1. Animals
2. Celebrations
3. Corroborees
4. Culture
5. Dance
6. Didgeridoos
7. Dreaming
8. Emus
9. Goannas
10. Kangaroos
11. Music
12. Musical instrument
13. Play
14. Singing
15. Snakes
16. Social life and customs
17. Stories in rhyme

The authors’ two children, Ella and Arlo, inspired ‘Our Dance,’ a picture book that reflects their culture and experiences as young Aboriginal children growing up in Australia today. ‘Our Dance’ is an open invitation for everyone to join in a corroboree and celebrate the culture of First Nations people through movement and music.

How is this achieved? The text features action-packed rhyming couplets and alliteration. This pulsating text demands a very active read aloud, thus encouraging young listeners’ participation. Dance, music and culture work together in each illustration with the Aboriginal colours of red, black and gold dominant. Here is an example of the text aimed at capturing both readers and viewers: ‘Come on, you mob, let’s join in, Our dance is ready, let’s begin. Slither like a snake, Jump like a roo, Crawl like a goanna, Run, Run emu too, And Fly, eagle, Fly.’ The text matches the antics of the seven gambolling children. They are spurred on by an adult who is playing the digeridoo.

The endpapers feature winding dark red curves, which suggest the action-packed story lying ahead.

At the opening corroboree, the seven children rub ochre on their bodies in preparation for their celebration. They celebrate movements of the animals heard about in their Dreaming stories. They crouch down low, run fast, slither along the ground, use their hands as a tail feather, jump, crawl and spread their arms to fly like an eagle. A final illustration features the children dancing around a glowing fire as the night is darkening.

Taylor Hampton is a Ngiyampaa/Wiradjuri man and Jacinta Daniher is an early childhood educator.

Both are passionate about educating young people about Aboriginal culture. In 2019, they

established Birrang Cultural Connections to offer cultural workshops in education settings, with the vision of creating content that is educational, interactive and exciting. Their two children have inspired them to create picture books that reflect their culture and experiences as young Aboriginal children growing up in Australia today.

Janelle Burger is an Indigenous Australian (Noongar) and Italian illustrator based in Paris, France. Her work is influenced by pop culture, fashion, video games and food. She has worked for a variety of clients.

1. Hachette Teachers Resources for ‘Our Dance’ by Jacinta Daniher and Taylor Hampton https://hachette.blob.core.windows.net/resources/9780734423429-teachers-resources.pdf
2. Scholastic Teaching Notes by Cara Shipp for ‘Our Dance’ https://resource.scholastic.com.au/ResourceFiles/100141949_129331.pdf
3. Good Reading Magazine Apr 2025 Interview with Taylor Hampton and Jacinta Daniher, creators of ‘Our Dance’ https://goodreadingmagazine.com.au/article/1004346/
4. Bangarra Dance Theatre ‘Ochre is of the Earth’ by Shane Carroll https://bangarra-knowledgeground.com.au/productions/ochres/ochre-is-of-the-earth
5. Dance & song video for ‘Our Dance’ by Jacinta Daniher & Taylor Hampton, 2.52 sec in length https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sBnJKJ1ZMI
6. Paperbark Joy in Books 1 May 2025 by Joy Lawn features Taylor Hampton and Jacinta Daniher, creators of ‘Our Dance’ writing about ‘Finding Our rhythm: The Journey of Writing Our Dance’ https://paperbarkwords.blog/2025/05/01/our-dance-by-jacinta-daniher-and-taylor-hampton-ill-janelle-burger/
7. ReadPlus 28 Nov 2025 review by Fran Knight of ‘Our Dance’ https://www.readplus.com.au/reviews/our-dance
8. Books+Publishing 25 Mar 2025 review by Merril Darling of ‘Our Dance’ https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2025/03/25/268722/our-dance-jacinta-daniher-taylor-hampton-illus-janelleburger-lothian/
9. Reading Time 21 June 2025 review by Bronwyn Joseph and Elizabeth Douglas of ‘Our Dance’ https://readingtime.cbca.org.au/our-dance/
10. The Book Muse 30 Apr 2025 review by Ashleigh Meikle of ‘Our Dance’ https://ashleighmeikle.com.au/2025/04/30/our-dance-by-jacinta-daniher-and-taylor-hampton-illustrated-by-janelle-burger/
11. Just So Stories 4 Apr 2025 review by Sue Warren of ‘Our Dance’ https://losangzopa.blog/2025/04/04/our-dance-jacinta-daniher-taylor-hampton-illustrations-by-janelle-burger/
12. Story Links 22 May 2025 review by Mia Macrossan of ‘Our Dance’ https://storylinks.booklinks.org.au/2025/05/22/our-dance/