Abbots Yard - Born to Dance

Tongberang’i Ngarrga Inc invites you to their 2022 NAIDOC celebrations featuring an all-Aboriginal line-up of DJs, performers, artists, comedians, and storytellers. This year’s NAIDOC theme is "Get up! Stand up! Show up!" remindes us of the legacy of our ancestors and the responsibility we all have towards each other and Country. Aboriginal people are the heart of this country. Our songlines are the arteries that carry life to every part of this country, connecting knowledge, understanding and energy. For thousands of years, we have sung and danced these songlines to keep them, and therefore us, alive. Without them, we are lost. Today, many songlines are fragile. They have been stomped on, blocked, covered over, and dug up. But they still exist, their patient pulse waiting for us to revive. Our DJs for the day include Brothers, Carmelo, Slidah, Yarra, DJ Kiti and last but not least, Fosters. While our DJs guide us through our journey into sound, Fred Leone will be painting live graffiti art, and there will be video booths throughout the venue for you to learn about and connect to Aboriginal culture and history. Performances also include Taunuraung dreaming stories told by Uncle Larry Walsh and comedian performances by Shiralee Hood and Ben Moodie will lift your spirits, whilst giving your feet a break from the dance-floor. In the Woi Wurrung language, Tongberang’i Ngarrga means ‘Born to Dance’ and we believe this literally, that we are born to dance and that we must dance again to listen to the true heartbeat of this land. "Our purpose is to provide an outlet for Aboriginal people of all ages to connect to one another, while celebrating and expressing Aboriginal culture to the wider community, through the medium of electronic dance music." Tongberang'i Ngarrga Inc acknowledges the Ancestors, Elders and families of the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nations as the custodians of land on which this event is being held. We also acknowledge that Merri Creek is the place of age-old ceremonies of celebration, initiation and renewal, and that the Kulin people’s living culture had, and has, a unique and important role in the life of this region. Tongberangi Ngarrga Inc. Born to Dance is supported by the Victorian Government COVIDSafe Outdoor Activation Fund.