Since joining Queensland Ballet as Artistic Director in 2012, Li Cunxin has had an extraordinary impact on the company, raising the standard of the dancing and increasing box office, subscriber numbers, corporate sponsorship and philanthropy. It’s a different company, on every front, to the one he inherited.

“Under Li’s leadership Queensland Ballet has been completely reinvented. It was good to see standards lifted significantly in classical work and the company much enlarged and reinvigorated, even in Li’s earliest years,” says Deborah Jones, the dance critic for The Australian. “But you always want to see new contemporary work developed too. The introduction of Bespoke is a terrific addition to the annual schedule. Long may it continue.”

Bespoke. Photo © Justin Ridler

Li inaugurated Bespoke last year. Programmed to develop adventurous new choreography, it is dedicated to the creation of works by contemporary artists who are interested in melding dance and technology.

“Bespoke challenges assumptions about what dance is, what dancers can do, and how dance is experienced,” says the QB 2018  brochure.

The inaugural 2017 Bespoke program at Brisbane’s Powerhouse Theatre featured works by...