DANCE palace
Melbourne Legends Finucane & Smith turn 30, reopening Luna Park’s iconic Luna Palace with Dance Palace — a lush and live carnival of hot divas, hot chips and all sauce!
30 years after their first solo show Parlour Volatile unleashed the volcanic force of Moira Finucane and had critics, audiences and academics scrambling for synonyms of ‘inexplicable’, Melbourne’s international legends of Provocative Variety celebrate turning 30 by reopening Luna Park’s iconic Luna Palace with a festival of fearless fun, Dance Palace, playing 20 August – 12 September 2026.
The company that’s burned the genre envelope and redefined cabaret for new generations; made 36 full-length shows, presented in 19 countries, toured and love-bombed 160 Australian towns, with 1,000,000+ audience members, and won 21 awards, with not a penny of ongoing funding, are cracking out the hot chips and sauce.
A carnival of hot divas that only Finucane & Smith can dream up: pub rock queens and Bollywood love gods, burlesque sirens & torch song divas, dazzling Butoh, sequinned bellydance and First Nations genius, jaw-dropping dance, razor sharp art, full of big heart; all decked out in satin drapes and velvet tables, bubbles flowing, hot chips sizzling, park lights twinkling, and PLENTY OF SAUCE! It is the carnival you’ll never want to leave!
Queen of Provocative Variety Moira Finucane, Icon Maude Davey, Transcendent diva Mama Alto, Butoh Goddess Yumi Umiumare, Glittering Indian boylesque Govind Pillai & Temple of Desire, Burlesque bombshell Maple Rose, Yorta Yorta Taungurung legend Glennys Briggs and country star Ian Muir, Chameleon Showgirl Bendy Ben; Sublime soprano Piera Dennerstein, Bollywood enchantress Raksha Parsnani & more!
Plus booze and hot chips at the bar.
Invited by Melbourne’s other surviving entertainment icon, Luna Park in its 113th year, Finucane & Smith are reopening the iconic Luna Palace after 5 years refurbishment to reveal wall to wall arched windows, stunning views and rafters ready for raising. And raise them Finucane & Smith will!
DANCE PALACE | Finucane & Smith’s Dance Palace
Dates: 20 August – 12 September | Thurs-Sat @ 7pm
Where: Luna Palace, Luna Park, 18 Lower Esplanade, St Kilda
Tickets:
Palace Table | best seats in the house $118.88/$108.88
Catwalk Deluxe | on the catwalk $88.88/$78.88
Deluxe Table | guaranteed table seating $68.88/$58.88
Happy Seats | no guarantee of a table $48.88/$38.88
Peanut Gallery | worst seats, best price $18.88
A FEW WORDS | 1996-2026
“I was searching my internal thesaurus to find words for predator and demon” Fiona Scott Norman on Parlour Volatile Inpress 1996
“From the sublime to the subversive, the hot to the hilarious … outrageous and unforgettable” ★★★★★ The Times, UK 2005
“Moira Finucane is a national treasure” The Age 2010
“For those that have eyes to see, ears to hear and hearts to feel, Finucane & Smith changed all that before were fears and taboos into ‘total art, total love and total freedom.” Cuba Tribune 2015
“A heart exploding group of performers who all defy expectations to create joy, connection, and the kind of community that's going to make change” Australian Arts 2024
