Photograph by David Kelly
Elastic Hearts, a vibrant, 60-minute ballet set entirely to the music of Sia, was a collision of sound, movement and spectacle.
For an audience made up almost entirely of Sia fans, many likely witnessing ballet for the first time, Elastic Hearts was a thrilling introduction to the art form: glamorous, heartfelt and unorthodox.
Under the musical direction of arranger Elliott Wheeler – who worked with Baz Luhrmann on The Great Gatsby and Elvis – Sia’s songs were reimagined with orchestral grandeur and cinematic depth. Wheeler’s pre-recorded orchestrations shimmered with detail and surprise. Each number unfolded like a new chapter, with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Nigel Gaynor, bringing Wheeler’s arrangements to life.
Elastic Hearts was visually breathtaking, too. Set and costume designer Charlie Davis created a world halfway between Squid Game and an Egyptian queen’s court, all polished pinks, metallic gleam and stylised ritual. The company of 20 dancers appeared as an army of platinum-blonde Sia lookalikes, with their pleated skirts, puffy jackets and scarves appearing and vanishing as the story evolved.
At the centre of this controlled chaos was Garry Stewart’s taut and expressive choreography. Stewart, known for fusing athleticism with abstraction, delivered sequences that pulsed with pop sensibility and emotional charge. The dancers hurled themselves across the stage and, at times, through the air, rarely pausing for breath. A giant slippery dip descended from a raised platform, part throne, part playground, providing both spectacle and humour in equal measure.
If there was a narrative, it was impressionistic: a queen and her court moving through a series of dreamlike scenes as each song revealed its hidden drama. But Elastic Hearts was less about story and more about sensation; a celebration of Sia’s emotional range, from the anthemic to the intimate.
As the ballet gathered pace, the audience grew bolder, applauding between tracks, clapping in rhythm, and finally singing along. This was not your standard ballet audience, nor was it your standard ballet.
Whether or not Sia had any direct involvement is unclear, but Elastic Hearts was both a glowing testament to her creative influence and a reminder that ballet can be as modern, inclusive and fun as any pop concert.
Elastic Hearts was performed at HOTA, on the lands of the Kombumerri people of the Yugambeh Language Group, on the Gold Coast, on Friday 7 November.
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