Brisbane Festival 2025 is transforming the city into a stage alive with dance in all its forms. Across September, audiences are invited to experience works that are daring, visionary, and profoundly moving, spanning world premieres, international collaborations, and powerful First Nations storytelling.
Festival Artistic Director Louise Bezzina describes this year’s program as “bold, kinetic, and unapologetically alive” — and the dance offerings exemplify just that.
Among the international highlights is Gems, an Australian exclusive from Benjamin Millepied and his L.A. Dance Project. Commissioned by Van Cleef & Arpels, this triptych of works has never before been performed together. The program unites Millepied’s refined contemporary ballet with music by Philip Glass and David Lang, visual design by Liam Gillick and Mark Bradford, and the bold text-based imagery of Barbara Kruger.
Closer to home, Australasian Dance Collective joins forces with Club Guy & Roni from the Netherlands for the world premiere of Bad Nature, a daring multisensory experience that blends dance, sound and kinetic sculpture in a shifting, otherworldly landscape. Stephanie Lake Company’s The Chronicles pushes physicality to its limits, pairing twelve leading dancers with Robin Fox’s evocative score and the haunting sound of a children’s choir.
For audiences drawn to the raw power of urban expression, the Netherlands’ ISH Dance Collective brings Elements of Freestyle, an adrenaline-fused mix of breakdance, skateboarding, BMX, freerunning and dance theatre. What emerges is not just sport or spectacle, but poetry through motion.
The Festival also shines a spotlight on First Nations voices. Stephen Page makes a triumphant return to Brisbane with Baleen Moondjan, his first major commission since leaving Bangarra Dance Theatre. Inspired by a story from his grandmother, this monumental riverside ceremony unfolds among sculptural whale bones on the Brisbane River, weaving together dance, language and storytelling in a profound expression of connection to Country.
Preparing Ground sees Marilyn Miller, Jasmin Sheppard and Katina Olsen collaborate on a deeply resonant work about displacement and reclamation, while Unveiling Shadows introduces the fiercely expressive debut solo from Josh Taliani, blending dance theatre, vogue and hip hop. For younger audiences, Bangarra’s The Bogong’s Song creates an enchanting new world of dance, puppetry and song, exploring connection to Country through the eyes of children.
And in a joyous community-spirited tradition, Common People Dance Eisteddfod returns with spandex, sequins and suburban dance battles that celebrate movement, humour and unfiltered creativity.
Bezzina reflects, “Each of these works offers something different, but together they reveal the boundless potential of dance — how it can challenge, uplift, and change the way we see the world. So, this year, don’t just see one. Let yourself be moved, over and over again.”
Brisbane Festival runs from 5 to 27 September across the city. For the full program and tickets visit brisbanefestival.com.au.