Ngioka Bunda-Heath is Wakka Wakka, Ngugi from Queensland; and Birrpai from New South Wales. She graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts, as the first Aboriginal woman in dance. She has worked for Bangarra Dance Theatre in “Rekindling” their youth education program; Circa Cairns as Community Lead and is currently Producer and First Peoples Project Lead at Chunky Move.
Ngioka received the Hutchinson Indigenous Fellowship and Residency 2021, the Chloe Munro AO/Lucy Guerin Inc Independent Artist fellowship 2022, and the Brisbane Powerhouse Wandima Fellowship 2023. Ngioka has performed in works for companies DubaiKungkaMiyalk (DKM), Lucy Guerin Inc. and Joel Bray Dance as well as for Independent Artist Sarah Aiken and Rebecca Jensen among others.
Internationally, she’s participated in dance conferences, festivals, and residencies in New Caledonia, France, Canada, America, and Japan. Ngioka’s choreographic work includes Blood Quantum (2019), Birrpai (2021) awarded Dance Best Duo/Ensemble at the Greenroom Awards, Bridge (2022), Footprints (2022) and Estuary (2026).