In 2025, Australasian Dance Collective (ADC) will present Relic - a new immersive experience at Urban Art Projects in March and Blue – ADC 40th Anniversary Season at QPAC in May, with more seasons to be announced soon.
Relic—a daring reimagining of Jack Lister’s award-winning Still Life film trilogy invites audiences to experience art as never before, in a site-specific dance theatre creation that defies the boundaries between performance and visual art.
In an unprecedented collaboration, ADC and Urban Art Projects (UAP) partner to present this immersive work. Crafted for the imposing UAP Foundry, Relic explores the interplay of mortality, fragility, youth and spirit. Inspired by the timeless themes of 16th and 17th-century still life paintings and the haunting symbolism of the memento mori movement, Relic reimagines these age-old notions of mortality through the fearless spirit of motocross—helmets for skulls, smoking rubber for snuffed-out candles, and the inevitable heralding of the final lap for the sands in the hourglass.
The industrial grandeur of the Foundry will be transformed into a mesmerising journey of discovery. The audience will be led through the space and immersed in a collection of exquisitely crafted vignettes—each scene a momentary glimpse of the delicacy of life.
Relic, a collision of visual art, performance, beauty and brutality, features ADC’s award-winning Company Artists and special guest Leanne Kenneally, Opera Queensland Soprano.
ADC Artistic Director & CEO Amy Hollingsworth is immensely proud of this project because it exemplifies everything ADC stands for: innovation, creativity, and pushing boundaries.
“Five years ago, I commissioned our brilliant Associate Artistic Director Jack Lister to create a work called Still Life. The intention was for him to create three iterations so that our audiences could approach the work in different ways - a proscenium stage work, a film, and a site-specific experience, all drawing from the same artistic inspirations – each a standalone work of art yet connected in their genus.
“In 2020, we released the world premiere of the now award-winning triptych of films, in 2021 Brisbane audiences experienced the critically acclaimed work created for QPAC Playhouse stage. And now, at last, we’re bringing it to life as a site-specific immersive experience.
“This final iteration of the work embodies our commitment to reimagining spaces and imaginative partnerships as we are collaborating with the extraordinary team at Urban Art Projects to realise something truly unique and unexpected,” she said.
Relic is showing at UAP Foundry, 7 - 9 March 2025.
Blue embodies the marriage between the legacy and the future of ADC with a triple bill of something old, something new and something borrowed - honouring the past and looking boldly toward the future.
When considering how best to honour the 40th anniversary of the company, ADC Artistic Director & CEO Amy Hollingsworth said it seemed poetic that we should mirror history.
“The inception of the company was in November 1984, with the first performance presented in 1985. Blue–our 40th anniversary season, will echo history and premiere at QPAC’s Playhouse four decades later.
“The celebration of 40 years will also permeate the Playhouse foyer, the spaces activated with reflections on the work of our visionary company founders Maggi Sietmsa AM and Abel Valls,” she said.
Natalie Weir’s When Time Stops returns to the QPAC stage, capturing the fragility and beauty of life’s pivotal moments. An ethereal voyage of life-changing moments, Weir’s choreography, set to a soul-stirring score by Iain Grandage, will move audiences with its depth of feeling. ADC’s extraordinary dancers will be joined by guest artist Riannon McLean for a truly haunting and poetic performance.
One of Australia’s leading choreographic voices, Melanie Lane, presents her latest creation in collaboration with UK electronic music visionary, Clark. Known for her striking blend of physicality and emotional nuance, Lane’s choreography is masterful and touching in its humanity. Set against a cutting-edge soundscape, this world premiere is sure to captivate and
challenge.
Global superstar Hofesh Shechter’s seminal work In your rooms is a visceral exploration of society’s chaotic energy and inner tensions. Shechter’s choreography brings together eight dancers in an electrifying performance, delving into the complexity of our collective existence with unflinching honesty.
Blue is showing QPAC’s Playhouse, 14 - 17 May 2025.
Tickets for both Relic and Blue are on sale now. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit here.