Kate Champion resigns from Force Majeure

Artistic Director and CEO of Force Majeure, Kate Champion today announced her resignation from the company she founded in 2002. After 12 years at the helm she will be resigning at the completion of her pre-existing duties in 2015.

Force Majeure, the company I established together with my colleagues Roz Hervey and Geoff Cobham, has been the most important and meaningful manifestation of my career as a choreographer and director so far. The experiences I’ve had, working with the collaborating artists, producers, staff and crew, are amongst my most cherished and we’ve achieved a great deal since the premiere of our first major work, "Same, same But Different" in 2002.

Inching our way from life as a project based concern through to annual funding, then as an ‘emerging Key Organisation’ to finally becoming a Key Organisation in 2012. I’m satisfied that I have fulfilled all I had hoped and dreamt of for the company during my tenure as founding director and I now wish to take the opportunity to explore new creative possibilities outside the framework of a company structure.

—Kate Champion

Prior to founding Force Majeure, Kate worked as a director, choreographer, dancer, teacher and rehearsal director for various companies including Australian Dance Theatre, Belvoir, Legs on the Wall, Dance North, English National Opera and the UK’s DV8 Physical Theatre.

She had also created, performed and toured two critically acclaimed solo shows—Face Value and About Face. As Artistic Director of Force Majeure, Kate has directed Same, same But Different, TenebraePart 1 and 2, Already Elsewhere, the film series The Sense Of It, The Age I’m In, Not in a Million Years and Never Did Me Any Harm. In 2012, Kate co-directed Force Majeure and Belvoir’s co-production Food with Steve Rodgers.

Kate Champion: "I look forward to seeing the company continue to flourish as a vehicle for original, new artistic vision."
Photo: Lisa Tomasetti

Force Majeure received an Australian Dance Award for Outstanding Performance by a Company for The Age I’m In (2009) and Ros Hervey was awarded Outstanding Performance by a Female Dancer for Same, same but different (2002).

Force Majeure Chair, Jo Dyer stated;

It will be a wrench for Force Majeure to say goodbye to our founding Artistic Director Kate Champion. Kate's leadership of this company has seen it mature into one with a strong national presence and growing international reputation. As an artist of great talent, curiosity and intellect, Kate's creative contribution to Force Majeure has been immense, both as a creator of original works and a mentor of emerging talent. Over the past twelve years, Kate has created dynamic works of wit and profundity that have delighted and provoked audiences around Australia and the world. Her own artistic endeavours have been matched by her commitment to nurturing the work and artistic development of independent artists, both through the investment of her time and expertise and by sharing financial resources from Force Majeure's hard-won funding.

As much as we will feel Kate's departure, the Board of Force Majeure is also excited about welcoming a new artistic vision into the company. We look forward to going through a searching international recruitment process in the coming months to find the culture leader who can build on Kate's legacy and join Executive Producer Bec Allen to take us into the next stage of our development as one of Australia's leading dance theatre companies.

For more information on the company and application process visit the Force Majeure website

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