Leila Lois

Leila Lois is a dancer and writer of Kurdish and Celtic heritage. Her poetry, essays and reviews have been published in Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada by Southerly Journal, LA Review of Books, Honey Literary Journal, Right Now, Delving Into Dance and more.

Leila Lois's Latest Articles

Features

Asia TOPA 2025: revitalising the spirit of the Asia-Pacific in Melbourne

Back after a break, Asia TOPA offers a place 'where ideas are born and traditions reimagined'.

Leila Lois

Feb 19, 2025
Two panels. On the left is an Asian woman, Cathy Di Zhang with her hair slick back, wearing earrings and a grey tank top. On the right is David Greco, a man with dark short hair and wearing a white shirt and black jacket.
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Music review: Handel's Messiah, MSO, Hamer Hall

A Christmas tradition performed with dynamism and passion by the MSO.

Leila Lois

Dec 17, 2024
A silhouette of a figure in black on a stage holding a guitar. Behind them there is an orange haze.
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Music review: Yves Tumor, RISING Festival, The Forum

An enigmatic performer-singer, Yves Tumor wowed the audience with experimental sonic expression.

Leila Lois

Jun 17, 2024
Jen Valender, still from ‘Artist as Animal’. Image: Supplied. The top half of a harp stands out among a field of golden flowers with a tree into the distance. She is seen holding the harp.
Features

From the bottom of her harp: contemporary women artists finding their song 

Three artists share their insights on working with a traditional instrument to forge new collaborations and audiences.

Leila Lois

Dec 13, 2023
Mary Lattimore. A figure with dark, shoulder length blond hair looks to the left side. She is wearing red lipstick and a blue neck scarf. She is standing in a natural environment with ferns in the background.
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Performance review: Mary Lattimore + Eric Avery + Benjamin Skepper, Elisabeth Murdoch Hall

Three musicians whose performances invited an extended moment of peace and transcendent reflection.

Leila Lois

Dec 13, 2023
Maria Callas. The image is a holograph of a woman in a floating white dress with dark piled up hair, hugging herself and singing.
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Music review: Maria Callas: A Concert in Hologram, Arts Centre Melbourne

3D hologram technology brings one of the world's greatest divas back to the stage, using the original vocal tracks of…

Leila Lois

Dec 12, 2023
Shower Thots’. Figure in a green/blue dressing gown crouches over in a huddle on the tiles beside a pool, while holding a toothbrush between their toes.
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Dance review: Shower Thots, Melbourne City Baths, Melbourne Fringe Festival

Dance at the pool offers amphibious playfulness and chlorinated whimsy.

Leila Lois

Oct 27, 2023
Ballet Confidential. A two part image with a man in dark suit, white shirt and white tie with very defined cheekbones on the left and a book cover of the torsos of a male and dancer lifting a female dancer on the right.
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Book review: Ballet Confidential by David McAllister

Behind the scenes of the glamorous world of tights, tiaras and tutus.

Leila Lois

Oct 16, 2023
Features

Dancing on a tightrope: young dancers creating independent work for Fringe

Melbourne Fringe Festival continues its legacy of promoting cultural democracy and emerging artists with an exciting dance program for 2023.

Leila Lois

Sep 6, 2023
Features

Iconoclastic and empowered: the new wave of Middle Eastern Australian women writers

MENA women writers are gaining momentum in major literary prizes and across the nation’s bookstores, but is this movement iconoclastic?

Leila Lois

Aug 8, 2023
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