2025 - Warriwal by Jo Clancy and Stuart McMinn - Yellamundie Festival

Warriwal ~ Milky Way is a new First Nations dance theatre work in development by Jo Clancy and Stuart McMinn. Warriwal reignites our languages through powerful dance storytelling. Warriwal is a big flowing river in the night sky, an atlas of our ancestral places and home to our ancestral spirits. Warriwal offers a window into our songs and dances that have been kept eternally by our ancestors and shared through the sky, the land, wind and water.

Jo Clancy is a First Nations Choreographer, Dancer, Teacher and Mentor. A Wiradjuri woman from Western NSW. Jo commenced her full- time dance training at NAISDA Dance College in 1990, followed by three years of training at Western Sydney University, where she became the first Aboriginal person to gain a BA in Dance in NSW. As an Independent Artist Jo has worked nationally and internationally for over thirty years. She founded her dance collective Wagana in 2007 and works extensively in Aboriginal communities across NSW. Her practice holds, supports and lifts others. She walks and dances softly in Country connecting to her matriarchal line with strength, grace and humility. 

Stuart McMinn is a proud cultural man from the Dharug and Gubbi Gubbi nations, dedicated to the continuation and revitalisation of Dharug song, language, and dance for over 20 years. With a deep understanding of cultural practice and traditional frameworks, he applies this knowledge to ensure that Dharug song and language are preserved and passed down to future generations. Through the strength of cultural storytelling, Stuart has shared his knowledge on both national and international stages. Stuart aims to ensure that dance, song, and language remain central to cultural identity, creating spaces where these traditions can be shared, celebrated, and safeguarded for generations to come.