Featuring a slew of awe-inspiring events spread across 13 days, RISING’s inaugural Australian Dance Biennale will see dancers busting moves in theatres, town halls and public squares around Melbourne's CBD and the Birrarung (Yarra River) banks.
From 27 May to 8 June RISING, Melbourne’s premiere winter arts and culture festival, will come alive with emotion in motion as some of the world’s major dancers and choreographers strut their stuff.
The Biennale aims to expand and bring new audiences into the world of dance and encourage national touring opportunities.
RISING 2026
- When: 27 May – 8 June
- Where: Various venues across Melbourne
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.
LOVE LOCK and FOREVER & EVER – SYDNEY DANCE COMPANY
- 3 – 6 June, Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne
- Tickets here
Even if contemporary dance ain’t your thing, this double-header is unmissable.
First up, Melanie Lane’s Love Lock reimagines love songs as “the fantasies and collective experiences of diverse cultures”. We hear Akira Isogawa’s transfixing costumes are worth the admission price alone. Also, Love Lock’s score was composed by the incredible Clark (an electronic artist from the UK).
Then witness the return of Antony Hamilton’s multi-award-winning masterpiece Forever & Ever. Hamilton’s brother Julian (you’ve heard of The Presets, right?) composed the minimal techno beats, which pulse throughout this brilliant work that infuses punk spirit into rave culture.
HARD TO BE SOFT: A BELFAST PRAYER
- 27 – 30 May, Merlyn Theatre, The Malthouse
- Tickets here
Hard To Be Soft: A Belfast Prayer presents cinematic dance in four episodes. From a father/son brawl to an army of teenage girls performing warrior hip hop in perfect unison, Hard To Be Soft… provides dramatic insight into the origin stories of Belfast’s hard men, women and teens.
A major choreographer from Northern Ireland, Doherty also dances in this production, which is enriched by DJ David Holmes’ driving score.
THE FOREST – LUCY GUERIN INC.*
- 4 – 7 June, Union Theatre, University Of Melbourne
- Tickets here
A world-premiere dance work from esteemed contemporary choreographer Lucy Guerin, The Forest promises audiences a hallucinatory experience. When the sun sets in a forest, our imaginations turn shadows into creepy spectacles. Touching on themes of forest folk tales, myths and eco-horror…you won’t wanna miss this one.
INTO THE WOODS*
- 4 – 7 June, Guild Theatre, University Of Melbourne
- Tickets here
Inspired by a story from the Middle Ages about an elderly widow who – after being tortured – confessed she had “sworn herself to Satan”, choreographer Melanie Lane’s powerful new work Into The Woods – a collaboration with video artist Tianyi Liao – imagines a terrifying, visceral future.
*Digest a double bill of The Forest and Into The Woods on the same night for $75 (save $23).
THE SHEPHERDS
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- 5 – 7 June, Arts House
- Tickets here
In this collaborative work, award-winning dancemakers Carly Sheppard and Alisdair Macindoe star as two lost sheep in a slaughter paddock. On a quest to find the shepherd who sealed their fate, the pair stumble upon new pastures and discover some of the consequences of Australia’s colonial invasion, including the devastation of First Nations peoples, ancient knowledge and ecology.
LAND OF 1000 DANCES
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- 27 May – 7 June, Flinders Street Station Ballroom
- Class schedule and tickets here
The historic Flinders Street Station Ballroom will once again open its doors as RISING’s very own dance academy. Whether you fancy adding some Bollywood, salsa, Melbourne Shuffle or voguing moves to your repertoire, these classes – taught by world champions and Victorian dance legends – are for you.
This ballroom was originally purpose-built for dancing the night away before boarding the last train home, so grab this chance to tread the boards where many before you have mingled while you can.
You can also waltz with Let’s Dance Bendigo, intro to breakdance with Demi Sorono, Tai Chi with Celestial Tai Chi, ballet with Madeleine Eastoe, and line dancing with Country Struts.
GOD SAVE THE QUEENS (free)
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- 6 June, Fed Square
This day-to-night, all-ages Pasifika block party is a free event led by the rulers of New Zealand/Aotearoa’s street dance scene, The Royal Family Dance Crew. For context, the crew’s lead choreographer Parris Goebel has worked with the likes of Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and Rihanna. Attendees will be taken through their Sorry routine which launched Parris and her crew into the internet stratosphere. Who could resist the opportunity to be guided through a killer routine, step by step?
DEFEND THE THRONE (sold-out)
- 7 June, Hamer Hall
The Royal Family Dance Crew, the Auckland-based pioneers of Polyswagg, are performing a new showcase, cherrypicked from 14 years of snatching World Hip Hop Championship trophies. Sorry to be the bearer of crushing news, but Defend The Throne is already sold out! Thankfully, as we mentioned above, God Save the Queens is open to all, and entirely free!
SISSY BALL 8: THE DOLL HOUSE
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- 7 June, Melbourne Town Hall
- Tickets here
The Australian Dance Biennale’s closing night ends with a bang as Mother Kianna – the trailblazing mother of Naarm’s ballroom scene – presents the Southern hemisphere’s biggest vogue ball, Sissy Ball 8: The Doll House. Why not register to walk?
But wait, there’s more…
Originally staged in 2006, legendary choreographer Gideon Obarzanek created Glow alongside interactive software designer Frieder Weiss.
During this breathtaking 27-minute duet for dancer and technology, real-time motion-tracking software allows body movement to trigger and control the music, lighting and animation.
The work picked up Helpmann Awards for Best Female Dancer and Best Dance Work, and even inspired the visuals for Kylie Minogue’s Get Outta My Way clip.
Frankie (short for Frankenstein) – a new work by German-Australian dancer/choreographer Martin Hansen, which is performed in a hybrid “dance-and-talk” format – depicts grief as a monster.
A giant performance installation featuring Brooklyn-based artist Narcissister, Voyage Into Infinity is designed as a feminist reinterpretation of the Rube Goldberg machine. Expect living dolls, cascading everyday objects, lo-fi magic and pyros.
Acclaimed performance artists Latai Taumoepeau and Mirabelle Wouters examine “the struggles of everyday expectation” in the ugly-beautiful Exposure.
Furby fans would be wise to prioritise heading to the heart of Emporium Melbourne for the Furby Chorus And Friends experience.
Dancenorth’s “fiery” duet, RED, explores the suffocation of biodiversity and its direct, tangible impacts on human breathing.
Hot tip: Buy tickets to 3+ Australian Dance Biennale shows and save 15%.
For more information, head here.
Beat is a proud media partner of RISING.
