A bespoke item is one made specially for a person. It’s tailored to suit and fit. That’s what the word means, full stop.

But that’s only half the picture for Queensland Ballet’s annual Bespoke program. There are expectations that go significantly beyond a great fit.

In 2023, for instance, the promise was that Bespoke would be “challenging and always thought-provoking”. (Only one of the three pieces that year could lay claim to that description.)

Last year new QB artistic director Ivan Gil-Ortega put out a call to choreographers, designers, costumiers, animators, visual artists, composers and music producers to pitch ideas to him for Bespoke 2026 (his first curation of the event). It sounded exciting. Gil-Ortega wanted “bold collaboration, fresh perspectives, and boundary-pushing art-making. We can’t wait to see what comes through.”

What came through is a thoroughly watchable trio of contemporary one-act ballets, each about 25 minutes in length, each with well-executed high points and each quite a way from being a jolt to the system.