As Melbourne’s summer weather gets off to a patchy start and festive decorations unfurl across the city, the RISING festival crew already has their sights set on winter.
The month-long festival of new music, art and performance will return from 27 May 2026, and today the first piece of its RISING 2026 program was unveiled. We can confirm that global street-dance phenomenon The Royal Family Dance Crew will bring their explosive new all-ages showcase Defend the Throne to Hamer Hall to close out the festival on 7 June 2026.
RISING 2026 program reveal – quick links
Who is The Royal Family Dance Crew?
This legendary crew from New Zealand (Aotearoa) has played a hand in shaping the visual language of pop culture for more than a decade. Founded by powerhouse choreographer Parris Goebel, The Royal Family Dance Crew is known for its unique Polyswagg style, which blends hip-hop and street dance with Polynesian culture.
After dominating the World Hip-Hop Dance Championships, the group quickly became the creative engine behind many of pop’s most recognisable moments. Lady Gaga personally sought out Goebel and her crew to shape the bombastic moves of Abracadabra, solidifying her triumphant return to her pop roots.
The Royal Family is also behind the music video for Justin Bieber’s Sorry and its four-billion-plus views, as well as both Rihanna and JLo’s Super Bowl halftime shows.
‘The Royal Family Dance Crew aren’t just cultural powerhouses, they’ve reshaped the global language of movement. Their work is fierce, precise and completely unfiltered,’ says RISING Artistic Director and CEO Hannah Fox.
‘It speaks to the energy we’re looking to bring to RISING in 2026, and our very first edition of the Australian Dance Biennial, a new pillar of the festival,’ Fox adds. ‘To be presenting an artistic group whose impact is felt everywhere, from music videos to stadium stages, feels exactly right. Defend the Throne is going to hit Melbourne like a lightning bolt.’
Defend the Throne leads the first Australian Dance Biennial at RISING 2026
For RISING 2026, the crew will serve up a high-octane, no-mercy showcase that sweeps through their most iconic sets from the past 14 years, alongside brand new choreography set to be unleashed for the first time.
Defend the Throne will be presented in RISING 2026 as part of the inaugural Australian Dance Biennial, and the announcement signals the scale and ambition of this new platform.
As reported by ArtsHub, RISING received a lifeline from Creative Australia when it was appointed the delivery partner of the Australian Dance Biennial, a new national celebration of Australian dance.
Officially launching in 2026 and planned to run alongside RISING every other year, the first two iterations of the Australian Dance Biennial will focus on bringing a selection of Australian dance into dialogue with significant international works, and creating a gathering point for artists, companies and audiences.
The biennial will include a strong industry-facing element. Alongside a curated program spanning every state and territory, it will host a National Dance Gathering, a dedicated BlakFutures program and an initiative with international delegates, designed to strengthen touring pathways and global visibility.
A festival dancing up from the ashes?
One of the newer arts festivals on the Melbourne calendar, RISING grew from the ashes of both White Night and the Melbourne International Arts Festival. It had an inauspicious beginning when its 2020 launch was delayed by the Covid pandemic until 2021, only to fall foul of further lockdowns and event cancellations.
All things considered, the 2025 edition of RISING was the festival’s strongest yet – bringing together more than 610 local and international artists to present 100 events showcasing live music, installations, dance, theatre, film and more across Melbourne’s streets, arcades, laneways, theatres, music venues and trams.
RISING 2025 also brought us Swingers, an interactive mini golf exhibition taking over the upper levels of Flinders Street Station, which was so popular its run was extended beyond the festival.
Stay tuned for further announcements about RISING 2026, with the full program set to be unveiled in March 2026.
