Hello dear readers,
Firstly, solidarity and good feelings to all our dance colleagues in these most dramatic of times. The performing arts have been hit hard, for sure, with livelihoods placed in jeopardy, not to mention all that talent and impulse to create and perform shut down and suppressed. It is frustrating and frightening for all of us.
We were working on the April/May issue of Dance Australia while the virus was rearing its ugly, crowned, thorny head, and it has hit the shops and newsagents just as they have been closing and we have all been confined to our homes.
This April/May issue is our 40th anniversary issue. It is a celebratory issue - shouting aloud happily about our achievement of four amazing decades of survival in a field where most publications fail. It has been great fun to put together and also a bit of a pat on the back – a reminder of how much Dance Australia has covered over the years and how much effort and love of our artform has been poured into those pages! You are possibly not aware that Dance Australia is one of very few national dance magazines – most countries do not have a publication specifically devoted to dance. We often receive compliments and messages of appreciation and envy from artists from other countries who read our magazine and envy Australians for having it.
But unfortunately this issue has come out at a time when no one is celebrating and when celebrations seem inappropriate. Over these four decades Dance Australia has survived many tests – such as the Global Financial Crisis and the digital revolution – but this pandemic is perhaps our biggest test of all.
So this is a plea – please buy Dance Australia. You can buy individual issues online or, better still, take out a yearly subscription. Right now we have a brilliant offer – if you subscribe you will receive 6 issues for ony $45 (normally it would be $56) PLUS you will go in the draw to win one of ten Demi Barres (valued at $250). The Demi Barre is perfectly designed for practising at home or in a confined space – just what everyone needs right now! Or you can take up our special Easter offer of six issues for just $22. How could you go wrong?
Your magazine will be delivered to your door or it can be downloaded as a digital edition. What better time could it be to curl up on the couch and have a really good read?
If you really can’t afford to take out a subscription to our print magazine, please subscribe to our e-news – it’s free! You will receive a weekly bulletin straight in your inbox. Over these next few months we will be working hard to keep you in touch with your dance colleagues both at home and around the world by letting you know about government assistance, online classes, streamings of performances and the many innovative ways that dancers and companies are adapting to the times. Also, we plan to take advantage of those dancers and creative artists with an unusual amount of time on their hands to ask them for interviews and insights to share with you, our readers.
The e-news is also a window to our website, where a cornucopia of articles awaits for you to explore.
For a sneak preview of the April/May issue, please go here. For our demi-barre offer, please go here and enter the promo code ADV/20041. If you don't want the Demi-Barre, simply go here and grab our Easter offer of a year's subscription for only $44. To subscribe to our e-news, just sign up on our website. Make use of us and you will help us while we help you.
Yours sincerely,
Karen van Ulzen and Nina Levy
Pictured on our cover is Jack Lister, from the Australasian Dance Collective (formerly Expressions Dance Theatre). Photo: David Kelly.