3 all began with an idea.
That idea was created by Yuiko Masukawa.
From Film
3 began as a dance film that received The Australian Ballet’s Telstra Emerging Choreographer’s Award.
A ballet score interpreted through a contemporary lens, on a basketball court - 3 is an inclusive work that shares the beauty and artistry of ballet for all audiences.
To Stage
For only three nights, 3 returns to the location it was originally filmed, Narrandjeri Stadium, in a performance that blends dance, sport, and live filmmaking.
3 is performed by three dancers, Geoffrey Watson, Louie Wisby, and Benjamin Hurley, and a basketball team.
The performance work parallels the film, with live camera operation by Sam McGilp and an original score by Alisdair MacIndoe and Robbie Divine, leaving the audience to experience a live screendance work in real-time.
Experience
A celebration of the virtuosity of dance, and the improvisational aesthetics of sport.
Yuiko Masukawa
Yuiko Masukawa is a Japanese choreographer based in Naarm (Melbourne) Australia. Her work brings together the inclusive and iconoclastic ethos of contemporary performance with her deep expertise of ballet.
She is a current recipient of the The Australian Ballet’s Telstra Emerging Choreographer’s Award for her work 3. She is also the recipient of the Lucy Guerin Inc. Naarm/Solo exchange program for 2025/2026, which will take place in both Indonesia and Australia. Later this year, she will begin development of a new work at The Australian Ballet through the Creative Development program.
Yuiko is working to create a context for independent and inclusive approaches to classical dance in Australia through choreography, teaching and local and international residencies and platforms. She has presented work at Arts House for Bleed Festival, at The Australian Ballet for Frame Festival and Bodytorque as well as the Bowery Theatre, Dancehouse, and Lucy Guerin Inc. She is also working to create bridges between Japan and Australia as an interpreter and cultural liaison including for Tokyo Ballet, The Australian Ballet and Terrapin for Asia TOPA.
In 2025 she undertook a choreographic secondment at Trisha Brown Company under choreographer Lee Serle, following on from 2020 secondments with New York City Ballet and Milwaukee Ballet, supported by the Ian Potter Cultural Trust. Her works have been nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Youth Dance in the 2018 Australian Dance Awards (Artistic director of Melbourne City Youth Ballet) and Design/Technical Achievement in the 2023 Green Room Awards (Running Machine).