More then 250 dance students from around Australia will descend on the NSW coastal town of Gosford during Easter for the 7th Australian Youth Dance Festival (AYDF).
Hosted at the fantastic NAISDA Dance College, the festival is unique in that it allows young people to engage in creative exchange with professional choreographers and their peers.
This year’s illustrious line-up of choreographers and tutors includes Philip Channells (artistic director of Restless Dance Theatre in Adelaide), Vicki Van Hout (independent dancer/choreographer), Kay Armstrong (artistic director of youMove Company in NSW), Peta Strachan (independent artist/choreographer), Lee Pemberton (artistic director of Fling Physical Theatre in Victoria), Ingrid Kleinig (Legs on the Wall), and independent artists Mathew Doyle, Sue Healey and Anton.
Choreographic sessions throughout the week will culminate in the creation of a new site-specific dance work, Shades of Us, at Mt Penang Gardens with all festival participant. The artistic director for this work is Rowan Marchingo, whose national and international professional experience includes performing, choreographing and directing productions ranging from large scale site-specific aerial works to intimate works of theatre. Sound designer and audio producer Bob Scott will compose the soundscape, augmented from sounds from the garden and fused with inspiration from the parklands and choreographers.