A new live performance work by Vanessa Fernandez
Sentire Di Prima brings together original music, voice, movement and image in a live performance exploring memory, longing and the ways the past continues to live alongside the present.
The music was written over a number of years, at different times and from different places. Brought together, the songs began to reveal a thread between them. Between memory, the body, longing, and the parts of ourselves that remain with us.
Sentire Di Prima grew from that discovery.
This first presentation is a showing of the work: an intimate performance bringing the music into conversation with movement, light and visual imagery.
Sentire, the Italian verb for hearing, touch, taste and smell
THE PERFORMANCE
Featuring original music written and performed by Vanessa Fernandez
Yumi Umiumare — movement
Lucas Michailidis — guitar
Xiao Xiao — cello
Vanessa Fernandez — voice
THURSDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2026
8.30pm
Temperance Hall
199 Napier Street
South Melbourne
Illustration by Voula Dominique
Sound and lighting Nathan Hood
Costume Design by Alice Palermo
Vanessa Fernandez
Vanessa is a Melbourne-based artist, songwriter and vocalist whose work brings together music, narrative and visual expression. Her sound moves across cinematic trip-hop, soul and experimental textures, shaped by a strong visual and storytelling sensibility. In 2025 she released the album No Body, created with producer Greg J Walker, and signed with ORiGiN Music Publishing. She is the creator of Sentire Di Prima, bringing voice, movement and image into a single live work.
Yumi Umiumare
Born in Hyogo, Japan, Yumi Umiumare is an established Australian Butoh dancer, choreographer and performance maker. Over more than two decades she has developed a distinctive practice spanning Butoh, physical theatre and cabaret, with work presented across Australia, Japan, Europe, New Zealand and Southeast Asia. Her work has received multiple Green Room Awards and is known for exploring visceral emotion, cultural identity and the expressive possibilities of the body.
Lucas Michailidis
Lucas is an Australian composer and guitarist with a career spanning more than two decades. His playing is known for its lyricism, harmonic depth, creativity and restraint across both acoustic and electric guitar. He has performed internationally, released acclaimed solo recordings, and is a member of Way Out West and ARIA Award-winning Zulya and the Children of the Underground. Lucas is also an instructor at the University of Melbourne and Director of the Melbourne Guitar Lab.
Xiao Xiao
Xiao is a classically trained cellist whose practice moves between chamber music, contemporary song, folk and collaborative performance. A graduate of Monash University in music performance and environmental science, she has performed with the Melbourne Youth Orchestra and Monash Academy Orchestra and has worked across a broad range of musical projects. Her current interests include ambient folk, Celtic and American fiddle traditions, contemporary Australian folk, and the exploration of Chinese folk music through cello.
