Elastic Hearts: Garry Stewart on Sia, Nature, and the Power of Resilience

When Elastic Hearts takes the stage for its world premiere with Queensland Ballet on 6 November at HoTA on the Gold Coast, audiences can expect a work unlike anything the company has presented before.

Conceived and choreographed by Garry Stewart - who also serves as director and is responsible for the staging concepts - Elastic Hearts is a visually rich, emotionally charged dance experience set to the music of Sia, reimagined in a sweeping orchestral score.

We sat down with Garry to talk about how the project came to life, the central figure of Gaia, and why this is the perfect work for first-time dance goers and seasoned ballet lovers alike.

From Adelaide to Paris, L.A. and back to the Gold Coast - with Sia at the Heart

For Stewart, the seeds of Elastic Hearts were planted through an unlikely network of Adelaide connections.

“I’ve always been a huge fan of Sia’s music,” he says. “I lived in Adelaide for over 20 years, and Sia’s from Adelaide too.

Through a mutual friend, Garry shared a treatment for a work inspired by Sia’s songs.

“Not long after, Sia sent back a beautiful email saying, ‘I would love, love, love you to make this work.’ That was the green light to go.”

Originally titled Memento Vitae (“Remember to Live”) as a kind of post-pandemic gesture, the work eventually took its name from Sia’s track Elastic Heart. Stewart pluralised it - Elastic Hearts - to reflect the shared resilience and adaptability common to all human relationships.

“It speaks to the strength and resilience of human emotions,” he explains. “The necessity to bend, flex and reshape ourselves in accordance with the world around us, but also to remain intact and not break.”

A Visual World of Pink Forests, Swings, and an Enormous Heart

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

“In the west, we’ve historically placed ourselves above and separate from nature,” he says. “Through my work, I’m curious about how nature can exist with and of the body, manifesting a sense of community and inter-connection.”

At the centre of the piece is Gaia, the Greek goddess of nature and the Earth, embodied by a female dancer. Gaia’s journey unfolds alongside an ensemble who enact the cycles of destruction, renewal, and evolution.

Visually, Stewart worked with designer Charlie Davis to create an entirely pink world. “Everything is shades of pink!” he says. “There’s a playful spirit underpinning the work that reflects the unceasing creativity and invention inherent in nature and within the human enterprise; swings that fly in, a ramp that becomes a slide, a forest planted onstage, and a huge heart sculpture blooming with flowers.”

The Sound of Sia—Reimagined by a Symphony Orchestra

The music of Elastic Hearts is as ambitious as its staging. Sia’s songs are transformed into a new score by acclaimed composer Elliott Wheeler, recorded by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.

“Listening to a symphony orchestra is immediately physical and moving,” Stewart says. “Elliott has done a stunning job - dynamic, contrasting, and created for the body-in-movement. It holds the audience through every shift, every punctuation, and the dancers bring the music to life through the specificity of the choreography. Their bodies become music visualisers and act as highly expressive forces.”

Choreography for Today

Although Stewart has created many works for ballet companies, this time he leaned fully into contemporary dance vocabulary.

“In Europe where I currently live, it’s common for ballet companies to collaborate with contemporary choreographers and a number of storied ballet companies have now made contemporary practice central to their artistic programme” he says.

“For a company like Queensland Ballet, contemporary dance expands the dancers’ skills base and offers audiences a fresh experience of the art form. Although I’ve made works for many ballet companies that have leaned toward ballet vocabulary, I’m also interested in collapsing the artificial boundary that can separate ballet and contemporary dance.” 

Why Everyone Should See Elastic Hearts

For those who have never been to the ballet - or think it’s not for them - Stewart insists Elastic Hearts is an ideal introduction.

“It’s the music of Sia, with an orchestral arrangement - how could it not appeal to a broad audience?” he says. “It’s accessible, joyful, and acknowledges both the beauty and difficulty of life. The piece is ultimately about resilience and overcoming.”

For long-time Queensland Ballet supporters, Stewart promises surprises too.

“Every choreographer brings their own artistic universe to the company so in Elastic Hearts they’ll see the dancers in a completely new light, including interacting with the staging in playful and unexpected ways.”

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.

Queensland Ballet’s Elastic Hearts
HOTA, Home of the Arts – Gold Coast
World Premiere: 6 November. Season runs from 6-8 November.