SISA-SISA - The Remains | Sydney Festival

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https://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/events/sisa-sisa

Date Reviewed: 23/01/2026

A work of dance rooted in tsunami trauma, translating remembrance into movement as it’s core pulse.

Sisa-Sisa on opening night to a full house, which immediately signalled strong audience interest and confidence in the work. Presented as a contemporary dance double bill exploring memory, trauma and survival, the production clearly arrives with serious artistic intent and cultural weight. Going in, I expected to be challenged and I was, though not always in the ways the work seemed to intend.

From a technical perspective, there is much to admire. The dancing is strong throughout, with performers demonstrating control, physical discipline and expressive capability. Individual movement phrases are compelling when watched in isolation, and it’s clear the performers are skilled and committed. The lighting design is wonderful atmospheric, considered and visually striking and it consistently elevated the experience. At times, the lighting did more to guide my emotional response than the choreography or structure itself.

Where the work faltered for me was in communication. There was no commentary, no framing, and no explanation of what I was watching or how the two performances were meant to connect. I found myself searching for meaning, context, or even a basic orientation point, something to anchor the experience, but none was offered.

Without a discernible narrative throughline, the work risks alienating its audience. Rather than inviting interpretation, the silence around meaning creates confusion. What might have been powerful personal testimony instead reads as emotionally inaccessible, making it difficult to engage beyond surface-level appreciation.

As an audience member, I felt the burden of interpretation was placed entirely on me, with very little to work from. While I appreciate that contemporary dance does not require literal storytelling, I do believe it requires legible intention. Here, meaning felt withheld rather than uncovered. Instead of being drawn in, I felt held at a distance, observing fragments rather than engaging with a coherent whole.

Ultimately, Sisa-Sisa left me conflicted. I admired the technical execution and visual beauty, particularly the lighting and the dancers’ physicality, but I struggled to connect emotionally or intellectually. Strong choreography and striking design cannot fully compensate for a lack of clarity or conceptual grounding. What stayed with me were not insights or revelations, but the sense that something meaningful was intended yet never fully shared.

Sisa-Sisa demonstrates ambition. It is a raw and resonant act of remembrance. 

Reviewed By: Adrianna Janice