WORKSHOP SERIES
Photo Credit: Lorna Sim, Dancer Credit: Nicholas Jachno
COMING UP
Stay tuned for more news about our 2024 Workshop Series!
PREVIOUS
Ausdance ACT Presents - A Masterclass with Queensland Ballet's Kohei Iwamoto
Over the weekend we hosted a Masterclass with Queensland Ballet’s Senior Soloist Kohei Iwamoto for local dancers. This masterclass provided a wonderful opportunity for dancers to further their training and gain valuable industry insights from a Queensland Ballet dancer. Local dancers from Lisa Clark Dance Centre, Dance Development Centre, MAKS Ballet Studios, Acclaim Dance and Cheer Co., QL2 Dance, Canberra Dance Theatre, 6th Position and Gdance Academy joined us.
Our 2023 Workshop Series is supported by Arts Capital through Gorman Arts Centre.
Parents and Children Dance Jam
On Saturday September 23rd, Ausdance ACT presented a Parents & Children Dance Jam with Debora Di Centa, as part of Gorman Arts Centre's Open House.
This fun and inclusive class provided a space for quality family time, moving and dancing in a playful and creative environment.
Debora's class was based on the idea that 'dance is for everyone' and that both parent and child can benefit from creative movement and contact improvisation dance.
​
Art Atelier Photography
Ausdance ACT in partnership with Arts Capital at Gorman Arts Centre presents a Contact Improvisation Jam Series
Ausdance ACT was proud to present three in person Contact Improvisation Jams led by Debora Di Centa, Rob Thwaites and Holly Diggle. It was a wonderful opportunity to move, groove and connect with other dancers in the community, thanks to everyone who participated!
Photo Ian Ferguson
Ausdance ACT in partnership with Arts Capital at Gorman Arts Centre presents a Masterclass with Bangarra Dance Theatre
On the 21st of July Bangarra Dance Theatre presented a contemporary dance workshop while they were here in Canberra for their season of 'Yuldea'. The workshop focused on exploring cultural elements of dance in a contemporary setting.
​
​We thank Bangarra Dance Theatre for their ongoing commitment to engaging with the community beyond their performance season. We also thank company members Ryan Pearson, Lillian Banks, Amberlilly Gordon and Janaya Lamb for sharing so generously with us.
​
​Music Licensing with OneMusic Australia
In May we hosted an online workshop with OneMusic's Licensing Manager Linda Hale and Ausdance ACT Director, Cathy Adamek on music licensing for dance studios and schools.
​
Topics covered:
- The history and purpose of OneMusic and examples of musical and artistic works and who owns them
- How a license is measured and how it is administered
- Music licensing on social media and streamed music
- Real life examples of dance school licenses
​
This webinar was offered for FREE to Ausdance ACT members. Not a member, sign up HERE
​
A Zoom recording of this session is available free of charge to Ausdance ACT Members. Request a copy email act@ausdance.org.au
Photo Gregory Batardon
Compagnie József Trefeli Hungarian Folk Dance Workshop and JINX 103
Compagnie József Trefeli provided a workshop for all ages to participate and discover together the music and movement from different regions ranging from slow basic steps to virtuoso high energy dances.
​
Following the workshop, participants were treated to a free performance of JINX 103 performed in Australia for the first time by József Trefeli and Gyula Cserepes. József Trefeli and Gábor Varga create a dance performance for any space, exploring together the rhythms and rituals of life in a high energy, captivating performance.
Bharatanatyam Dance Workshop with Vaidehi Subramanyan
This workshop was presented during Ausdance ACT's 2023 Australian Dance Week. Vaidehi Subramanyan, a Canberra-based Bharatanatyam dancer, performer and teacher, took participants through the basic postures and movements of Bharatanatyam and then introduced participants to some hand gestures used in Bharatanatyam. Participants were shown how these hand gestures, along with the basic movements, can be used to tell a short story from Hindu mythology.
​
Photo Amardeep Shergill
.png)
Dance in Nature Workshops
Mirramu Dance Company welcomed Dancecology and Ku & Dancers for a two-week professional dance in nature residency from 14 to 26 March 2023.
During their visit, Ausdance ACT partnered with Mirramu Dance Company to provide a rare opportunity for local dancers to learn from these leading international dance artists from Taiwan in two workshops. The first was a Dance in Nature/Dance Ecology session led by Grace Peng & Elizabeth Cameron Dalman and the second, a Contact Improvisation session led by Ming-shen Ku.
​
On the 17th of March and the 19th of March, there were free performances by Dancecology and Ku & Dancers and an opportunity to meet the artists. There was also a presentation of Elizabeth Cameron Dalman's upcoming book 'Nature Moves'.
Photo supplied by artist
Ausdance ACT Workshop with Sydney Dance Company's Charmene Yap
Ausdance ACT in partnership with Gorman Arts Centres was delighted to present a special workshop opportunity for local dancers with Sydney Dance Company's, Charmene Yap.
This workshop guided participants through a warm-up and contemporary technique exercises before exploring some of the choreographic tasks the company dancers utilised when creating the works included in the Ascent triple bill.
Building on the understanding of the choreographic process, participants then had the opportunity to learn some Sydney Dance Company repertoire.
Photo Pedro Greig
Online Insurance Webinar
As part of our Workshop Series in 2023 we hosted an Online Dance Insurance Webinar on Wednesday 22nd February at 11.30am.
​
Gail McGeachy, General Manager of DanceSurance answered the many questions that our dance sector had, from independent artists, companies, dance teachers, dance studio owners, and more.
​
A Zoom recording of this session is available free of charge to Ausdance ACT Members. Request a copy email act@ausdance.org.au
Dance & Theatre Creation Workshop with House of Sand
The House of Sand Workshop was inspiring and refreshing! The perfect intensive for performance practice and creative processes led very talented and entertaining artists.
The morning session with Eliza was greatly inspired by discovering our personal approach to movement improvisation and how to develop our unique movement vocabulary through our senses and perception. Special focus was then given to a section choreography from the company's new show ‘That was Friday’. A beautiful expansive movement phrase expressing the moment of liberation and release of a character’s held tension and insecurity.
Charley Sanders and Ketura Budd (You Are Here) took us into an immersive afternoon, sharing their particular approach on how they make theatre and the importance of ethics along each production. We explored some theatre tasks, discussed ideas on how to practice and approach the creation of a short script and how to play with it and seeing it reinterpreted by others. The day just flew!
Bangarra Dance Theatre Masterclass
We were thrilled to host Bangarra Dance Theatre for a masterclass for local dancers.
Bangarra is committed to engaging with the community beyond their performance season and we are so grateful for the generosity of company members, Ryan Pearson, Kallum Goolagong and Maddison Paluch who we worked with today.
​
A big congratulations to the participating dancers from Dance Development Centre, Canberra Girls Grammar School, Passion & Purpose, Alfred Deakin High School, Calwell High School, St Mary MacKillop College Canberra, The Training Ground, Dance Northside, Kim Harvey School of Dance, Dream Danz Studios and Acclaim Adcc who brought an incredible energy and enthusiasm with them.
Photo Daniel Boud
Site-Specific Solo Composition Dance in Nature Workshop
Debora Di Centa and Helena Maria da Costa's Site-specific Solo Composition Dance in Nature Workshop was our last offering during Australian Dance Week and a fabulous way to wrap up celebrations.
​
On a perfect autumn day in Justice Robert Hope Park participants gathered to experience, explore and express ideas, emotions and sensations completely inspired by nature and the surroundings.
​
We entered the park with a silent walk, then explored how to move in relation to trees and the grass, air and sky. Maintaining a sense of wonder and complete openness, we developed short solo compositions and shared and explained our intentions through the short dance works to others. It was profound and beautiful and we all felt happy, energised and with some more ideas to work on in our personal practice.
Photo Credit: Cathy Adamek
Chinese Tiger & Lion Dance Workshop
During Australian Dance Week, Ausdance ACT held the Chinese Tiger and Lion workshop at Gorman Arts Centre with Canberra Dragon Dance. It was full of colour, variety and a great workout.
​
We started with a lion dance demonstration designed to ward off evil spirits, with percussion that brought everyone outside at Gorman Arts Centre to look!
​
We then used hoops as a way of practicing the moves without the headdress then everyone had a turn learning how to dance with the lion head on, which was a tremendous work out with the upper body.
​
We then moved outside into the sunny courtyard to learn a dragon dance with mini kite dragons we learnt to walk and twirl like gymnastics ribbon twirling. Rex the instructor also demonstrated the martial arts tiger form. It was very entertaining and all ages participated.
​
Photo Credit: Natsuko Yonezawa
Songlines & Dance Cycles Workshop of Murrin Murrin (7 sisters) from QLD - Women's Workshop
In February we presented the first workshop in our new series collaborating with Ainslie and Gorman Arts Centres - 'Songlines & Dance Cycles of Murrin Murrin (7 sisters) from QLD - Women's Workshop'.
Guided by the amazing Gemma Cronin, assisted by Karen Roberts, we entered into a sacred place where ancient knowledge was shared. We listened and learnt and we danced in a circle. Children, teenagers, young and mature women and every movement carried a special message.
The workshop was powerful, meaningful and emotional. We came together to celebrate, understand and remember that everything is connected.
We all left refreshed and happy and thank Gemma and Karen for sharing and the workshop participants for joining us.
We had a fantastic time in March at our Acrobatics Workshop with Jake Silvestro at Ainslie and Gorman Arts Centre.
The workshop focused on how to approach the floor, continuing momentum and supported tumbling and inspired new movement pathways through play in a guided setting. Participants also gained insight into Jake's creative process.
Photo Credit: Emma Dykes
Ausdance ACT’s Workshop Series is presented with support from Arts Capital at Gorman Arts Centre.