From grand harbour spectacular to intimate perfection: the varied dance at Sydney Festival 2026

By Erin Brannigan, Associate Professor, Theatre and Performance, UNSW Sydney

Of all the arts, dance has a special capacity to create worlds. Centred around the moving body, these worlds draw on other art forms – music, visual art, design, projection – to fill-out visions in time-space.

Dance at this year’s Sydney Festival ranged from a 20 minute, salon-style performance for two dancers, to an outdoor, multimedia, participatory sunset event with Sydney Harbour as a backdrop.

Garrigarrang Badu

Jannawi Dance Clan’s premiere of Garrigarrang Badu by Peta Strachan is the perfect work to orient audiences to the Dharug Country at the heart of Sydney…

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