The Australian Ballet’s Bodytorque will return in September with six new works created in response to a single theme: gravity.
Following a sold-out season in 2024, Bodytorque: Gravity will be presented at The Lawler, Southbank Theatre, from September 3 to 5. The program brings together emerging choreographers from within The Australian Ballet and the broader dance community, offering them the space to experiment, collaborate and develop original work for the stage.
The 2026 line-up features creations by Australian Ballet artists Timothy Coleman, Serena Graham, Lilla Harvey, Mason Lovegrove and Maxim Zenin, alongside former Australian Ballet School student and internationally based choreographer Pol Andrés Thió.
This year’s theme invites the choreographers to consider gravity in both physical and emotional terms: as a force that pulls people together, holds them in place, tests resistance and creates momentum.
Australian Ballet Artistic Director David Hallberg said the program gave artists the freedom to test ideas and begin defining their individual creative voices.
“Bodytorque gives our artists the freedom to explore new ideas, take creative risks and discover their own choreographic voice,” Hallberg said.
“It’s always incredibly rewarding to see choreographers who began their creative journey through Bodytorque go on to create work for The Australian Ballet and around the world.”
He described supporting the next generation of choreographic talent as one of the company’s most important responsibilities.
Live music will form part of two of the new works. The Australian Ballet’s Marion Pender Piano Fellow, Jeremy Chan, will perform solo piano for Zenin’s creation, while Graham’s work will feature live piano and cello.
Established in 2004, Bodytorque has played an important role in the development of Australian choreographers. Previous participants include Alice Topp and Tim Harbour, who later became Resident Choreographers at The Australian Ballet and have created works for companies internationally.
The program also forms part of a longer tradition within the company of encouraging dancers to develop as dance-makers, a history that includes the early choreographic career of Graeme Murphy.
More recently, Yuiko Masukawa presented work in Bodytorque in 2024 after receiving the 2023 Telstra Emerging Choreographer award. She was subsequently commissioned to create a new work for The Australian Ballet’s Signature Works and Ballet Under the Stars programs in 2026.
Presented in the intimacy of The Lawler, Bodytorque: Gravity offers audiences the chance to encounter six developing choreographic voices at close range, and perhaps to glimpse ideas and artists that will shape the company’s future repertoire.
Bodytorque: Gravity runs for approximately 90 minutes, with performances on Thursday, September 3 and Friday, September 4 at 7pm, and Saturday, September 5 at 1pm and 7pm. Tickets are priced at $30.