Contributors

Katrina trained at The Australian Ballet School and performed with The Dancers Company, the Victorian State Opera and Northern Ballet Theatre (UK). In 1994 she was awarded a Bachelor of Education in Dance and Drama and has worked extensively in community dance. In 1996 she began her PhD research involving untrained dancers in the study of narrative applications in dance performance, and was awarded her doctorate in 2000. Katrina was a Caroline Plummer Fellow of Otago University, New Zealand in 2007, and in 2009 was artist in residence at Darebin, delivering a dance-film YoursTruly, an installation project for dancers with disabilities. In her role at Ausdance Victoria, Katrina designs and delivers specialist education and training programs, resources which offer professional development opportunities for teachers, students and trainers.

Dianne is a performer, choreographer, camera operator, video editor and educator. She works in both live and screen contexts. She was a founding member of Outlet Dance in Adelaide (1987–89) and a member of Danceworks from 1990–95. Dianne completed a Master of Arts in Dance on Screen in 2001 and her dance video works have screened internationally. From 2004–2006 she was artistic director of Dancehouse and has worked as a lecturer in contemporary dance and dance video at Deakin University since 1996. She is currently a PhD candidate in screendance and performance improvisation.

Sarah Rubidge is Professor of Choreography and New Media at the University of Chichester. A practitioner-scholar, she specialises in developing large-scale choreographic digital installations that focus on the use of the haptic senses as the primary medium of understanding. Her artistic research also draws on the liminal histories embodied in old buildings. Along with her collaborators Sarah has created works which can accommodate improvisational choreographies (formal and informal) that become integral choreographic elements of the installations. In her academic writing she addresses the interweaving of the philosophical and scientific ideas that are embodied in both her work and that of other artists working in this field, advancing understandings of the intricate interplay between artistic and philosophical practices.

Following early dance training in New Zealand, Larry studied at the Royal Ballet School in London before joining the Royal Ballet Company in 1959. He was appointed soloist three years later, taking on many classical and character roles, before retiring from dance in 1967, and coming to Australia in 1969. Larry pursued a commercial marketing research role in Sydney for some years before moving to Canberra as administrator of Canberra Opera Society in 1976. He was general manager of the State Opera of South Australia for two years before returning to Canberra to manage Human Veins Dance Theatre. Several other administrative roles followed, culminating in management with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra for twelve years before retiring in 2008. He is married to Priscilla, and they have two children and five grandchildren.

Priscilla earned a scholarship at age 15 to study full-time at Scully-Borovansky and was soon invited to join the Borovansky Ballet company. After 18 months performing in Australia and New Zealand, Priscilla trained at the Royal Ballet School in London and was offered a contract with London’s Festival Ballet. Margaret Walker invited Priscilla to join Dance Concert in Sydney after she returned to Australia, which began a new era of folk and character dance. n Canberra, Priscilla spent 12 years developing a dance course at St Clare’s College, providing in-service workshops for teachers and teaching ballet and character at Dell Brady’s Ballet School. Priscilla has taught dance and movement to student teachers at Signadou College and to singers at the Canberra School of Music. She is married to former dancer Larry Ruffell, and they have two children and five grandchildren.