The Honolulu Festival Foundation is proud to have the dance troupe Descendance participate at the Honolulu Festival for the fourth consecutive year. This Indigenous Australian group, very popular with the audiences, is known worldwide and has performed in over 15 countries. 

The Descendance Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Dance Theater originated from the Ngaru Aboriginal Dance Company, Sydney's first professional traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Dance troupe established in 1993.  Ngaru means "shake a leg", a dance style prevalent in the Cape York Peninsula in North Queensland.  In 1999 the group changed their name to Descendance  to incorporate the various artists from many diverse tribes that made up the group.  Their motto "One mob all fighting a common cause," reflects their desire to preserve and promote their Indigenous Australian culture and traditions.

Indigenous Australians are the first known human inhabitants of the Australian continent and its nearby islands.  The term refers to both the Torres Strait Islanders and the Aboriginal People.  They make up about 2.5% of Australia’s population.  Indigenous Australians have been in Australia from between 40,000 to 70,000 years ago.  According to Aboriginal history, they "have been here since time began."

The languages of these people are not related to any other language outside Australia.  It has been confirmed that there were between 350 and 750 distinct groupings and a similar number of languages in the late 18th century.  Fewer than 200 Indigenous Australian languages remain as of the beginning of the 21st century and all but 20 of these languages are highly endangered.

Their music plays a very significant part in preserving their culture.  According to Aboriginal history the ancestral beings changed forms from animal to human.  These original ancestors created their landmarks, populated the region and laid down the rules for the following generations to prosper.  It is through their songs, dance and music that the ancestors left their power and wisdom for the offsprings to continue.  The didgeridoo, a wind instrument over one meter long made of hardwood and dating back1,500 years, is used along with clapsticks to perform their music, songs and dances.

Descendance along with world music artistic director Jose Calarco have begun a genre of performance never undertaken by an Aboriginal company before, with exciting fusion work with other cultures in both dance and live music, including Flamenco, Indian, Middle Eastern, American Native, South American, Asian and African. Descendance is providing Australia and the world the finest in traditional and contemporary indigenous culture and music.  Spectators of the Honolulu Festival will have the opportunity to see their exciting performance once again.