Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival

When: June 17th to 19th June 2011

Where: 15km South of Laura, at the Ang-Gnarra Festival Grounds, Cape York. Laura is 330 km north of Cairns.

Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival is the celebration of Aboriginal culture in Cape York. The Festival is a biennial event celebrating & showcasing the culture of the Aboriginal people of Cape York Peninsula through song, dance ceremony and performance.

The performance and practice of Aboriginal dance & culture at the Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival is a very important element in the preservation & continuance of the unique culture of the region.

The Dance Festival Ground at Laura is the site of a very old traditional Bora ground and is a respected and sacred site to Aboriginal people. It is nestled amongst some of the oldest and most spectator rock art in the world. Recently the rock art of the area was awarded Queensland Icon status by the National Trust in recognition of its significance to the environmental and cultural landscape.

Known as a meeting ground for the communities of Cape York, the Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival is highly regarded by many Aboriginal people as a place where families meet new and old family members, make new acquaintances and exchange and pass on family histories.

In addition, many descendants of Aboriginal people whose people were removed from the area return every festival to learn of their culture and of their ancestry. Consequently the Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival is seen as a very important event in cultural retention.

The Festival enables the wider community to witness and gain insight into the uniqueness of Aboriginal culture. Festival spectators witness the story telling of Aboriginal culture through dance, language and art.

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