A ballet which can be enjoyed by people with no vision is a feature of Queensland Ballet’s Bespoke program which opens this month.
Choreographed by Toronto-born Robert Binet, Newborn Giants was created in collaboration with Devon Healey, a blind theatre artist and Professor of Disability Studies at the University of Toronto.
Mr Healey said the work, which will have its world premiere in Brisbane, invited audiences to move beyond the purely visual language of ballet and immerse themselves in a world that engages sound, vibration, imagination, and touch.
“Blindness and dance both push us to go beyond what we see. To truly feel, listen, and imagine,” he said.
“They invite us to experience the world with our whole bodies.”
Mr Binet said Mr Healey’s voice was interwoven through the score as Immersive Descriptive Audio (IDA), a poetic, textural narration, that blends the intentions of the choreographer, the lived experience of blindness, and the physicality of the dancers themselves.
“The result is a dance work that speaks equally to sighted and non-sighted audiences, without compromise.”
Newborn Giants is joined by the world premieres of Curious Beings and Nhamgan Ngali Nyin, we all see you on the Bespoke program.
Choreographer Amelia Waller, a former Queensland Ballet and Leipzig Ballet soloist, said Curious Beings was an exploration of human behaviour through the lens of artificially created beings, exploring the depths of identity, memory, and self-discovery.
“This performance follows characters who are devoid of any past experience or memory, embarking on a journey of exploration within a world that is unfamiliar yet boundlessly fascinating.”
In Nhamgan Ngali Nyin, we all see you, Choreographer Yolande Brown, a Bidjara woman and former senior artist with Bangarra Dance Theatre, brings her unique choreographic voice shaped by culture, place, and connection.
“A few months before I was asked to work on the Bespoke season, I met the amazing, friendly Fred Leone, who is a fountain of cultural wisdom,” Ms Brown said.
“Fred is a Butchulla man, and is one of the cultural custodians of K’gari, which is one of the most spectacular places on earth.
“My work is in response to this incredible place that has deep First Nations history, and roots and stories.”
Season details:
Bespoke
- When: July 31 – August 9. 2025.
- Where: Talbot Theatre, Thomas Dixon Centre.
- Tickets: Queensland Ballet website.
