=mclintock>{{cite web |last=McLintock |first=Penny |title=ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) |website= ABC News |date=10 February 2008 |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/10/2158703.htm?section=australia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090714121015/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/10/2158703.htm?section=australia |archive-date=14 July 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> in [Sydney](/source/Sydney) by [Sean Choolburra](/source/Sean_Choolburra).<ref name=about>{{cite web |title=About |website=Descendance |url=https://www.descendance.net/about-us/ |access-date=21 January 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Sean Choolburra |website=Bangarra Knowledge Ground |date=28 August 2025 |url=https://bangarra-knowledgeground.com.au/people/sean-choolburra |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260121082226/https://bangarra-knowledgeground.com.au/people/sean-choolburra |archive-date=21 January 2026 |url-status=live |access-date=21 January 2026}}</ref>

In 1998 Choolburra invited Aboriginal song woman Imelda Willis to take on cultural duties at the company, and [world music](/source/world_music) producer Jose Calarco came on as director. Willis died only a year later.<ref name=about/><ref name=jc>{{cite web |title= Jose Calarco|website= Descendance |url=https://www.descendance.net/jose-calarco/ |access-date=21 January 2026}}</ref>

They have performed and toured extensively both nationally and internationally, including to Russia, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, the Middle East, Africa, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, where they have educated audiences about Aboriginal history. They have given performances for the [Dalai Lama](/source/Dalai_Lama), [Queen Elizabeth II](/source/Queen_Elizabeth_II), and stars such as [Nicole Kidman](/source/Nicole_Kidman).<ref name=mclintock/><ref name=nit1>{{cite journal |title=Descendance dance in New York for 9/11|issue=63 |date =1 Sep 2004 |journal=[National Indigenous Times](/source/National_Indigenous_Times)  |url=http://www.nit.com.au/thearts/story.aspx?id=3033 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090715024048/http://www.nit.com.au/thearts/story.aspx?id=3033 |archive-date=15 July 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> On 5 September 2004, the troupe represented Australia at the inaugural [World Culture Open](/source/World_Culture_Open) at the [Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts](/source/Lincoln_Center_for_the_Performing_Arts) in [New York City](/source/New_York_City), and on 9 September, performed at a memorial to the victims of [9/11](/source/9%2F11) at [Battery Park](/source/Battery_Park). Some members then went to Disneyland to give performances there, while the rest of the troupe flew to Korea to participate at WCO concerts there.<ref name=nit1/>

From 2001 until September 2004 and beyond, Descendance performed a show in [Alice Springs](/source/Alice_Springs) every night of the week.<ref name=nit1/> 

The troupe has also helped to promote Indigenous girls break into modelling in Australia.<ref name=nit1/>

==Recognition==
Descendance won the Brolga Award for tourism in 2004 for their show in Alice Springs,<ref name=nit1/><ref name=seoul/> and later that year won the World Dance and Peace Prize at UNESCO's inaugural [World Culture Open](/source/World_Culture_Open) in [Seoul](/source/Seoul), Korea, in 2004.<ref name=mclintock/><ref name=seoul/> No government funding was provided for the event.<ref name=seoul>{{cite journal |title=Descendance dominates in Seoul| issue= 65 |date= 29 Sep 2004 |journal=[National Indigenous Times](/source/National_Indigenous_Times)  |url=http://www.nit.com.au/thearts/story.aspx?id=3297 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090715014519/http://www.nit.com.au/thearts/story.aspx?id=3297 |archive-date=15 July 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==People==
{{as of|2026}}, Jose Calarco remains director of the company.<ref name=jc/>

The following members performed in Seoul in 2004, under the direction of Calarco, who also produced the show:<ref name=seoul/>
* Nicki (Nicole) Willis (vocals; daughter of Imelda Willis)<ref name=about/> 
* Ronnie Guivarra (vocals) 
* Bennelong Carroll (didgeridoo) 
* Arthur Turtle Tamwoy (dancer) 
* George Dow (dancer) 
* Les Daniel (dancer) 
* Vivian Anderson (dancer)

==References==
{{Commons category|Descendance}}
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{official|https://www.descendance.net/}}
* {{facebook|https://www.facebook.com/Descendancefanpage/}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Australian Aboriginal culture
Category:Dance companies in Australia

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Descendance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descendance) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descendance?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.