Current Dance News
Optus Dance Crew Fund
Win $5000 and appear on So You Think You Can Dance!
Are you a part of a dance school or dance group? Do you think your dance crew deserves $5000?
Thanks to the Optus Dance Crew Fund, three finalists will receive $5,000 to invest in their own dance crew. Brought to you by Optus, So You Think You Can Dance and Ten, The Optus Dance Crew Fund has been created to improve the dance experience for young people in local dance communities.
If you win, celebrated choreographer, Kelley Abbey, from So You Think You Can Dance will visit your crew to see how you've spent the cash and leave you with a few helpful dance tips! Then tell your friends and family to catch your experience on the show when it is broadcast later in the series!
So get your crew together and get busy!
There's fame and fortune at stake!
Click here for more details.
Sydney Dance Company Appoints Artistic Director!
Barcelona-born, London-based choreographer Rafael Bonachela will take the position of Artistic Director of Sydney Dance Company in 2009, a role left vacant more than a year ago by the sudden death of director-designate Tanja Liedtke.
Julian Knights, Chair of Sydney Dance Company said, “the Board has unanimously endorsed the selection of Rafael Bonachela as a dynamic choreographer for the 21st Century, whose fresh and exciting vision will enable the Company to meet new challenges in a changing world. During a year-long period of meticulous search and contemplation, the Board encouraged the Company to continue to make new work under the watchful eye of Executive Director Noel Staunton. In 2008, Sydney Dance Company premiered a variety of commissioned works by Canadian choreographer Aszure Barton, Australian choreographers Meryl Tankard, Shaun Parker and Reed Luplau and Rafael Bonachela.”
Bonachela’s 360 Degrees was staged at Sydney’s CarriageWorks in July, drawing praise for ‘creative precision and exhilarating energy’ and for ‘absolutely dazzling dancing from the performers’.
In receiving news in London of his appointment, Rafael Bonachela said, “I am over the moon that the Board of Directors has chosen me for this important role. My goal will be to inspire every individual in the Company and infect them with enthusiasm and commitment, out of which truly excellent dance will evolve through my own work and the work of other international and Australian-based choreographers."
Dance Informa’s Dolce Fisher was lucky enough to interview Rafael during the company’s performances of 360 Degrees. Read his interview here.
Huge New Dance Show – Superstar Dancers of the World
America’s NBC has revealed that Nigel Lythgoe and Simon Fuller, the Producers of American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance are working on a new series featuring the masters of dance genres from around the world. To be hosted by Michael Flatley (Lord of the Dance), the international dance competition will pit the masters of various dance genres from eight countries, including Australia, against each other. To be broadcast in 2009, the competition will be equal parts sporting event, rock concert and artistic exhibition, with Superstar Dancers of the World expected to become one the greatest spectacles of dance performance ever seen on television.
"This dance competition is very much like the Olympics," said Craig Plestis, Executive Vice President, Alternative Programming, Development and Specials, NBC Entertainment, “the physical feats these athletes and artists pull is mind-blowing.”
"This is the most challenging and exhilarating project I've ever done," said Lythgoe. "Nothing of this magnitude has ever been attempted before on television…. -- each performer the best in their genre -- and the sheer mosaic of styles and energy is going to be nothing short of awe-inspiring."
The countries participating in the competition include
Ireland, India, USA, Argentina, China, Russia, South Africa and Australia. Each team will comprise of two soloists, one duo and one larger group. The artists will not only representing themselves, but also their dance form and their entire nation!
BalletLab's International Miracle
Melbourne based contemporary dance company BalletLab is packing its bags and heading overseas to present its award winning Brindabella at the international Performing Arts Conference, CINARS (Canada). The company then travels to New York where it will be the first international Company in Residence at the newly opened Experimental Media and Performing Arts Centre (EMPAC) in Rensselaer, New York.
EMPAC is a co-commission presenter partner, and residency site in the USA for the new BalletLab work Miracle. The company will spend four weeks at EMPAC and will collaborate with the International Contemporary Ensemble - 15 musicians from across the US, who will record a new piece by acclaimed composer, David Chisholm written specifically for this work. EMPAC will present public showings of Miracle at the completion of the residency to presenters from throughout the USA.
EMPAC is one of the most sophisticated venues in the world providing multi spaces, theatres and recording studios with state of the art facilities. EMPAC specialises in the development of cutting edge contemporary performance and offers residencies to international artists. The EMPAC residency offers an extremely exciting new opportunity for BalletLab.
.
Miracle will premiere in Australia in 2009. Visit www.balletlab.com for more information.
Australasian Bolshoi Ballet Academy
In 2009 the highly acclaimed Bolshoi Ballet will open an academy in Victoria - the only one in the world outside of Moscow training dancers in the Russian Bolshoi system. Principal Susan Thomson is a former dancer from the Kirov Academy in Moscow.
The academy, due to open in February, will take 30 Australian dancers in its first year, before opening up to international applications in 2010. The academy will give dancers in Australia and around the world the opportunity to study the pure Russian system of ballet, taught by experts from where it originated. Dancers will also be given the option to continue their academic studies at one of Melbourne’s leading schools, Camberwell High School.
For more information visit www.bolshoischool.com or email admin@bolshoi.com.au
Ministry of Dance Opens with A Bang
On Oct 8th Jason Coleman hosted an opening party for his new studios, Ministry of Dance, with the elite of the Australian dance community in attendance. It was all glitter and glam, as the party lasted until all hours of the night and the champagne flowed. There were, of course, many dance performances and cat walk struts. Ministry of Dance will be opening a full time course for 2009.
Australian Teachers of Dancing launches new Syllabi!
In 2009 ATOD will be releasing Levels 9 and 10 of their Hip Hop Syllabus, a Jazz Moves Performance Award and the first two levels of their Street Tap Syllabi. ATOD will also launch senior levels of their traditional Tap syllabus and revise some of their newer work released in past years. ATOD prides itself on continual innovation, regularly updating their work to keep in touch with the development of dance styles in Australia and abroad.
Australian Teachers of Dancing Ltd was founded in 1991 and proudly operates as a non-profit organization for the sole purpose of providing an exciting, vibrant, professional and educational environment for dance studios throughout Australia and abroad. ATOD has successfully established various bases internationally and along with the above mentioned genres provide syllabi second to none in Classical Ballet, National Character and Pre-school grades. To find out more about Australian Teachers of Dancing and their new Hip Hop, Tap and Jazz Syllabi visit www.atod.net.au or email admin@atod.net.au
2009 Australian Dance Awards - You Can Nominate!
The 2009 Australian Dance Awards will be held on Sunday June 7th at Melbourne’s the Arts Centre and you can already start nominating! The annual Australian Dance Awards recognise and honour professional Australian dance artists. Nominate anytime you see an outstanding performance by emailing national@ausdance.org.au between now and February 28th 2009. Go to the What's On section of the Ausdance website www.ausdance.org.au for nomination forms, selection criteria and everything you need to know. Get nominating today! |
|
