ECDysis. Mirramu Dance Company and guests from Taiwan

My review of ECDysis was published online by Canberra CityNews on 26 October 2025. The review below is a slightly enlarged version of the CityNews post. Here is a link to the CityNews review. *********************************** 25 October 2025. Courtyard Studio. Canberra Theatre Centre ECDysis celebrates Elizabeth Cameron Dalman’s decades of dance creation and performance. Dalman founded Adelaide-based Australian Dance Theatre (ADT) 60 years ago. She

Continuum. Sydney Dance Company

22 October 2025. Roslyn Packer Theatre, Walsh Bay (Sydney) I loved the title of Sydney Dance Company’s latest production—Continuum. It was a triple bill of works from three choreographers, Stephen Page, Rafael Bonachela and Tra Mi Dinh and It encouraged me to think on the development (and continuation) of the choreographic and dancerly art that has characterised Sydney Dance Company

Critical Path turns 20. ‘Such a creative force’

Critical Path, the Sydney-based centre for research into and development of dance, which Canberra-based dance artist Liz Lea has referred to as ‘such a creative force’, was set up in 2005. It will celebrate its 20th anniversary in mid-November with a three-day, free event, Every Wild Idea. The event will take place in the Drill Hall, headquarters of Critical Path

Queensland Ballet in 2026

It is always interesting to see the impact a change in artistic directorship has on the repertoire of a dance company. Newly appointed director of Queensland Ballet, Spanish-born Ivan Gil-Ortega, has announced a program for 2026 in which Queensland Ballet will perform works from a range of overseas-based choreographers, reflecting Gil-Ortega’s strong European background and dance heritage. Christian Spuck from

Resonance. James Batchelor + Collaborators

My review of Resonance was published online by Canberra CityNews on 11 October 2025. The review below is a slightly enlarged version of the CityNews post. Here is a link to the CityNews review. *********************************** 10 October 2025. Courtyard Studio, Canberra Theatre Centre Choreographer James Batchelor has a particular interest in how approaches to dance are passed down from generation to generation. Audiences caught a

Ballet and books in Brisbane

Dangerous Liaisons. Queensland Ballet4 October 2025 (evening). Talbot Theatre, Thomas Dixon Centre, Brisbane I was not invited to review Liam Scarlett’s Dangerous Liaisons in its 2025 revival by Queensland Ballet so I felt no reason to stay when I disliked what I was watching. I left at interval. It was just the third time in about 35 years of reviewing

Dance diary. September 2025

I was a little taken aback on receiving information about the 2026 Australian Ballet season to see that Peter Wright’s Nutcracker will again feature in that season. As usual it will be part of the end of year activities and will be performed in Sydney from 28 November until 16 December. I fully understand that Nutcracker, in its traditional format,

Les Patineurs. The Royal Ballet

via the ROH streaming platform Frederick Ashton’s 1937 creation, Les Patineurs (The Skaters), was first seen in Australia (as far as I am aware) in 1958 during the Royal Ballet’s tour to Australia and New Zealand. It entered the repertoire of the Australian Ballet in 1970 when it was first seen in Adelaide and then in various Australian venues. Below

Duck Pond. Circa

18 September 2025. The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre Circa’s latest production, Duck Pond, is advertised as a reimagining of the ballet Swan Lake, a reimagining of that longstanding, much-loved ballet as a circus spectacular. Other moments in the narrative, we are told, make reference to the work of Hans Christian Andersen, in particular The Ugly Duckling. The narrative follows the

Superposition. Gabriel Sinclair and Jazmyn Carter

My review of Superposition was published online by Canberra CityNews on 13 September 2025. The review below is a slightly enlarged version of the CityNews post. Here is a link to the CityNews review. *********************************** 12 September 2025. Courtyard Studio, Canberra Theatre Centre A new event on the calendar of the Canberra Theatre Centre, a two-week season of new creations across the field of the