The movement vocabulary of classical ballet follows clear principles. Everything seems to serve the purpose of overcoming gravity. The bodies appear light, their mass suspended in pirouettes and jumps. Everything is oriented upwards; downward movements occur almost exclusively to gain momentum for going up. What happens when these principles are reversed? With a small cast, Ioannis Mandafounis explores typical ballet movements. They are deconstructed, turned upside down, interrupted, and transformed. Movement sequences from classical repertoire are juxtaposed with completely transformed new versions. A ludicrous game that nevertheless takes its historical source material seriously, despite all the humour. The team is joined by guest dancer Jón Vallejo, Principal dancer of the Semperoper Ballett.

What do we see when we see dance? Dance starts long before it is seen. In Crisp’s practice of live composition, the subtle shifts in a dancer’s attention are vital to the naissance of the movements. Rosalind Crisp invites both dancers and audience to dwell, even for the briefest moment, in this space where movement surges into being. To be totally visible and completely transparent on stage is to be fully present to all that is unseen and unseeable – the subtle shifts of weight, every breath taken, each sinking feeling – the future starts here, in miniature. The performance is created each night in close proximity to the audience, offering a detailed view of the dancer’s decision-making. The work is a collaboration with Frédéric Blondy, composer and improvising pianist who employs a language rooted in deep listening, the physicality of movement and the exploration of timbre.

ROSALIND CRISP is a choreographer and dancer based in Orbost, Australia. In 1996 she established the Omeo Dance studio in Sydney as a place for her choreographic research. The studio became the home of the experimental dance scene in Sydney for ten years. In 2003 Crisp was invited by Carolyn Carlson to become the first Associate Artist of her ‘Atelier de Paris’. The Atelier managed and toured Rosalind’s company’s works throughout France and Europe (2004-2014), and facilitated her collaboration with French, European and Australian artists.

Rosalind has created over 25 major works, numerous events and performances, internationally toured her work to hundreds of festivals and is sought after for her dance methodology. Her extensive body of work critically questions dance through a rigorous practice of live composition, in all its certainty and doubt. She situates the dancer as an art maker. Her works emerge from sustained studio practice and long-term exchange with a multi-disciplinary team of colleagues. Rosalind Crisp is a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and, in recognition of her influence on a generation of Australian dancers, an Honorary Fellow to the University of Melbourne-VCA. She received in 2025 the Creative Australia Award in the dance category.