ENSEMBLE OFFSPRING
BILA’S BIG DANCE
Bila’s Big Dance is an interactive performance for children which features music by Gumbaynggirr/Wiradjuri/Dharawal composer Tim Gray alongside a theatrical presentation of the book of the same name. The show was first presented in 2025 in Melbourne at the Wheeler Centre with commissioning partners Orchestra Victoria and Ensemble Offspring.
Please direct all enquiries to admin@ensembleoffspring.com
Past Shows
About Bila’s Big Dance
Bila’s Big Dance features a narrator and 5 musicians (flute, clarinet, violin, double bass, percussion). It is based on the well-known book by Wiradjuri/Kamilaroi author Rebecca Chapman. We plan to tour this original children’s show to regional libraries and primary schools in 2027/2028.
“The water in the Yaba River is low, the country is in a drought, the waterbirds are hungry. Bila the Spoonbill knows he must do something to help. A rain dance could be the answer. But will Bila be able to bring together the waterbird mob? And can he lead them in a grand enough dance to make the rain fall again?”
Rebbeca Chapman’s story of empathy, community and perseverance comes to life through the sounds of wind, string and percussion instruments as part of this special musical story time. Experience a rain dance, the sound of waterbirds and country.
The relaxed 25-minute, interactive performance invites children to participate in the storytelling and discovery of the sounds of the different musical instruments.
This is a perfect first musical experience for young people aged 2-8 and it introduces young people to environmental responsibility through culturally rooted storytelling. You will be singing and dancing all the way home.