"Bush" follows the company's trademark style of blending contemporary movement with traditional themes, ideas and aspects of ritual.

Though the dancers don't attempt to re-create actual ceremonies, an act that could be both sacrilegious and potentially untheatrical, Bangarra does try to connect to its ancient roots, both in the content, form and musical accompaniment. It strives to educate while entertaining.

"Bush," a 75-minute work, consists of several segments with titles ranging from "Creation" to "Clan." Beginning in near darkness, the company, led by an elder, Kathy Balngayngu Marika, enters and exits in varying units or groupings. As the work progresses from primordial darkness to the coppery light of dawn, the segments take us from the mythical past to the modern day.

All of this is admirably reflected in the costumes, by Jennifer Irwin, and makeup. In "Stick Figures," for example, dancers wear unitards but appear to have painted bodies.

The choreography by Stephen Page and Frances Rings borrows richly from Aborigine traditions of movement, using treading walks, angular arms, torsos that perch forward at the walk, or roll, twist and writhe.

Ritualistic, ceremonial and animalistic formations and movements constitute the first part of the program. As the work progresses, however, there is a shift in choreography as well as costuming. The dancers begin to take on a contemporary appearance. At the same time the movements become more stylized and larger, stretching and extending farther out into space.

All the while, seeds of the earliest sections can be seen: little swinging hand motions, the flexed feet and splayed hands of former episodes, rolling torsos and slithering bodies. The gradual transition is like watching the physicalization of DNA.

The sense of mystery and transformation one gets from the work is above and beyond pure entertainment. It is a company and work that should be viewed over time, as there is such a richness of material and spirit to take in.

While many dance companies have devoted themselves to the presentation of national or regional dance styles (think Riverdance, for example), few are as daring and creative in the extension of the material as Bangarra. And even fewer manage to retain so much of the spirit of the source as Bangarra.

It's fair to say that Page and company should be considered among the very best the contemporary dance world has to offer. Although the group may be unfamiliar to U.S. audiences, this is presumably only because of the geographical distance that separates our continents.