Sani Townson
Sani Townson is an artist, dancer and theatre maker. Sani is a descendant of the Saibai Koedal clan of Saibai Island, of the Torres Strait Islands.
Biography
Sani comes from a strong cultural family who are of Samu, Koedal, Dhoeybaw clans of Saibai Island in the Torres Strait.
Sani studied
at NAISDA 1996-2000 and danced with Bangarra 2001-2006. Since leaving Bangarra,
he has worked with SBS, NITV and ABC, and collaborated with companies such as
Gondwana Voices, Sydney Children’s Choir, QANTAS, Leigh Warren & Dancers,
Insite Arts and NAISDA Dance College.
Sani has choreographed for Christine Anu, Felix Riebel, Kate Miller-Heidke,
Sean Choolburra and Electric Fields. In 2020, Sani returned to Bangarra as the
Youth Programs Coordinator while developing his own interactive children’s
show Lagaw Mabaygal (Ailan ppl). He was one of the Cultural
Consultants for Bangarra's first children's show, Waru - journey of the small turtle, which premiered in 2022 and is
currently touring across Australia.
In 2023, Sani debuted Kulka as part of Dance Clan 2023 at Bangarra and choreographed
the acclaimed Blaque Showgirls at Griffin Theatre
Company.