More 300 First Nations dancers gathered at the Sydney Opera House forecourt over the weekend to compete in the DanceRites festival, a national competition celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture. Now in its ninth year, DanceRites invites everyone to join in the living history of Tubowgule (the Dharug word for Bennelong Point), a place where story, song and dance has long been shared. This year’s event honoured the legacy of Aunty Rhoda Roberts, who died in March and was formerly the head of First Nations programming at the Sydney Opera House
• DanceRites 2026 is free and runs until Sunday 25 October at the Sydney Opera House
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