It's time to celebrate dance!
Australian Dance Week kicks off with International Dance Day, Sunday 29 April, with events happening around Australia.
ACT
Ausdance ACT’s Australian Dance Week celebrations will start at the National Portrait Gallery, on International Dance Day, with Big Dance, a free large-scale participatory celebration. As described here, Big Dance commissions choreographers to create a work that can be learnt and performed by anyone, through online tutorials and community workshops. The work is then performed at various locations. For more info about either watching or participating in this event head to https://www.bigdance.org.au/lets-dance/#ACT
New to Dance Week in 2018, Ausdance ACT presents its inaugural Packed Lunch series. Dance ACTivisim will see five ACT based dance artists talk about their work, which aims to raise awareness of different causes. Churchill Fellows Talkback sees three Churchill recipients share the research they undertook for the enduring impact of their trips.
“Escalate III” is the third season of “Escalate”, Ausdance ACT's mentoring program for young dance artists between 16-26 years. Artists specialising in different dance genres from across Canberra and regional NSW will be presenting performances workshopped over four months of mentoring.
“Dance on the Edge” is a program by professional dance artists who have created new works especially commissioned by Belconnen Arts Centre. Artists include Alana Stenning, Australian Dance Party, Debora di Centa with Louise Curham, Gretel Burgess, and Jamie Winbank and dancers.
Many local studios and arts centres offer free, trial and taster dance classes during Dance Week. Experience a Dance for Wellbeing Class at Belconnen or Tuggeranong Arts Centre, try a free beginner class with Canberra Modern Jive, an Acro Basics class with Ausdance ACT or a Romanian Dance Class with Folk Dance Canberra.
These are just some highlights from the overall program. For more info head to the Ausdance ACT Facebook page.
WA
If you’re in Perth, Ausdance WA has a wonderful program of dance events lined up for you.
International Dance Day will be celebrated with a free gala performance from 3-5pm in Forrest Place, Perth CBD, featuring more than 15 dance groups of all ages and levels. There’ll be jazz, contemporary, ballet, swing, salsa, Chinese dance, Indian bhangra, indigenous dance and more, plus a Bollywood workshop during interval and a drumming finale for all to join.
All week at the King Street Arts Centre there will be free dance classes in the morning and evening. Five Perth-based contemporary dance pedagogues and practitioners will lead a five-day series of morning classes. In the evenings participants can choose from the array of regular classes held at the King Street Arts Centre dance studios in styles such as hip-hop, salsa, Chinese, swing dance and more. Find out more and register here.
Finally, on Saturday 5 May, 5-9pm, Ausdance WA will present Trigger in the Perth Cultural Centre Amphitheatre. "Trigger" is a participatory event integrating live flash-mob performance from Perth’s urban and street dance community, with interactive screen art and the chance for everyone to get up and groove to their favourite tunes. Set under the Perth Cultural Centre screen, Trigger is essentially an outdoor dance-karaoke jam, where the public nominates the playlist via social media using #triggersong. Trigger encourages trained and untrained bodies to get up and dance under the stars.
For more info head to www.ausdancewa.org.au
NSW, Victoria, NT
As previously posted on the Dance Australia website, you can check out Big Dance, a free dance event taking place in multiple locations around Australia on International Dance Day - Sunday 29 April. If you're in NSW or Victoria, read more here. If you're in Darwin, find out about Big Dance here.
Photos: Sophia Natale.