Club Origami

If you’ve ever underestimated the power of paper, Club Origami will gently crumple that assumption, fold it into a crane, and launch it into the air with a wink and a twirl. Presented by Sydney Dance Company and Seven Circles as part of QPAC’s Out of the Box festival, this delightful show for little ones (and their grown-up guardians) is part contemporary dance and music, part interactive art installation, and entirely enchanting.

The experience begins in an unadorned space filled with an expectant audience. Soon, the soft lighting, dancers’ open faces, and their simple paper folds ease even the most distractible toddlers into a state of curiosity. The performers wordlessly invite the audience to create their own origami shapes, offering children the first taste of this world where imagination is the only blueprint.

Once everyone’s creations have been collected, Club Origami quite literally unfolds into something much bigger. The audience is led into a second, larger space where paper becomes landscapes, animals, costumes, and characters. Dancers interact with origami creations to inspire the dance. A paper plane doesn’t just fly – it motivates arms to swoop, torsos to spiral, and bodies to tell stories that transcend language.

It’s a clever way to introduce very young audiences to contemporary dance, with the performers using familiar paper shapes as springboards for more abstract movement. The children aren’t expected to “understand” in a traditional sense; they’re simply swept up in the rhythm and flow, free to interpret and respond to the spectacle however they please.

The music, composed by Robert Howat, begins with gentle, ambient tones that calm the space, perfectly tuned to little ears and short attention spans. As the show crescendos, the tempo lifts and so do the spirits in the room – suddenly the theatre is a paper party, complete with toe-tapping beats and wild, whirling energy. It’s a transformation so gradual and well-earned that when the climax arrives, it feels like the most natural celebration in the world.

Set designer Ben Pacey and lighting designer Andy Finn deserve a gold star, presented of course in an origami box. The set is both minimal and magical – boxes hide gleaming lights, paper flows like fabric, and every element feels open to play.

The costumes, designed by Giulia Scrimieri, are another highlight. Inspired by the geometry and folds of origami itself, they are beautifully realised and serve as a visual bridge between the real and the imaginary. There’s a kind of wearable architecture at play – playful, textured, and brilliant in the way it reinforces the theme.

The cast (Ryuichi Fujimura, Reina Takeuchi, and Gabriel Fischer) are masterful in their ability to hold a room full of pre-schoolers in the palms of their hands. Their performance skills are first-rate, but it’s their warmth and sensitivity that truly shine. There’s an art to performing for such a mixed-age audience, and this trio absolutely nails it. They maintain a beautiful connection with children and adults alike, radiating a charisma that never overpowers but always invites.

The final moments of the show are nothing short of euphoric. Without giving too much away, let’s just say that paper truly takes flight. Watching the joy on the faces of the children – the wide eyes, the giddy grins, the unfiltered bliss – was enough to make this adult want to rewind the clock and relive it all as a three-year-old. It’s rare to see such unforced, authentic engagement in a performance space, and it was genuinely moving.

Club Origami is a gorgeous introduction to the world of live art for little ones. It’s a show that respects their intelligence, celebrates their creativity, and invites them to dance, imagine, and play. It’s clever, kind, and joyfully chaotic in all the right ways. For families looking to dip a toe into contemporary performance, this show isn’t just worth seeing – it’s a gift that might just fold itself into your child’s lifelong memory.

Kitty Goodall

Photography by Daniel Boud