Electric Universe - Enter the Realm of Wings / Exocytosis - Dopamine Overload
Solstice Dance Collective
The Paint Factory Festival Hub
May 22, 2026
Solstice Dance Collective is an independent emerging contemporary collective based in Brisbane. Following the success of her two-time award-winning work Exocytosis, Artistic Director and Founder Esmée Henry has created and developed a new work, Electric Universe - Enter the Realm of Wings.
The world premiere of Electric Universe took place at The Paint Factory, Yeronga, as part of Anywhere Festival Brisbane, an annual performance event that stages theatre, comedy and music in non-traditional locations. The festival is designed to give independent and emerging artists an accessible platform to showcase their work, without the large venue costs that can overwhelm the arts industry in the 21st century.
Starring five Solstice Dance Collective dancers and co-choreographers, Grace Campbell, Eva Cattarin Mattioli, Noah Hockey, Mia Williams and Lillian Wright, this 30-minute work steps inside the world of a bird, where its life cycle unfolds before your eyes. The dancers’ body articulation effectively displayed the raw essence of a bird’s fragility when being born, and the intentionally slow, progressive choreography made it feel as if you were watching an egg hatch.
Henry is a creative visionary with her choreography, effectively manipulating the arms to resemble wings while also creating abstract shape and line, both symbolising and contrasting with a bird’s wing. As the piece progressed, so did the intensity of the movement, effectively displaying a bird’s maturation and development through each stage of its life cycle.
The choreography itself is unlike anything I have seen before. Henry’s clever ability to form captivating movement is beyond the normal human mind. Electric Universe successfully uses atypical movement qualities, opposing dynamics and multiple aesthetic elements to keep audiences both visually intrigued and educated on the topic, two of Solstice Dance Collective’s main principles.
Unusually, a portion of the piece included the dancers performing their movement in response to bird sounds, which enhanced the piece’s storytelling and powerfully crossed the line between contemporary abstraction and the literal bird.
Henry uses the human body as a vessel to showcase the unique qualities of different bird species, which is evident through the distinct differences in the use of space, levels, dynamics and choreographic devices. Solstice Dance Collective also incorporated a mask prop on the only male dancer, Noah Hockey, creating an impactful visual display of an exotic bird, as well as representing the way male birds frequently assert their dominance. This successfully created the climax that the piece needed. It really put you on the edge of your seat, eager to see what would happen next.
The eye focus and intensity from all the dancers was immaculate, looking beyond the audience barrier and conveying a bird’s sense of protection and its ability to lock in on prey. It made the audience feel immersed in the environment, as if we were the prey ourselves.
Overall, Solstice Dance Collective’s new piece Electric Universe definitely lives up to expectations, successfully delivering the show’s theme of becoming immersed in the life of a bird. Whenever it returns to the Brisbane stage, I would highly recommend seeing it and experiencing Esmée Henry’s exhilarating choreographic talent.
Also performed at Anywhere Festival Brisbane last year, Exocytosis returned to transform the complicated neuroscience of dopamine into captivating abstract contemporary art. Performed by eight Solstice Dance Collective dancers and co-choreographers, Meghan Blackburn, Grace Campbell, Eva Cattarin Mattioli, Kelsey Dell, Noah Hockey, Charlie King, Emily Underwood and Mia Williams, Exocytosis explores the journey of the human “happy hormone”, dopamine, and creates compelling contemporary choreography based on its factual biological processes.
Immediately, the spatial tension created between the dancers and the audience made you feel connected and even more immersed in the piece. This concentration was maintained throughout the whole work, and you did not want to blink. The use of sporadic solos, pairs and small groups in the beginning effectively represented the first stage of dopamine’s release. Each dancer individually brought their own talent to this choreographic work, yet they all blended seamlessly to create one journey. Each solo and duo was meticulously designed to complement every dancer’s strengths and showcase their own movement styles. Henry clearly makes sure her dancers are comfortable within her choreography and on the stage, and this was felt by the audience, making her not only a creative visionary but a strong artistic director.
The music choices between each stage also successfully complemented the portrayed concept.
The highlights of this performance included Henry’s clever use of different forms and stages of how the body can produce dopamine. One standout was the progression of skin-to-skin stimulation. The minimal finger movements used throughout the piece represented sensory stimulation or triggers to the nervous system, symbolising small surges of dopamine. Another major section was the captivating duo performed by Grace Campbell and Noah Hockey.
The chemistry and connection between these two dancers was captivating and unlike anything I have seen. You could feel how immersed both dancers were in their craft from the audience seats. Their partnering represented the large surges of dopamine produced through love and intimacy, and both Campbell and Hockey successfully conveyed this through their connection. Henry’s smooth dynamic choices seamlessly represented this absorption of dopamine, while also maintaining the safety of the partnered dancers and not making them feel too vulnerable to the audience.
Each section had different styles of choreography, creating larger movement qualities, unique choreographic styles and the manipulation of choreographic devices as the piece progressed into its climax and resolution. The lifts performed were unique within the contemporary industry, and Henry’s ability to further develop common lifting technique into new abstract forms is beyond captivating.
Overall, Henry’s Exocytosis has yet again stunned audiences with its captivating transformation of dopamine happening before your eyes. After two years on Brisbane stages, I can only hope this show continues, as I would recommend it to anyone who wants to see this incredible contemporary art.
- Ella White
Ella is an 18 year old full-time student in the contemporary stream at Queensland College of Dance.
The Dance Australia Young Dance Scholar programme is made possible through the generous support of World Ballet Crown and their parent company, Eleve Stage Events
