World Dance Alliance October 2017 update
WDA has convened a small sub-committee to review the structure of the organisation in order to streamline membership and the role of the four networks: Creation & Presentation, Education & Training, Research & Documentation, and Support & Development). I will chair the review team, made up of Linda Caldwell (Americas), Fiona Bannon (Europe) and Urmimala Sarkar Munsi (Asia Pacific). We hope to report back to the Global Executive at the Joint Dance Congress, Panpapanpalya, in Adelaide next year.
Call for papers—The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Ballet
Edited Volume: The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Ballet
Editors: Dr Kathrina Farrugia-Kriel (Faculty of Education, RAD) and Dr Jill Nunes Jensen (Loyola Marymount University)
We are seeking contributions to an edited volume on contemporary ballet. The book will posit ‘Contemporary Ballet’ as a new domain within the broader frameworks presently recognised by discourses in dance.
Kristina Chan receives the Peggy van Praagh Choreographic Fellowship
Congratulations to Kristina Chan who received the Ausdance National Peggy van Praagh Choreographic Fellowship at the 2017 Australian Dance Awards on Sunday 24 September 2017.
2017 Australian Dance Awards recipients
The annual Australian Dance Awards (ADA) recognise and honour professional Australian dance artists who have made an outstanding contribution to Australian dance.
Ausdance Victoria and Harlequin Floors presented the 2017 Awards on Sunday 24 September at Arts Centre Melbourne.
Congratulations to the winners and shortlisted nominees!
And the winners are....
Great news—our fourth keynote speaker for National Dance Forum 2017 is Professor Kim Vincs
Kim will provide an exploration and scan of the creative technology intersection—from the beginnings of the digital age and beyond.
Kim is Professor of Interactive Media, and Research Director within the Department of Film and Animation at Swinburne University of Technology. She is a leading creative arts researcher with 6 Australian Research Council grants, 35+ industry partnerships, and 20+ arts/science collaborations across fields including dance, motion capture, game development, robotics, haptics, app design, 3D stereoscopy, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, cognitive psychology, biomechanics, mathematics, architecture and exercise science. She has been a choreographer for over 20 years, has created 18 dance technology and digital artworks. Her industry partnerships include national and international companies such as Autodesk, Motion Analysis, Act3animation, Iloura, Alt.vfx, Arts Access Victoria, Victorian Opera and Australian Dance Theatre. She has commercial motion capture credits for several computer games, television commercials and film projects, including the Cannes Silver Lion winning Nocturnal Migration. She is currently developing a new centre for Transformative Media Technologies at Swinburne University of Technology with Professor Angela Ngdalianis.Ausdance National Council President’s Report – September 2017
It is all systems go at Ausdance National in light of the upcoming Australian Dance Awards and National Dance Forum—which are only a handful of weeks away! The shortlisted nominees, and the LIfetime Achievement and Hall of Fame recipients have been announced already. The invited speakers and presenters for the 2017 NDF are shaping up to be exceptionally exciting, and the announcement of the final program will be out very soon. Please ensure you book your ADA tickets and register for the NDF as soon as possible as tickets to both events are selling fast!
Meeting the future head-on
Can you even remember life before the internet? Hang on, perhaps you weren’t alive.
The digital domain has transformed almost every facet of our lives—but for those of us in the arts, it’s been especially influential in the way we make and consume art. In many ways there have never been more ways to get your art out there, and the artistic possibilities of new technologies are seemingly endless…but life for dance in the digital domain is not without its challenges.
Noel Tovey AM inducted into the Australian Dance Awards Hall of Fame
Australia's first male ballet dancer of Indigenous heritage, Noel was inspired by a performance of Les Sylphides at the National Theatre in Melbourne. He took classes at the National Theatre Ballet School, studied ballet with Madame Borovansky, Drew Hardy, London Afro Cuban with Katherine Dunham, jazz with Matt Mattox, singing with Joan Arnold at the Melbourne Conservatorium and Rita Godfrey in London, and acting with Hayes Gordon.
Helen Herbertson receives 2017 Australian Dance Award for Lifetime Achievement
Helen has been an inspirational figure in the world of Australian dance for over four decades. She has led a highly-regarded and multi-faceted career over that time as a performer, choreographer, artistic director, creative collaborator, independent producer, project manager, teacher, performance coach, arts adviser and academic.
Morphia Series by Helen Herbertson and Ben Cobham. This work was awarded Outstanding Achievement in Independent Dance in 2003 Photo: Rachelle RobertsNational Dance Forum 2017: Dance in the Digital Domain
Tuesday 22 August 2017
For immediate release
Australia’s peak dance organisation, Ausdance National, will host a two-day forum next month bringing together dance makers, producers and presenters for a highly topical forum focusing on the future of dance within the digital domain. The National Dance Forum is Australia’s key platform for dance artists, industry professionals and educators in providing rich opportunities to discuss, debate and collaborate with some of the most influential individuals and organisations in the country.
Professor David Throsby AO to speak at National Dance Forum 2017
We are thrilled to announce our third key speaker for National Dance Forum 2017—David Throsby, Distinguished Professor of Economics at Macquarie University.
David Throsby, Distinguished Professor of Economics at Macquarie University in Sydney.World Dance Alliance August 2017 update
‘Dancing from the Grassroots’ was the title of the World Dance Alliance Global Summit, held last month at the Memorial University, St John’s, Newfoundland.
Professor Beverley Diamond, professor of ethnomusicology at Memorial University, delivered a fascinating keynote address on the first day, 'Time and the body: Where music and dance meet – sometimes'. The opening was also graced with a wonderful welcome by Eastern Owl, 'a unique group of women who blend the styles of First Nations drum music and contemporary folk to create their innovative sound'.
Australians attending the WDA Global Summit: Julie Dyson, Anja Ali-Haapala, John Utans (with his performers from HK Academy of Performing Arts), Sonia York-Pryce, Lucinda Coleman and Ellen Avery (WAAPA), and Rosemary Bennett.Ausdance National President’s update August 2017
Over the last four weeks since the last update, the Ausdance National Board and office team have been focused on the two key events for the year on the Ausdance calendar – the Australian Dance Awards and National Dance Forum (NDF). Working closely with the Ausdance Victoria team on both, these events are shaping up to be a wonderful way in which to recognise the significant contributions so many make to our vibrant dance community, explore and advance the digital agenda for our sector, and celebrate Ausdance’s 40-year contribution to dance in Australia.
Come for the Australian Dance Awards, stay for the National Dance Forum
Save the dates: 24–26 September 2017
Join us in Melbourne for the Australian Dance Awards on 24 September and the National Dance Forum from 25–26 September.
We hope you can join us at both events. Here are the booking and registration details:
- Book tickets to the Australian Dance Awards.
- Register for the National Dance Forum.
Nail that 3-minute pitch closed workshop
We invite practitioners to submit an expression of interest to participate in a skills-based closed workshop. Facilitated by a panel of experts, this session will provide you with practical tools and develop your pitching skills.
This is a closed workshop session, open to practitioners who may or may not be using digital technology in their practice. The session is limited to 12 participants.
Please complete the EOI form, attach your proposal and a brief CV, and email to Ausdance National by Friday 15 September 2017.
Registrations open for National Dance Forum 2017
Registrations for National Dance Forum 2017 have opened. The last three forums have sold out in advance, so book early to make sure you're part of the most important dance discussion in Australia. Register here
First National Dance Forum 2017 speakers announced
We know the dance sector wants a chance to share, inspire, connect and to be inspired by the whole dance industry—that includes the broader ecology, from independents to majors. At NDF 2017 we'll hear inspiring talks from our National Dance Forum 2017 speakers.
Here are our first speakers for this year's forum.
2017 Australian Dance Awards shortlist
Congratulations to the shortlisted nominees for one of the country’s most prestigious performing arts awards. The Australian Dance Awards recognise and honour outstanding achievement.
iD by Bangarra Dance Theatre. Choreographed by Stephen Page. Photography by Jeff BusbyCall for expressions of interest—present at National Dance Forum 2017
2017 National Dance Forum
25–26 September, Victorian College of the Arts
Photo: Sydney Dance Company. Gideon Obarzanek’s L’Chaim! Photo by Wendell Teodoro.Ausdance President’s report – July 2017
The Ausdance National board has been very busy these past couple of months, in-between meeting for a second time in early June and planning for our next meeting on 23 July 2017. These regular meetings have enabled a range of initiatives to be implemented which have included:
- working with the Australian Major Performing Arts Group (AMPAG) on a joint submission in addition to an individual Ausdance submission regarding VET Student Loans
- clarifying and streamlining roles and responsibilities for our Ausdance National office team across administration and marketing areas
- the establishment of Board Subcommittees with key board members being tasked with responsibility for actively supporting and driving identified priority areas
- the launch of our fundraising campaign with the fabulous support of past life members Shane Colquhoun and Julie Dyson
- the activation of the National Dance Forum advisory panel including initial curation and program scheduling
- the ongoing planning and securement of sponsorship support for the Australian Dance Awards in collaboration with Ausdance VIC.