Daniel Riley has a bit of catching up to do as a First Nations storyteller and he is working towards that in his acclaimed production Tracker.

Riley is a Wiradjuri dancer and choreographer who is currently artistic director of the acclaimed Adelaide-based company Australian Dance Theatre and he is bringing his latest work to Brisbane Festival with a short season at Brisbane Powerhouse September 20 to 23.

As for catching up, well, that will probably never end, Riley says. “We have 75,000 years of culture to tell,” Riley says adding that storytelling comes naturally.

“It’s just doing what we have always done and that’s how we have survived. I’m happy that now there is a hunger for our stories.”

There is indeed and Brisbane Festival will feed that hunger with its biggest First Nations program yet.

Riley’s Tracker, which will be presented in association with Ilbijerri Theatre Company,  evokes an immensely powerful and personal story about Daniel Riley’s great-great uncle, Alec “Tracker” Riley.

He was a Wiradjuri elder and tracker who served with the NSW Police for four decades. He worked on numerous high-profile cases and forged a path between the colonial system and his own Wiradjuri lore.

The work weaves together dance, music and text and is brought to life by a team of celebrated First Nations creatives with Riley at the helm. Playwright Ursula Yovich worked closely with Daniel Riley to create the piece and so did co-director Rachel Maza, composers James Henry and Gary Watling, visual artist Jonathan Jones, lighting designer Chloe Ogilvie, co-dramaturge Amy Sole and an all First Nations cast.

Visitors to Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art will recall seeing Jonathan Jones’ extraordinary work (Giran) which has been on display a couple of times. It features 2000 mini-sculptures of wings evoking birds in flight and it is quite spectacular. I can’t wait to see what his collaboration with Riley produces. Those who have seen the show elsewhere already know what to expect but we can all be prepared to be surprised.

Tracker premiered at the Sydney Festival earlier this year to great acclaim and Daniel Riley is particularly looking forward to bringing it to Brisbane. And he’s not just saying that … he loves the place and spent three years here studying his craft at QUT. He spent some years working with the famed Bangarra Dance Theatre and travelled the world with them but still, he has a real soft spot for Brisbane.

“I moved to Brisbane to study and loved my time there,” Riley says. “And Brisbane Powerhouse is such a beautiful venue. I have fond memories of seeing some great shows there.”

Riley reckons Brisbane Festival artistic director Louise Bezzina has a knack of working very well with First Nations peoples.

“And that’s great because Queensland has such a strong First Nations culture,” he says. “I’m always very impressed with what Brisbane Festival does.”

He suggests international visitors also have a hunger to hear Australia’s First Nations stories, something he noticed in his globetrotting with Bangarra.

And Bezzina agrees there is global interest in our First Nations work.

“There are a lot of conversations happening globally in terms of First Nations engagement,” she says. ‘In Canada, the US. In Asia … Taiwan in particular.”

With one eye on the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, telling these unique Australian stories is a good way of preparing for the Cultural Olympiad which will kick in four years before the games.

With that and her audiences for this year in mind, Bezzina has more than 170 First Nations people involved across various genres.

And it all starts with the moving Jarrah (Mother Earth), a cleansing and smoking ceremony that pays respect to Brisbane’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

And in a festival first the skies above the Brisbane River will come to life with Nieergoo – Spirit of the Whale, a visually spectacular 400 strong choreographed drone show that illuminates a captivating creation story across the opening weekend which also encompasses Riverfire by Australian Retirement Trust.

Four hundred drones soaring above the river and the crowds – what could go wrong?

“Nothing!” Bezzina insists and intensive rehearsals will help ensure that.

“This is from the creative genius of Shannon Ruska who will be narrating it,” Bezzina says. “I would describe it an inclusive celebration of country and it tells the story of the creation of the Moreton Bay islands. It will be very special.”

Among other highlights will be Bangarra Dance Theatre’s exciting new work Yuldea, Hide the Dog, a children’s show, and making its Australian premiere is Kuramanunya, a solo dance work by Queensland’s own Thomas E.S. Kelly and Karul Projects, a work that pays homage to the thousands of First Nations lives lost during colonization.

There are numerous other examples of First Nations work in the festival and the storytelling is guided by the Indigenous Advisory Group which is co-chaired by Shannon Ruska and Aunty Bridget Garay who work in partnership with Louise Bezzina and her team.

She agrees with Daniel Riley that there is “a lot of catching up to do”.

“There is an abundance of stories to be told because there has been such a lack of First Nations stories in the mainstream for so long.”

She intends to change that … one festival at a time.

brisbanefestival.com.au