Careers in dance

Congratulations to the shortlisted nominees. 

Presented by Ausdance and Harlequin Floors, the 2016 Australian Dance Awards will be held at The State Theatre Centre of Western Australia, Perth, Sunday 18 September at 6.30 pm as part of the MoveMe Festival 2016.

Get your tickets from Ticketek.

Ochre Contemporary Dance Company performing at the 2014 Sculpture by the Sea at Cottesloe beach, WA. Photo: Dana Weeks Photography.

We are pleased to announce that applications are now open for Sydney Dance Company's 2017 Pre-Professional Year. Australian and New Zealand dancers aged 18 or over are eligible to apply.

Led by course Director Linda Gamblin, this nationally accredited one year intensive offers students the chance to work with some of Australia’s most renowned choreographers and dance educators. Students will develop their technique, artistry and performance skills alongside members of Sydney Dance Company led by Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela.

Arts Centre Melbourne, Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures and Re:Bourne, the charitable arm of New Adventures are working towards a major creative project that will culminate in a one week season at Arts Centre Melbourne’s State Theatre in Autumn 2017.

This project offers an opportunity for Melbourne-based dancers to work for one month with choreographer Sir Matthew Bourne’s leading international dance company. 

Sir Matthew Bourne and other members of the New Adventures team will be in Melbourne in August 2016 to audition six male dancers to join the company for this one-off project at Arts Centre Melbourne.

Key information

• Audition date: Saturday 6 August 2016 (applications required)
• Recalls: Sunday 7 August 2016
• Where: Auditions and recalls will be held in a centrally located venue in Melbourne
• Rehearsals & season: Sunday, 14 August 2016 (workshop) & Monday 13 March – Sunday 9 April 2017
• For Melbourne-based male dancers with at least three years of professional level training in classical or contemporary dance with a stage appearance age between 14–22.
• Audition notice and application information on the Arts Centre Melbourne website.
• Applications close COB Tuesday 12 July 2016.

Arts Centre Melbourne, Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures and Re:Bourne, the charitable arm of New Adventures are working towards a major creative project that will culminate in a one week season at Arts Centre Melbourne’s State Theatre in Autumn 2017.

This project offers an opportunity for Melbourne-based dance artists and physical performers to work with a leading international dance company.

Sir Matthew Bourne and other members of the New Adventures team will be in Melbourne in August 2016 to find two community dance artists to join the company for this one-off project at Arts Centre Melbourne.

Key information

• For artists with experience in classical or contemporary dance, physical performance, mentoring of young people and dance workshop delivery.
• Interview & workshop date: Monday 8 August 2016
• Training: Friday 12 – Monday 15 August 2016
• Outreach workshops: Monday 3 October – Sunday 11 December 2016 (P/T) &  Saturday 18 February and Sunday 19 February 2017
• Rehearsals & season: Monday 13 March – Sunday 9 April 2017 (P/T and F/T)
• Further details and position description on the Arts Centre Melbourne website.
• Applications close COB Tuesday 12 July 2016.

Asia–Pacific Channels is the bi-annual newsletter of the World Dance Alliance (WDA), published by Ausdance National in collaboration with MyDance Alliance in Malaysia. It profiles dance events and activities from WDA members throughout the Asia–Pacific region.

Download the June 2016 issue (2 MB)

Images from the June 2016 issue.

We produce and publish Channels as a contribution to the World Dance Alliance and dance in our region. It also helps us build the international networks that provide professional development opportunities for Australian dance artists.

Our work producing this publication helps us contribute to the World Dance Alliance's goals, which are:

• To promote the recognition, development and mutual understanding of all forms of dance.
• To facilitate communication and exchange among dance individuals, institutions and organisations interested in dance.
• To provide a forum for discussion of matters relating to dance.
• To encourage and support the research, education, criticism, creation and performance of dance.
• To liaise, co-ordinate and participate in activities with other dance organisations in the world.

Apply now for the Caroline Plummer Fellowship in Community Dance. Applications close 1 June 2016.

National Arts Sector Meeting

• Where: Arts House, North Melbourne Town Hall , Queensberry St, North Melbourne, Victoria 
• When: 12.45 pm – 5.00 pm, 7 June
• Register for the National Arts Sector Meeting (Space is limited, so please book early.)

• Where: Wheeler Centre, Melbourne
• When: 1.00 pm – 3.00 pm 8 June
• Register for the National Arts Election Debate

Media Release, 16 May 2016

ArtsPeak, the national confederation of peak arts and cultural organisations, says the Australian arts ecology is under serious threat following the announcement of four-year funding decisions by the Australia Council.

13 May 2016 media release

The Australian Dance Council—Ausdance congratulates the 12 dance organisations which were successful in the four-year funding announcements by the Australia Council. There is a solid core of highly creative, inspiring and highly productive organisations to create and tour dance around Australia and overseas.

Regrettably, the Australian Dance Council—Ausdance Inc (Ausdance National) finds itself amongst the 62 previously funded organisations that have not been successful. Ausdance National has been notified by the Australia Council that it will not receive operational funding beyond 31 December this year. This brings to an end many years of operational support for the work of Ausdance National.

Welcome! ArtsPeak is producing a series of National Arts Sector Updates in the lead-up to the Federal election in July.  This work picks up on last year's Free the Arts updates and is being delivered as part of our partnership with Feral Arts. A National Election Strategy Group is coordinating the work. Membership is open to anyone. If you would like to get involved email [email protected]

Please share this update in your networks and with your members.

ArtsPeak Media Release (45 KB PDF)
9 May 2016

The arts sector is reeling today at news that an extraordinary $13m in Catalyst funds were secretly pushed out the door over the weekend just in advance of the election being called and caretaker mode beginning.

In total $23,317,301 has now been spent – nearly half the $48m allocated for the next 4 years of Catalyst operations. When Senate Estimates sat last Thursday evening the committee were only made aware of the $10m of grants announced by Arts Minister Mitch Fifield last week.

ArtsPeak—Confederation of Peak National Arts Organisations

Media Release, 4 May 2016 (31KB PDF)

Hopes that the government would take the opportunity to fix the mess it created twelve months ago were dashed, with no mention of arts and culture in the pre-election Budget handed down in Canberra last night.

ArtsPeak spokesperson and Executive Director of the National Association for the Visual Arts, Tamara Winikoff OAM said, “Unfortunately when it comes to the arts, it seems this government is not concerned about forcing job losses and causing chaos, the very opposite of the PM’s mantra about jobs and growth. The 2016 Budget does nothing to redress the devastating impact of the cuts to the Australia Council and ongoing ‘efficiency dividend’ imposed by the government in 2014 and 2015. The cuts total more than $42 million/year. Massive destabilisation of the arts industry is resulting from decisions made by the current government, and without any policy framework, it looks set to continue.”

Media Release 7 March 2016

ArtsPeak (the confederation of Australian national peak arts organisations and state arts industry councils), at its meeting on Wednesday 2nd March, called on the Commonwealth Government to urgently provide a positive public response to the recommendations of the Senate Inquiry into the impact of the 2014 and 2015 Commonwealth Budget decisions on the Arts.

At the meeting ArtsPeak reaffirmed its full endorsement of all 13 recommendations made in the Inquiry report, highlighting two in particular that need an urgent response before the upcoming election: that the government develop and articulate an evidence-based, coherent and clear arts policy in consultation with the arts sector and that the Commonwealth government restore to the Australia Council the full amount of funds diverted from it in the 2014 MYEFO and 2014 and 15 Budgets (see full set of Senate Inquiry Recommendations attached).

Co-convenor of ArtsPeak, Nicole Beyer said today, “The time to act is now. It has been three months since the Senate Inquiry report was handed down and there has been no action from the government to implement any of the recommendations. Arts companies across the country are now starting to fail, tours are being cancelled and projects abandoned. The government needs to take responsibility, and to make clear public announcements about its intended actions in response the report.”

ArtsPeak Co-convenor Tamara Winikoff OAM agreed, 'What the Minister is being told loud and clear is that the Government’s funding cuts are destabilising the arts infrastructure to a major extent and this needs to be fixed urgently. Despite a token gesture by the Arts Minister, the cuts are incrementally crippling both small to medium arts organisations and major cultural institutions in Canberra.'

Winikoff continued, 'In an election year the arts sector is looking to the government to act quickly and decisively to properly fix the mess it has created over the last two years. Implementing the Senate Inquiry recommendations is a vital first step. The May budget is the government’s window of opportunity to restore arts funding and regain the trust of artists, organisations and arts audiences and supporters across the country.'

The Senate Inquiry recommendations encapsulated the sentiments of almost 3000 submissions from individuals and organisations as well as hundreds of people who spoke at the public hearings conducted in 10 cities around the country.

The volume of the Inquiry response and the weight and unanimity of opinion is unprecedented in the arts in Australia. It has led to a new mood of motivation and co-operation across the whole arts community to ensure that the stability and sustainability of the arts is restored.

For media comment please contact: Nicole Beyer, Director, Theatre Network Australia 0432 609 658 Tamara Winikoff OAM, Executive Director, National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) 0411 162 156 / 02 9368 1900

Recommendations of the Senate Inquiry into the impact of the 2014 and 2015

Recommendation 1

5.8 The committee recommends that the government develop and articulate, in consultation with the arts sector, a coherent and clear arts policy, including priorities for arts funding supported by evidence-based analysis, and greater clarity about the respective roles of the Ministry for the Arts and the Australia Council, as well as the other statutory arts bodies.

UNESCO International Arts Education Week is an arts education advocacy event that draws attention to the role arts education plays in a global agenda of peace and cultural understanding. This is a great time to focus on and advocate for your arts education programs with parents, teachers, the media and your arts associations.

We support International Arts Education Week because we believe that arts education promotes personal and social well-being. Arts education develops students’ self-esteem, social interactions and confidence.

Key information

• When: 23–29 May 2016
• Theme: Arts Education for Sustainable Development
• Download the 2016 International Arts Education Week info pack—with sample advocacy statements, resource web sites, and arts activities to celebrate International Arts Education Week.
• More information, visit the World Alliance for Arts Education

Ausdance National has joined with the University of Sydney to conduct a research study about the different types of injuries in company and independent professional dancers across Australia, their contributing risk factors, access to health services and return to dance practices. 

We are looking for professional dancers to participate in this research. For more information about the study, or to be involved, please visit Safe Dance IV—Investigating injuries in Australia's professional dancers.

Please help us in spreading the word about this study by forwarding this notice to any dancers you think may be interested in participating. 

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email Amy Vassallo, a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney.

Force Majeure and Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) have launched FINE LINE, a three-year partnership to discover the next generation of writers for dance. Led by Force Majeure's Danielle Micich and ATYP's Frasier Corfield, the program will give young writers the opportunity to develop skills in writing for the medium of dance theatre. In 2016, FINE LINE will kick off with a skills masterclass. Writers aged 18–26 interested in telling stories through dance theatre are encouraged to apply.

Skills masterclass

• Date: 5–6 March, 10 am – 4 pm at ATYP
• Expressions of interest: Complete the online application form by 5 pm Thursday 11 February.
• More info: bit.ly/1WOSt3f

Script workshops

Following on from the skills masterclass, a group of up to three young writers will be selected for a series of script workshops. Danielle Micich will mentor the selected writers on every aspect of writing for dance theatre – from research and development, to how to write for a devised work with performers, to delivering a text. These will run from 4–9 July 2016.

The final stage of the three-year FINE LINE program will be the full-scale production of one or two scripts at ATYP.

NEXT MOVE is our commitment to developing the next generation of leading dance makers. Since its inception, we have commissioned, produced and presented nine new works through the Next Move program, some of which have gone on to tour nationally and internationally.

In 2016, we will commission two artists to each create a new short work for the Next Move program as part of a double bill. The works will be presented over a two-week season in September 2016 at the Chunky Move Studios.

We are now calling for expressions of interest and invite Australian dance makers with a least 5 years of professional practice to apply.

For further information, download the information pack.

Expressions of Interest are due no later than midnight on Friday 29 January 2016.

Please send any questions to Ben Ryan at [email protected] or call 03 9645 5188.

In 2016 nine dance makers including Ausdance National members Australian Dance Theatre and Shaun Parker & Company will meet at the Australian Performing Arts Market (APAM) at the Brisbane Powerhouse Brisbane from 22 to 26 February, where among other contemporary performing arts makers, they will pitch their shows to presenters from Australia and across the world.

Ausdance coordinated a meeting of eight representatives of the nationally funded dance companies with the CEO of the Australia Council and senior staff on 12 December 2015.

The aim was multiple: to understand the further implications of the diversion of funds to the National Program for Excellence in the Arts (now Catalyst); to query the status of the vacant role of Chair of Dance, as an announcement had not been made about retaining this role; and to discuss the role of funding in sustaining the dance ecology so carefully developed over the past years.

The diversion of funds does challenge the current number of nationally funded small to medium dance companies, and the announcement of funding or otherwise in April 2016 will reveal the extent of the loss. We note the recent departure of the Australia Council Director Dance Carin Mistry and thank her for many years of dedicated championing of professional dance. We congratulate the new Arts Practice Director, Dance, Adrian Burnett, and look forward to a similarly productive relationship.

Other meetings attended include a teleconference with ArtsPeak; a teleconference convened by the MEAA at the request of freelance commercial dancers to consider minimum pay rates, which will result in a first-ever survey of this sector (think #paythedancers); and a teleconference to consult with youth theatre companies with the thought of learning for youth dance funding.