Following the breakout success of Raewyn Hill’s GATHERING.1 in 2025, Co3 Contemporary Dance Australia returns to Perth’s Liberty Theatre this winter with IN.RESIDENCE: GATHERING.2, a bold new iteration of the immersive contemporary dance experience presented across three weekends from 18 June to 4 July 2026.
The first iteration received strong critical attention, and lovers of dance are expected to line up for the new edition as Artistic Director Raewyn Hill expands the concept of GATHERING.2.
A new line-up of choreographers, DJs, street dancers and live moving images will transform the Liberty Theatre once again into a living, shifting performance landscape. Award-winning independent artist Laura Boynes joins internationally recognised choreographers and performers Sam Coren and May Greenberg, alongside multidisciplinary creator Shaun Johnston.
Each develops original works responding to the artistic concepts of GATHERING.2: unity, community and celebration.
Blending contemporary dance, physical theatre, street dance, live music and underground club culture, GATHERING.2 invites audiences to move through a constantly evolving environment where there is no singular stage and no fixed perspective. Performers emerge beside, around and amongst audiences, creating an experience centred on connection.
Hill describes the work as: “GATHERING.2 explores what it means to come together in shared space, where every gesture, every breath and every presence contribute to the unfolding experience.” Under Hill’s direction, the performance transforms the environment into an active meeting point between performers and audience. GATHERING.2 becomes an invitation to witness how collective presence can shape atmosphere, connection and meaning in real time.
The season features live sound by MOWGLI and DJ ADEBOII, with acclaimed designer Mark Haslam crafting immersive visual worlds where lighting, live projections and choreography become inseparable. Logan Ringshaw and Street Crew will also ignite the theatre with high-energy dance-offs that pulse with raw connection.
For Boynes, whose practice spans contemporary dance, theatre, opera and interdisciplinary performance nationally and internationally, GATHERING.2 offers an opportunity to create work that is both intimate and expansive. Coren, whose career includes collaborations with Hofesh Shechter Company, Gecko Theatre and the Royal Opera House, alongside screen credits with FKA Twigs, English National Ballet and Universal Pictures, brings a theatrical and unpredictable choreographic voice that moves between sincerity, absurdity and physical precision.
Returning to Perth after several years performing internationally in SLEEP NO MORE in Shanghai, Greenberg continues her growing choreographic practice following collaborations with STRUT Dance, Fremantle Biennale and Co3. Shaun Johnston, whose award-winning 2025 work THE SCRAMBLE fused wrestling and contemporary dance to explore masculinity and intimacy, brings his signature physicality and interdisciplinary approach to the season.
Presented as part of Co3’s IN.RESIDENCE pathways initiative, GATHERING.2 continues the company’s commitment to artistic experimentation, mentorship and the development of contemporary dance in Western Australia.
Across three expansive weekends, GATHERING.2 promises a visceral and immersive encounter with contemporary performance, designed not simply to be watched, but felt. Each performance will adopt its own unique atmosphere, with responsive elements, different DJs and live visuals inviting audiences to return again and again to discover something new each time.
WEEKEND 1
THURSDAY 18 JUNE (OPENING NIGHT) 7.30pm
FRIDAY 19 JUNE 7.30pm
SATURDAY 20 JUNE 7.30pm
WEEKEND 2
FRIDAY 26 JUNE 7.30pm
SATURDAY 27 JUNE 7.30pm
WEEKEND 3
FRIDAY 3 JULY 7.30pm
SATURDAY 4 JULY 7.30pm
The session on Friday 19 June includes admission to pre-show IN.CONVERSATION discussion panel (6:30pm – 7:15pm) with Co3 Artistic Director Raewyn Hill, hosted by Dr. Renee Newman (WAAPA), ahead of the 7:30pm performance.
