Dancenorth Australia

02/06/2026

RED opens at .melbourne tomorrow.
 
Co-Artistic Director Amber Haines spoke with Aussie Theatre about the season earlier this month.
 
“RED began with a curiosity about our relationship to the natural world and the perilous illusion that we are separate from it. We were exploring interdependence, relationality, fragility, and the consequences of disconnection.
 
“It is a deeply intimate piece that interrogates our place within an ever-changing and intricately woven web, and the systems and constructs that no longer serve, but stifle us.
 
“Immersive, arresting and expansive, RED is a visceral encounter that you feel in the body.”

You can read the full article via the link in our bio.
 
The first two shows have sold out. Limited tickets remain. Book now.
 
~
 
Video by Amber Haines
Edit by
Featuring Marlo Benjamin and Nelson Earl

02/06/2026

RED opens at RISING Festival tomorrow.

Co-Artistic Director Amber Haines spoke with Aussie Theatre about the season earlier this month.

“RED began with a curiosity about our relationship to the natural world and the perilous illusion that we are separate from it. We were exploring interdependence, relationality, fragility, and the consequences of disconnection.

“It is a deeply intimate piece that interrogates our place within an ever-changing and intricately woven web, and the systems and constructs that no longer serve, but stifle us.

“Immersive, arresting and expansive, RED is a visceral encounter that you feel in the body.”

You can read the full article here: https://www.aussietheatre.com.au/features/amber-haines-on-red-and-the-power-of-contemporary-dance/

The first two shows have sold out. Limited tickets remain. Book now via https://2026.rising.melbourne/program/red

~

Video by Amber Haines
Edit by Aaron Ashley
Featuring Marlo Benjamin and Nelson Earl

26/05/2026

RED opens at Rising Festival in Naarm (Melbourne) next week.

RED is an uncompromising duet set inside a large transparent inflatable dome - a modern parable of two bodies moving within a world that can no longer sustain them.

As air slowly disappears, their plight becomes an allegory for a rapidly contracting world.

RED exposes a stark metaphor for our age: a world at its limits, where ecological crises are bound together and bodies must adapt to survive within failing systems.

Epic, poetic and intimate, RED illuminates the challenge of preserving our humanity in a world under pressure.

Catch us performing at The Lawler, Southbank Theatre from 3-7 June. Book now via https://2026.rising.melbourne/program/red

~

Video by Amber Haines
Edit by Aaron Ashley
Featuring Marlo Benjamin and Nelson Earl

21/05/2026

Can’t dance? No worries.

Our Dance For Absolute Beginners class series is an introductory experience to dance, for absolute beginners. No experience or natural skill is necessary.

This six-week series helps participants to feel more at ease and in tune with their bodies, discover their own natural groove, and feel connected to a welcoming, dance-loving community.

Join us for great tunes, new moves, social connections and all-round good vibes.

Dates: Thursday nights (4 June - 9 July)
Time 5:45pm - 7pm
Venue: Dancenorth Theatre, Gurambilbarra (Townsville)

For more details, and to register, visit https://dancenorth.com.au/events/dance-class/dance-for-absolute-beginners-1 or give us a call on 07 4772 2549.

20/05/2026

Just two weeks until RED is revealed at Rising Melbourne.

Epic, poetic and intimate, RED illuminates the challenge of preserving our humanity in a world under pressure.

“Breathtaking in its intimacy and virtuosity”
- Christine Rossouw, SCENESTR

We’re excited to share this work with audiences in Naarm (Melbourne) at The Lawler, Southbank Theatre from 3-7 June.

For more details, and to book tickets, visit https://dancenorth.com.au/works/red

~

Images by David Kelly, 2023
Featuring Marlo Benjamin and Nelson Earl

14/05/2026

Earlier this month, we had the pleasure of hosting Martin Hansen in the Dancenorth Studio for two weeks as part of our Artist Residency in the Tropics (A.R.T.) Program.

During their residency, Martin further developed their new solo work titled ‘Frankie’ – due to premiere at Rising Festival in Naarm (Melbourne) this June.

Frankie explores grief through the figure of the monster. Shorthand for Frankenstein, Frankie situates grief as one of today’s most persistent taboos, a shared yet hidden experience shaped by lost futures. Martin acts as a conduit for a tentative offering, an unfolding of figures and fragments of dance, utterance, affect and tune.

At its core, Frankie proposes grief as one of the defining monsters of our time and rather than offering resolution, the work creates a poetic, humorous, and strangely tender space in which audiences can encounter grief without sentimentality, diagnosis, or closure. Rather than psychological catharsis, Frankie frames it as disorientation.

Guided by the principle of digression, Frankie uses a hybrid “dance-and-talk” format in which dancing and speaking unfold through live performance, creating a porous relationship between performer and audience.

Frankie intersects expanded choreography, literary analysis and performance lecture, positioning dance as a site of thinking, critique, and imagination. In a time when many feel the solid melt once again into air, Frankie commits to dance as a space to hold what cannot yet be resolved — and to ask, with curiosity: which monsters are dancing today?

You can catch Frankie at DANCEHOUSE this June as part of RISING’s inaugural Australian Dance Biennale. For more details, check out https://2026.rising.melbourne/program/frankie

~

Images by Aaron Ashley

14/05/2026

Next month, we’re taking RED to .melbourne as part of the inaugural Australian Dance Biennale.

RED exposes a stark metaphor for our age: a world at its limits, where ecological crises are bound together and bodies must adapt to survive within failing systems.

“Spell-binding”
“Riveting, compelling”
“A work that should not be missed” 
- Suzannah Conway, ARTSHUB

Don’t miss your chance to see this powerful work at The Lawler, Southbank Theatre in Naarm (Melbourne) this 3-7 June. 

Tickets are on sale now. For more details and to book, visit the link in our bio.

~

Video by Amber Haines, edit by
Featuring: Marlo Benjamin

14/05/2026

Next month, we're taking RED to Rising as part of the inaugural Australian Dance Biennale.

RED exposes a stark metaphor for our age: a world at its limits, where ecological crises are bound together and bodies must adapt to survive within failing systems.

“Spell-binding”
“Riveting, compelling"
“A work that should not be missed”
- Suzannah Conway, ARTSHUB

Don't miss your chance to see this powerful work at The Lawler, Southbank Theatre in Naarm (Melbourne) this 3-7 June.

Tickets are on sale now. For more details and to book, visit https://dancenorth.com.au/works/red

~

Video by Amber Haines, edit by Aaron Ashley
Featuring: Marlo Benjamin

08/05/2026

Can’t dance? No worries.

Our Dance For Absolute Beginners class series will get you moving and grooving in no time.

This six-week series is designed to help participants feel more comfortable and confident in their bodies as they learn fundamental dance movements in a relaxed, friendly, and supportive environment.

Join us for great tunes, new moves, social connections and all-round good vibes.

Dates: Thursday nights (4 June - 9 July)
Time 5:45pm - 7pm
Venue: Dancenorth Theatre, Gurambilbarra (Townsville)

For more details, and to register, visit https://dancenorth.com.au/events/dance-class/dance-for-absolute-beginners-1 or give us a call on 07 4772 2549.

~

Image by Amber Haines

For people who “can’t dance”

06/05/2026

Naarm (Melbourne), we're bringing RED to Rising as part of the festival's inaugural Australian Dance Biennale.

Catch us performing five shows at The Lawler, Southbank Theatre this 3-7 June.

Tickets are on sale now. For more details and to book, visit https://dancenorth.com.au/works/red

~

Images by Gregory Lorenzutti 2021, David Kelly 2023 and Amber Haines 2021
Featuring: James O'Hara and Georgia Rudd, Marlo Benjamin and Michael Smith