Frances Rings

Frances Rings is an Aboriginal Australian dancer, choreographer and former television presenter. She was born in Adelaide, South Australia, and is a Wirangu and Mirning woman. She became artistic director for Bangarra Dance Theatre in 2023.

Early life and education Frances Rings was born in Adelaide, South Australia. She is a descendant of the Wirangu and Mirning Tribes from the West Coast of South Australia. She has a younger sister Gina, who is a dancer and choreographer. Rings’ parents divorced when she was three years old, and Rings went to live with her father, while her mother continued living on the west coast of South Australia. For his work, her father was transferred to Kalgoorlie, and then they eventually went on to move to Albany in Western Australia, and then to Queensland because of the climate there.

At the age of 16, Rings was living in Ipswich, Queensland, where she attended a boarding school. In year 11, when pursuing her Higher School Certificate, dance was offered as a HSC course. Rings decided to sign up for HSC dance as one of her electives. She said that she had an encouraging dance teacher who pushed her to do her best. she performed in her graduation performance where Stephen Page, artistic director of the Bangarra Dance Theatre, saw her, and invited her to join Bangarra.

In 2002, Rings made her mainstage choreographic debut with the choreographic production, Rations. She went on to create six more works for Bangarra, including Bush (2003), Unaipon (2004), X300 (2007), Artefact (2010), Terrain (2012), and Sheoak (2015).

Within Australia, Rings has choreographed works for leading dance companies, including the West Australian Ballet, Tasdance and performed for Legs on the Wall theatre company in Sydney. She has also danced in works by leading Australian choreographers like Meryl Tankard and Leigh Warren. Internationally, she has worked with companies like Kahawi Dance Theatre in Six Nations, Turtle Islands (Canada), as well as Atamira Dance Company in Auckland, New Zealand, where she was a guest collaborator and performer for their production of MITIMITI. In 2018, she choreographed a new piece for Atamira called Kotahi.

Influences Rings' earliest memory of dance is watching Young Talent Time (1971–1988), an Australian variety show on television which inspired her to become a dancer. and then Alvin Ailey, whose work greatly influenced her dancing and choreography after her time spent in his studios.

Choreographic works Rings' choreographic works are often influenced by her childhood experiences with nature. During her childhood, her father, a German migrant to Australia, struggled financially to provide for his family due to the aftermath of World War II. The main source of sustenance that he could provide for his family included what he grew in his own vegetable patch and orchard. Rings also recalls how on the way to school in the morning, she would climb over other people's fences to pick figs, nuts and grapes. She believes that because of her father, Rings developed her "connection to country". It was not because of her Aboriginal background, or from a cultural perspective.

Rings mentions being influenced by the way her aunts and sisters told stories, specifically their body language, such as gestures and expressions, and how she is able to see them reflected within the shape of trees.

Unaipon (2004) Unaipon (2004) was Rings' third work for Bangarra. It was a celebration of the life of Ngarrindjeri author and inventor David Unaipon

Rings re-staged Terrain in 2022, with the show touring Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane from June to August.

Television Rings has starred in the drama film The Widower (2004).

Other roles Rings was a member of the Dance Board of the Australia Council.

Awards &

Best Choreograph in a Dance or Physical Theatre WorkFrances Rings Terrain