portals to the ancestors

portals to the ancestors is a community offering of artist-led movement workshops and shrine-making that centre the body as a site of ancestral memory, continuity of culture and resistance against erasure.

Dharug collective Jannawi Dance Clan will present a cultural dance workshop, Mohamed Albayed from Ataba Dabke will facilitate a Palestinian dabke workshop, and Shyamla will host an introduction to the Tamil drumming dance, Parai Attam. Artists emoeba h♡rtbridge and Bonnie Huang invite you to bring a photo of a ‘spiritual ancestor’ (real or imagined) or a treasured memory to make a personal shrine.

Open to all levels of experience, abilities and cultural backgrounds.

Catering by Kefah Maradweh from Jafra Enterprises.

EVENT DETAILS

Date: Wednesday 25 March, 2026

Time: 6-8pm

Location: Western Terrace, PHIVE, 5 Parramatta Square, Parramatta NSW

Cost: Free

Book Now

We hope you can join us in Burramatta as we reach backwards and forwards in order to make sense of the now. Presented as a part of Utp’s 2026 programs under the provocation of Ancestral Portals.

ABOUT THE OFFERINGS AND ARTISTS

Cultural Dance Workshop

Jannawi Dance Clan is a First Nations intergenerational dance collective based in Western Sydney. Founded in 2008 by Artistic Director Peta Strachan, Jannawi (meaning “with me, with you” in Dharug language), centres Indigenous storytelling through dance, embodied language revitalisation, traditional movement and contemporary forms.

Their practice celebrates the strength, resilience and stories of Aboriginal people in NSW, with a strong commitment to community, identity, culture and the revitalisation of Dharug language and histories.

Photo by Benjamin Warlngundu Ellis

Palestinian Dabke Workshop

Ataba Dabke Group is a Sydney-based collective dedicated to preserving and promoting Palestinian cultural heritage through the traditional dance of dabke. What began as a hobby among a group of young friends has grown into a passionate troupe that highlights the enduring significance of dance as a medium of identity, resilience, and community. With every performance and workshop, they bring joy, energy, and a strong sense of togetherness, embodying both respect for tradition and the vitality of contemporary expression.

Introduction to Parai Attam

Shyamla Eswaran (they/them) is a multidisciplinary artist, choreographer and facilitator based on Dharug Land, working across movement, sound and embodied storytelling. In 2019 they founded BINDI BOSSES, an independent South Asian arts company whose work has featured at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, TEDxSydney, Qudos Bank Arena, Carriageworks and the Sydney Opera House.

Shyamla’s practice is grounded in regular training and community-based practice in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, where they study the 3000-year old artforms of Parai Attam (Tamil drumming dance) and Silambam (martial arts), performing at the ancient Nataraja Temple. A descendant of Fijian-Indian indentured labourers carrying Telugu Mala and Tamil Brahmin lineages, Shyamla's solo work explores the impacts of caste, migration and ancestral memory. A recipient of the Multicultural NSW Premier’s Harmony Medal (2020), Shyamla presented their first solo work GIRMITYA at Sydney Dance Company as part of a sold-out season of Dirty Feet's Out Of The Studio (OOTS) program in 2025.

Photo by Anna Hay

Artwork: Blue Bloods XVII, 2023 by Kirtika Kain

Shrine Making Workshop

Emoeba (they/them) is an artist currently living in southwestsyd on Bidjigal and Dharug Lands. they use their art as a connector between ppl, earth, + animals, thru the extremities of syd's changing weather conditions. they believe in the enduring power of piracy for leisure, and friendship. lately, they like to think that - temporary, love-driven spurts of ugly struggle can lead to beautiful, worthwhile stuff, and memories.

Photo by Cass Li

Bonnie Huang (they/them) is a gatherer of kerbside trash, textures, and symbols. Through serious thought and unserious experimentation, they explore the crevices between disgust and delight. Working across sculpture, installation, image-making, performance, and text, their work foregrounds the sensorial emotional experience and reveals our shared language of intimacy. Informed by an observational process, they digest and subvert commonplace objects, popular culture from the digital realm, and scenes of public architecture to allow a sculptural interpretation of our bodies, revealing how identity can be constructed and contested. 

Photo by Garry Trinh for Parramatta Artists' Studios Granville

Cover Image: Artwork by Eddie Abd, Typography by Celine Cheung

PARTNERS AND SUPPORTERS

This event is delivered in collaboration with City of Parramatta.

This project is assisted by the NSW Government through Create NSW and the Neilson Foundation.