Lagaw Gub

Seu Ngapa (Welcome)

Lagaw Gub (Island Wind) brings the Torres Strait Islands to you.

Lagaw Gub by Dujon Niue is designed to be used by teachers wishing to embed Indigenous perspectives into their classroom practice.

Lagaw Gub will be the first Torres Strait Islander dance education kit and has been developed as a way to share information about the rich heritage of Mua Island in the Torres Straits. The Lagaw Gub kit includes:

  • An interactive professional development workshop for you to learn the Lagaw Gub dances and songs.

  • DVD of the Lagaw Gub dances, and an audio recording of each song for performances.

  • A book of worksheets and learning materials to support you in the classroom.

  • Access to our dedicated online (Facebook) community where you will be supported by cultural educators and Torres Strait Islander dance professional.

  • Permission to teach the Lagaw Gub songs and dances throughout your teaching career.

Lagaw Gub was initiated by the Creating Pathways project and further developed by BlakDance Australia Ltd, with support from the Australia Council for the Arts and Ausdance National.

Lagaw Gub will showcase the songs, dances and stories of Dujon Niue.

DUJON NIUE

DANCER | CHOREOGRAPHER | COMPOSER

Dujon Niue is from St Paul, Moa Island and is an experienced dancer with a career spanning over 20 years. Dujon trained initially at the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA) in the early 1980’s, co-founded the AIDT Company in 1989 and danced with Bangarra in the 1990’s. Dujon is a cultural ambassador for Indigenous dance and has represented Australia internationally throughout his extensive career in Germany, England, Ireland, South America and Japan.

Dujon returned to the Torres Strait to explore the medium of Torres Strait cultural dance and contemporary western dance. As Artistic Director, he founded the Arpaka Dance Company at St Paul’s Village starting an exciting journey to introduce their culture to other countries. Arpaka performed at the opening of the Musee de quai Branly and the Australian Embassy in Paris. Dujon performed at the inaugural welcome to country for the historic opening of the 42nd Parliament and in July 2008, for the opening ceremony of the World Dance Alliance.

Dujon has also enjoyed a successful career as a composer with his songs regularly played on Koori radio. Dujon has also had his music included in the SBS television mini-series RAN. Dujon has been integral in the development of a Torres Strait Island dance kit for schools. This kit is a key project of the Treading the Pathways strategic initiative for Indigenous dance in Australia.