6 Performances at BLEACH Festival That Will Leave a Lasting Impression
Spring on the Gold Coast is about to get a whole lot more unexpected. From October 1 - 11, BLEACH Festival returns to transform the HOTA Precinct into a vibrant playground of contemporary arts, where bold ideas, unforgettable performances and immersive experiences come together in spectacular fashion.
The festival's program is bursting with live music, interactive installations, First Nations storytelling, thought-provoking art and captivating live performances that promise to leave a lasting impression.
Expect daring theatre, breathtaking dance, powerful physical performances and boundary-pushing works from acclaimed local and international artists. Whether you're a lifelong arts lover or simply curious to experience something completely different, BLEACH Festival invites you to step outside the everyday and into a world of creativity. Secure your tickets now and discover the performances everyone will be talking about.
No One Gets Out Of Here Alive
In three words: Cathartic, irreverent, life-affirming
Weaving together dance, voice and music with humour and audience participation, this visceral, deeply cathartic work creates a communal space to grieve - for ourselves, our loved ones, and our planet. No One Gets Out of Here Alive confronts mortality into a deeply visceral experience that takes us beyond words into the nature of dying. By connecting with death, we remember we are alive. Presented but The Farm - a contemporary dance company that challenges the preconceptions of what dance is and where it can be viewed.
When: Saturday 10 October, 6pm and Sunday 11 October, 4pm
Cost: $34 - $39
CYVASA 2.0
In three words: Experimental, mesmerising, tech-fantasy
In the world of CYVASA 2.0, ancient Javanese spirituality merges with techno-fantasy aesthetics and glitch distortion. This is not a stage, but a temple, laboratory and server room, where new digital deities are born. Here, desire is a driving force that transforms the body’s architecture - a pulsating, liquid machine that is continuously upgrading, reprogrammed and reincarnated. CYVASA 2.0 is an experimental dance work by Indonesian and diaspora dance artists Juliet Widyasari Burnett and Ishvara Devati, with a music score by Indonesian feminist noise duo Metatesis.
When: Saturday 3 October, 2pm; Sunday 4 October, 6pm; Monday 5 October, 2pm
Cost: $24 - $29
Kuramanunya
In three words: Powerful, haunting, triumphant
In this solo dance theatre performance, Thomas E.S. Kelly (Minjungbal, Wiradjuri and Ni-Vanuatu) honours the fallen and the forgotten – those whose stories echo in red earth, wind, and water. This is one man's tribute to ancestral strength, spirit, and the enduring legacy of First Nations people. Thomas is the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Karul Projects, a First Nations-led dance theatre company based on Minjungbal Country (Gold Coast).
When: Saturday 10 October, 4pm; Sunday 11 October, 2pm
Cost: $24 - $29
The Butterfly Who Flew Into the Rave
In three words: Electrifying, synchronised, hypnotic
This award-winning durational work is choreographed to the techno album 'Nocturbulous Behaviour' by Suburban Knights and straddles the border between performance art, dance, and theatre. Three dancers are locked in a pattern of relentless movement, in seamless synch, detailed down to every beat. It’s the come up and the come down all in one - the beauty of feeling alive, but the consequences that come with it. The dancers embody the obsession of rave culture, perfectly capturing the communal joy and the physical toll of dancing until you drop.
When: Friday 2 October, 8pm; Saturday 3 October 8pm; Sunday 4 October, 7pm
Cost: $34 - $39
CUDDLE
In three words: Surreal, surprising, intimate In
CUDDLE, two of Melbourne’s contemporary dance artists on the rise, Harrison Ritchie-Jones and Michaela Tancheff, engage in a difficult and dynamic duel filled with surreal sonic and visual surprises. Weaving contemporary dance with elements from martial arts, figure skating, rodeo barnyard dance and a host of more abstract inspirations, CUDDLE ebbs and flows from the joyful and absurd to the inventive and technically brilliant.
When: Thursday 8 October, 8pm; Friday 9 October, 8pm; Saturday 10 October, 8pm.
Cost: $34 - $39
A Simple Space
In three words: Raw, immersive, joyful
Backed by the driving rhythm of a live percussionist, seven acrobats push their physical limits. Simultaneously raw, frantic and joyful, A Simple Space evokes real responses in audiences, something visceral rather than cerebral. Instead of fine-tuning the performance with makeup, lighting and contrived theatrical overlay, the cast has deliberately gone the opposite way focusing on their exceptional skill, playful competitiveness, trust and friendship. The audience is brought in close to surround the performers. You can feel the heat, hear every breath, and be immersed in every moment. This honesty is the essence behind A Simple Space.
When: Saturday 3 October, 2pm and 4pm; Sunday 4 October, 4pm; Monday 5 October 2pm
Cost: $34 - $39
