Media Release:
Queensland Ballet and Experience Gold Coast present Elastic Hearts
to the music of Sia

HOTA Home of the Arts, Gold Coast, 13 October, 2025:  In a bold new collaboration, Queensland Ballet and Experience Gold Coast present, Elastic Hearts, a world premiere that reimagines the music of global music sensation, Sia, through the visionary choreography of Garry Stewart. Set to a new lush orchestral arrangement of Sia’s original track by Grammy Award nominee, Elliott Wheeler, Elastic Hearts premieres at HOTA, Home of the Arts, Gold Coast on 2 November, 2025

Known for his pioneering choreography and physically demanding performances, choreographer and former Artistic Director of Australian Dance Theatre, Garry Stewart, will bring Sia’s anthems of vulnerability, defiance, and transformation to life in this unexpected fusion of high energy dance and emotionally charged Australian pop music.

Stewart describes the work, Elastic Hearts, as a creative response to the music of Sia Furler, the celebrated Australian artist, originally from Adeliade and now based in LA. 

“The track, Elastic Heart, speaks to the strength and resilience of the human heart and human relationships, the interconnections we have to each other, and the necessity for finding community” Stewart said. 

“There is a line in Sia’s track that I love, ‘I may snap and I move fast’. There is an elasticity and pliability to emotions. We need to bend and flex with the world around us but we also need to cultivate resilience and not break.” 

“Elastic Hearts is more than just a performance - it’s a sensory experience, a celebration of nature, music, and the strength of the human spirit,” Stewart explained.  
Artistic Director of Queensland Ballet, Ivan Gil-Ortega, said Queensland Ballet is proud to lead this unique and unforgettable collaboration, uniting acclaimed Australian artists in a creative partnership with HOTA.  

“This collaboration was originally curated by Leanne Benjamin who had seen and admired Garry’s unique dance works such as Birdbrain and G, and recognised Elliott Wheelers huge body of musical compositions,” Gil-Ortega said.

“Powered by Sia’s soaring vocals and the richly layered arrangement by Queensland Symphony, Elastic Hearts is sure to pulse with the same creative energy that defines HOTA and the Gold Coast. Audiences are in for a treat,” Gil-Ortega added.

While Sia’s music provided the emotional foundation, Stewart’s long-standing artistic interest in nature shaped the visual and thematic design.

“The visual world for Elastic Hearts is inspired by nature and the essential idea of interconnection. I'm curious about the processes of life, death, decay, and regeneration. At the heart of Sia’s music lies a deep emotional honesty – to descend into pain, collapse and then to rise again with defiance and joy. These arcs of breaking and rebuilding echo the ecological cycles of nature itself,” Stewart said. 

As a representation of nature, I have centred my work around Gaia, the Greek goddess of nature and the planet. Gaia serves as a guiding force, conjuring the work into existence and embodying the themes of connection and transformation. At its core my work is joyful while also acknowledging the difficulty and heartbreak of life. Ultimately it is about the creativity found within resilience and overcoming, and I think the music of Sia is the perfect vehicle to convey that,” Stewart explained. 

Composer, Elliott Wheeler, who has previously produced several of Sia’s tracks, said the opportunity to give one of her acclaimed songs a second life was irresistible.

“I’m a massive fan of Sia, and I believe that what so many people respond to in her songs, apart from the incredible lyrics and unnerving knack for melody, is her voice. It’s a force of nature,” he explained. 

“Pop songs are concise, often built on just a few musical ideas. In the ballet world, those same ideas might need to stretch to eight minutes. I thought I would run out of material - but the opposite happened. You can take a small idea and build an entire landscape around it, letting the orchestra play to its strengths. It was liberating,” he said.

“The orchestral arrangement by Elliott captures the raw vulnerability in Sia’s tracks and lifts them with the sound of a full orchestra,” Stewart added.
Experience Gold Coast’s Head of Arts and Culture, Yarmila Alfonzetti, said this new three-year partnership with Queensland Ballet is part of HOTA’s efforts to showcase diverse choreographic voices. 

“This collaboration is part of our broader vision to establish the Gold Coast as a platform for bold, world-class dance. It is a thrilling opportunity to celebrate the power of dance and its ability to captivate audiences through the contemporary voices of Garry Stewart and Sia,” Alfonzetti said. 

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Performance Details

Dates + Times: Thurs 6 Nov, 7pm, Fri 7 Nov, 7.30pm, Sat 8 Nov, 1.30pm and 7.30pm

Venue: Home of the Arts, Gold Coast. 135 Bundall Rd, Surfers Paradise, QLD 4217 Tickets $59 - $99. Purchase tickets here  

The creative team for Elastic Hearts includes: Music – SIA, Choreography/Director & Staging Concepts – Garry Stewart, Music Producer & Arranger – Elliott Wheeler, Originating Artistic Producer – Leanne Benjamin, Music Recording – Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Set & Costume Designer – Charles Davies, Lighting Designer – Alexander Berlage, Dramaturg – Lou Cope Assistant to the Choreographer – Daniel Jaber 

Editors Note

• Danielle Ford, Public Relations Specialist, Danielle.ford@experiencegoldcoast.com / 0487 002 022
• Claire Vince, Communications Manager, cvince@queenslandballet.com.au / 0468 726 910
• Background information and photos see here.