Careers in dance
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Stephanie Lake discusses her Peggy van Praagh fellowship
For Stephanie Lake — recipient of the inaugural Ausdance Peggy van Praagh Choreographic Fellowship — this recognition was a valuable affirmation that her artistic career was heading in the right direction.
BlakDance Australia—A vehicle for change
BlakDance intern and dance and journalism student Ann-Maree Long shares her experience of the performance Blakdance 2012.
Facilitated marriages
This paper outlines the Future Landings project run by Ausdance WA, examining how the artistic relationships between the choreographers played out, and suggests steps that may be taken to ensure that such ‘facilitated marriages’ have the best chance of success.
Thoughts on the making of ‘Anatomy of an Afternoon’
Independent artist Martin del Amo explains the process of his research and creation of his latest work Anatomy of an Afternoon, made in collaboration with dancer Paul White.
Being and forgetting—creating and performing ‘Anatomy of an Afternoon’
Dancer Paul White talks about the working process and the evolution of character and movement behind Martin del Amo's solo work Afternoon of a Faun.
Research and ‘Anatomy of an Afternoon’
Amanda Card talks about her research with Martin del Amo on Anatomy of an Afternoon which was part of a project funded by Critical Path's Responsive Programme. The intent of Martin’s research was to expand and challenge his choreographic process by using a historical source as stimulation as well as experimenting with the transference of his particular choreographic framework onto another dancer.
Uncommon men: Matthew Day interviews Martin del Amo
Martin del Amo talks to Matthew Day about the influence of Vaslav Nijinski in relation to Anatomy of an Afternoon: the thwarting of desire and expectation; the utility of stillness; and the centrality of the quotidian and the animal.
Intimacy and distance: time spent with ‘Anatomy of an Afternoon’
Dancer Kristina Chan reflects on Martin del Amo's choreography and Paul White's performance in Anatomy of an Afternoon. For her the work was a clear and self-effacing exploration of a journey with a creature-like being.
Conundrums of placing and timing: making new from the old avant garde
Designer, curator and scholar of contemporary dance, Justine explores two aspects of the performative event of Anatomy of an Afternoon by Martin del Amo. One has to do with its placing; what happens when the avant garde moves to inhabit big ‘C’ cultural institutions. The other concerns its timing; how can work that has entered the canon of the historical avant garde retain newness and experimentation, the power to startle or even shock, in present-day reinterpretation.
Sustainable dance making: dancers and choreographers in collaboration
Karen Barbour, Senior Lecturer in dance at the University of Waikato (NZ), talks about her personal experiences and her ideas about the sustainability of collaborative dance ventures
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Goals
Sustainable careers for dance artists
The dancer’s performing life is highly focused, demanding dedicated vocational training from an early age, and it depends on time-consuming creative and physical regimes. Dance artists, in contrast with other artists, are particularly challenged when it comes to professional career development.
Projects
2013 National Dance Forum
The 2013 National Dance Forum was a dynamic conversation for the whole dance sector—choreographers, dancers, independent artists, artistic directors, educators, researchers and dance producers. It took place in Melbourne over three days from Friday 15 to Sunday 17 March, coinciding with Dance Massive.
Shaping the landscape—celebrating dance in Australia
This, the fourth book in the series Celebrating Dance in Asia and the Pacific, explores the current dance scene in Australia from a wide perspective that mirrors the creative engagement of artists with Australian culture and the landscape.
2011 National Dance Forum
Some of Australia’s most exciting dancers, choreographers, curators, critics and collaborators met to discuss and reflect on the state of dance practice in Australia now, and to chart a course for the future.
Securing career opportunities and professional employment for artists
SCOPE’s aim was to ensure that dance artists proactively participated in and effectively managed their own careers, education and personal development. Each of the artists worked with a professional career counsellor to develop their own career action plans. The program aimed to capture, transfer and adapt the creative capital of the individual artist to other areas of work and productivity.
Supporting the Live Performance Training Package
After nation-wide research, Innovation and Business Skills Australia concluded that 'there is strong industry and community demand for national qualifications to help lift standards across the profession and set clear national benchmarks which promote consistency while maintaining flexibility'.
Publications
Study dance at university
Want to get properly qualified for a professional career in the dance industry?
The Dame Peggy van Praagh memorial address
Dame Peggy van Praagh, founding Artistic Director of The Australian Ballet, had a vision of developing a unique dance culture for Australian dance. The Ausdance memorial addresses pay tribute to, and acknowledge, her legacy in this country.
Moving on: career transition of professional dancers in Australia
Moving on presents the findings of research into problems and prospects for career transition amongst professional dancers in Australia.
Dance in Australia: a profile
A report on the organisational structure of dance in Australia, the situation of individual dancers, the characteristics of audiences, funding issues, and dance education and training
The Mayer key competencies in arts education
This report uses the experience of arts teachers to show how the key competencies may have a generic function across the five arts areas.
News / Blog / Press Releases / Events View all
Australian Performing Arts Market 2014
Program applications
Artists and companies from across Australia are invited to apply now to showcase and pitch their work at APAM 2014, 18 – 22 February in Brisbane.
APAM provides an opportunity for artists and programmers from Australia and around the world to discover new artists, find new collaborators, and meet with fellow professionals.
You can submit work under either one of two categories: Showcase or Pitches. Eligible work for the Showcase category includes finished and tour-ready productions, which can be presented in either full-length, as a 25-minute excerpt, or a new APAM Club 7 – 12 minute excerpt. Work in development falls into the Pitch category.
Deadline for applications: midnight 22 July 2013 (AEST)
Delegate registrations
Presenters, producers, agents and anyone interested in attending APAM2014 are encouraged to register before midnight 10 December to get the earlybird price of $650 (Full price $790)
Register now. For more information visit the APAM website.
Brisbane City Council is the principal supporter of APAM. The Queensland Government, through Arts Queensland and Tourism and Events Queensland, proudly supports APAM 2014, 2016 & 2018.
Sydney Dance Company audition
Sydney Dance Company is holding an invitation only audition at the end of June 2013 for male and female dancers.
All applicants must have a vocational qualification, professional experience in contemporary/classical dance and be 18 years or over. To be considered you must be experienced in task work with a professional choreographer and possess strong improvisation skills, display high levels of stamina and flexibility, and have an understanding of SDC’s creative outputs.
If you meet this criteria please email a current CV, ONE headshot and ONE full body dance shot. (Attachments should not exceed 500KB and each file should be saved as 'Your Full Name'.
Deadline: Monday 10 June 2013
Successful applicants will be invited to audition on 29 & 30 June 2013 in Sydney at your own expense. For further information visit the Sydney Dance Company website.
Professional development for NSW Indigenous dance artists
If you are an independent Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander dance artist based in NSW and you are interested in developing new skills and networks, you can apply now for a palce in the Birrang program.
Focused on expanding indigenous dance horizons in NSW, Birrang is a new professional dance development initiative supported by Arts NSW, coordinated by Ausdance NSW, Regional Arts NSW and Bangarra Dance Theatre in partnership with NAISDA Dance College, Carriageworks and the Australian Film, Television & Radio School.
In this first year of the initiative, the Birrang program includes:
-
Creative Lab: 29 April – 3 May @ Carriageworks, Redfern
(deadline for applications is 29 March) -
Creative Business Course: 22 – 24 May @ AFTRS, Moore Park
(applications now open) -
Dance Residency*: 23 September – 5 October @ NAISDA, Kariong
(applications open in July) -
Market Development and Enterprise Workshop: November, venue tba
(applications open in October)
*To be eligible for the Dance Residency, applicants must have completed either the Creative Lab and/or Creative Business Course.
Artists are encouraged to apply for all activities. Download application forms.
If you are in Sydney contact Ausdance NSW (T 9252 4800) for more information. If you are based in a regional or remote area contact Regional Arts NSW (T 9270 2507)
Tanja Liedtke fellowship
Congratulations to Joseph Simons of Dubbo who is this year's recipient of the Tanja Liedtke Fellowship (TLF).
The fellowship will take place in Berlin and Frankfurt in August/September of 2013. The two key objectives of the 2013 Fellowship are:
- To provide a program of opportunity for a developing Australian dancer/choreographer to expand and develop his/her creative boundaries,
- To enable young artists to meet and work collaboratively in the context of international exchange and experimentation.
Previous TLF recipients have been Antony Hamilton (2009) and Katarzyna Sitarz (2011).
Read full Media Release.
For further information contact Tanja Liedtke Foundation.
National Dance Forum program
Opening and closing with interactive visioning sessions, the program featured a full morning 'Open Space' session on the Sunday tapping the pulse of the forum, and through it that of the dance sector in Australia.
Keynote artists-in-conversation were Dalisa Pigram, co-Artistic Director of Marrugeku, with David Pledger, and Artistic Director of Australian Dance Theatre Garry Stewart with Anne Thompson.
Diverse breakout sessions covered panel, presentation, roundtable and screening formats:
- BlakDance First Nations Dance Panel
- 'Whose responsibility is it to make sense of this?'
- Dramaturgy, outside eye or feedback?
- Virtuosi industry preview screening
- 'What role dance education play in shaping Australian culture for tomorrow?'
- Beyond hybridity: current Australia/Asia-Pacific dance practices
- A Lifetime's Collaboration
- BETWEEN US: Connections within and beyond the independent dance sector
- What is dance doing in Australia? And what is Australian dance doing in the world?
The NDF2013 Facilitator was Jeff Khan, co-Director of Performance Space, Sydney. Also joining the NDF2013 team for a number of sessions was Janenne Willis, guest co-facilitator, roving provocateur and catalyst at large. Janenne brought her energy, seasoned facilitation skills and experience co-creating futures one conversation at a time.
Download the full program and list of speakers.
Program overview
| 12:30pm – 2:00pm | Registration |
| 2:00pm – 2:30pm | Welcome to Country & NDF2013 opening speeches |
| 2:30pm – 4:30pm | Introduction: Who's here? Facilitated by Jeff Khan, NDF Facilitator, with Janenne Willis |
| 4:30pm – 5:30pm | Forum opening and networking drinks on the lawn overlooking the Maribyrnong River |
| 8:30am – 9:00am | Registration |
| 9:00am – 9:15am | Introduction to day two – Jeff Khan, NDF Facilitator |
| 9:15am – 10:45am |
Breakouts # 1
|
| 10:45am – 11:15am | Morning tea |
| 11:15am – 12:30pm |
Keynote artist-in-conversation # 1 Dalisa Pigram in conversation with David Pledger |
| 12:30am – 1:45pm | Lunch |
| 1:45pm – 3:15pm |
Breakouts # 2 (parallel sessions)
|
| 3:15pm – 3:45pm | Afternoon tea |
| 3:45pm – 5:00pm |
Keynote artist-in-conversation # 2 Garry Stewart in conversation with Anne Thompson |
| 5:00pm – 5:30pm | Plenary facilitated by Jeff Khan |
| 9:30am – 12:30pm | Open Space session with morning tea break, facilitated by Jeff Khan and Janenne Willis |
| 12:30pm – 1:45pm | Lunch |
| 1:45pm – 3:15pm |
Breakouts # 3 (parallel sessions)
|
| 3:15pm – 3:45pm | Afternoon tea |
| 3:45pm – 5:30pm |
Postcards from the future Future visioning session facilitated by Jeff Khan and Janenne Willis, and forum close. |
TAFE funding cuts and the arts
At the recent meeting of the Tertiary Dance Council of Australia (TDCA), serious concerns were raised about the massive cuts to TAFE training in several eastern States.
In this article for Artshub, Tamara Winikoff, Executive Director of the National Association for the Visual Arts, also raises these concerns, and the broader issues of career pathways for artists. While Tamara focuses on the visual arts, much of her analysis could be applied to dance in the TAFE sector, especially with the imminent introduction of the new Australian Curriculum: The Arts.
We'll be making our concerns known to the Victorian, New South Wales, South Australian and Queensland governments about their proposals to so drastically cut TAFE funding. We suggest you read Tamara's article and respond to your own governments about the future of arts training in your State.
Good news from major performing arts companies
The latest Australia Council Snapshot of Major Performing Arts Company Key Trends shows that Australia’s major performing arts companies are robust, stable and have continued to expand their city audiences in line with population growth. They have also extended their reach and engagement in regional and remote communities.
A night to remember at the Australian Dance Awards
The 2012 Australian Dance Awards were presented in spectacular fashion at the beautiful new Heath Ledger Theatre in the State Theatre Centre of Western Australia on 1 September.
Catherine Osborne (l) President, Ausdance WA and Lauren Malkin (r) Client Manager AON Risk Services, presented Lucinda Sharp with her award for Services to Dance. Photo: Matthew ThompsettReport on national dance research forum
Thank you for a great weekend. The National Dance Research Forum was stimulating, energising and so well organised with great food and venues. (Dr Cheryl Stock)
Last weekend we had the pleasure of partnering with the Tertiary Dance Council of Australia to welcome 35 Australian and five international dance researchers to the first national dance research forum held for many years.
The forum provided a unique opportunity for everyone to hear some high-profile speakers, share their own research, join small discussion groups and make plans with potential collaborators.
Speakers included: (l to r) Dr Carol Brown (Uni of Auckland), Megan Beckwith (Deakin), Dr Kim Vincs (Deakin) & Ruth Gibson (igloo).Australia Dancing leaps into Trove
The National Library of Australia has integrated the Australia Dancing service into the national discovery service Trove.
Trove is an exciting destination for dance researchers and expands the potential of finding new and rare materials in many diverse collections. Trove takes you to resources in libraries, archives, performing arts collections, galleries; to biographical databases and online collections including pictures, digitised newspapers and finding aids. Trove also incorporates the National Library's dance resources, which continue to grow each year.