Dancenorth Australia will present RED as part of the inaugural Australian Dance Biennale at RISING Festival in Naarm/Melbourne this June.
The work, which premiered in 2021, will be performed at the Biennale from 3 to 7 June 2026 by Dancenorth Ensemble members Sabine Crompton-Ward and Michael Smith.
RED was commissioned by a consortium of major Australian international arts festivals and first appeared in Gurambilbarra/Townsville, RISING Festival and Brisbane Festival in 2021, before later seasons at Ten Days on the Island in Tasmania and Queensland Performing Arts Centre in 2023.
Set inside a transparent dome, the duet examines the body, environment and the systems that shape, contain and restrict human experience. Dancenorth co-Artistic Director Amber Haines said the invitation to present the work at the Australian Dance Biennale was an important opportunity to revisit it in a new context.
“RED is an intimate piece that remains as resonant and as critical as it did when we made it in a world emerging from the pandemic. An uncompromising duet set inside a transparent dome, the work interrogates our place within an ever-changing and intricately woven web, and the systems and constructs that no longer serve but stifle us,” Haines said.
“It’s a privilege to be invited to revisit this work for the Australian Dance Biennale, an event that represents a significant and collaborative effort to elevate dance within Australia’s cultural landscape.”
The Australian Dance Biennale is being presented for the first time as part of RISING, bringing together a program of Australian dance works and artists. Dancenorth’s inclusion places the Townsville-based company within a national platform designed to increase the visibility of contemporary dance and its role in Australia’s cultural ecology.
RED has been assisted by the Australian Government’s Major Festivals Initiative, managed by Creative Australia in association with the Confederation of Australian International Arts Festivals Inc. It was commissioned by RISING, Brisbane Festival, Darwin Festival, Ten Days on the Island and Queensland Performing Arts Centre.
Dancenorth Australia is supported by Creative Australia, Arts Queensland, Townsville City Council and the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation, and receives funding from Creative Australia through the Australian Cultural Fund.
RED will be performed at the Australian Dance Biennale from 3 to 7 June 2026. Tickets are available via the RISING website.