Sydney Festival celebrates its milestone 50th anniversary from 8–25 January 2026 under the bold new leadership of Festival Director Kris Nelson. This summer, the city transforms into a dynamic stage, honouring five decades of cultural innovation while presenting a daring vision for the future of artistic performance. From international trailblazers to homegrown pioneers, the program features world premieres, exclusive Australian works, and site-specific performances across Sydney’s theatres, town halls, and open-air spaces. Highlights include Eun-Me Ahn’s kaleidoscopic Post-Orientalist Express, Dan Daw’s deeply personal EXXY, and Joel Bray’s epic corroboree-inspired Garabari, offering audiences an immersive experience of movement, music, and storytelling. Sydney Festival 2026 promises to unite communities, celebrate cultural legacies, and ignite a city-wide celebration of artistic possibility.
International Innovation on Sydney Stages
Eun-Me Ahn — Post-Orientalist Express (South Korea)
Seoul’s enfant terrible, Eun-Me Ahn, brings her genre-defying choreography to Sydney for a rare appearance. Performed by eight dancers in over 90 dazzling, self-designed costumes, Post-Orientalist Express transforms traditions from Okinawa, Bali, and Manila into a satirical, visually spectacular exploration of contemporary Asian identity.
Alessandro Sciarroni — Save the Last Dance for Me (Italy)
Italian choreographer Alessandro Sciarroni revives the nearly lost Polka Chinata, a male courtship dance from the early 1900s, transforming it into a hypnotic contemporary ritual. Presented across Leichhardt Town Hall, Dancer’s Alley, and Sydney Town Hall, this work celebrates endurance, reinvention, and the living pulse of tradition.
Homegrown Voices and Australian Exclusives
Dan Daw — EXXY (Australia / UK)
Returning to Sydney Festival for the first time since 2018, Dan Daw revisits his working-class Aussie roots in EXXY, a deeply personal reflection on pride, belonging, and visibility. Joined by three dancers whose movement mirrors his own, Daw examines what it means to stand out while navigating life’s expectations.
Azzam Mohamed & Jack Prest — Echo Mapping (Australia)
Following their acclaimed Katma (2025), Mohamed and Prest present a stripped-back duet exploring the cathartic power of music and embodied movement. Performed in-the-round at Sydney Town Hall, Echo Mapping fuses live composition, voice, and movement into an intimate, immersive encounter.
Alfira O’Sullivan & Murtala — Sisa-Sisa (Indonesia / Australia)
This compelling double bill unites two personal solos: Murtala’s Gelumbang Raya, reflecting on resilience after the 2004 Aceh tsunami, and O’Sullivan’s Jejak & Bisik, exploring fertility, perimenopause, and the shifting female body. Together, they meditate poetically on survival, memory, and identity.
Cultural Celebration Across Sydney
Joel Bray — Garabari (Wiradjuri / Australia)
Choreographer Joel Bray reimagines the corroboree for a new generation, inviting audiences to dance together under the stars on Sydney Harbour. In collaboration with Wiradjuri Elders and community, Garabari features ethereal costumes by Denni Francisco (Ngali), driving beats by Byron Scullin, and immersive projections by Katie Sfetkidis, transforming the Northern Broadwalk of the Sydney Opera House into a vibrant open-air dance floor.
Jannawi Dance Clan — Garrigarrang Badu (Australia, World Premiere)
Led by artistic director Peta Strachan, Jannawi Dance Clan presents Garrigarrang Badu, celebrating Dharug Country and the central role of women in sustaining culture. This ambitious world premiere is both grounded in tradition and visually transcendent, continuing the vital storytelling of Aboriginal heritage.
Sydney Festival 2026 is a city-wide celebration of dance, music, and cultural heritage — a golden jubilee that honours the past while looking boldly to the future.
