Australian Dance Week coming up May 1-7

Ausdance ACT Escalate performer Hikma Aroub for Australian Dance Week. Photo by Lorna Sim. Graphic design by Andrea McCuaig.Are you an Australian who loves dance? Then it’s time to decide how you’re going to get involved with Australian Dance Week this year, scheduled for May 1-7. This week aims to raise awareness of professional dance and dance in the community, and to celebrate its diversity.

 

Many events are happening across the country, so it’s easy to get involved. With International Dance Day also scheduled for the Saturday preceding this week—April 29—it’s no surprise many launch parties are set for that day.

 

Click on the Ausdance in your region below for more details on events taking place near you. We’ve also highlighted one or two events from each region just for fun!

 

Ausdance ACT

 

Kick off Australian Dance Week by watching ACT professional dance artists perform in Dance on the Edge 2017, set for Belconnen Arts Centre’s Dance Studio on International Dance Day on Saturday, April 29. Shows will be presented at 4 and 8 p.m., and the next day, Sunday, April 30 at 2 p.m. Artists performing in this mixed bill include: Alison Plevey, Holly Diggle and Olivia Fyfe in three ways; Debora di Centa in NaturaI; Eliza Sanders in Let Resting Dogs Tell Fibs; Emma Strapps, Shiara Astle, Rocio Escobar Gutiérrez and Adam Broinowski in Flight/less; Paul Jesseph Base Hickman and Kathleen Lott in ism; and Flight Year in anxious depressed obsessed.

 

Also, Action Theater’s Danielle Cresp will lead a physical theatre and improvisation workshop at Gorman Arts Centre on April 29 and 30.

 

Ausdance VIC

 

Ausdance Victoria will host its 2017 General Meeting on International Dance Day on Saturday, April 29. Everyone is welcome to attend. The morning will kick off with a free Bollywood Workshop at 9:30 a.m. before tea at 10:30 a.m. and the meeting at 11 a.m.

 

Also, Melbourne City Ballet’s annual contemporary showcase returns smack dab in the middle of Australian Dance Week. ECHO will run May 4–7 at Chapel Off Chapel in Prahan.

 

Ausdance NSW

 

Ausdance NSW, in partnership with Groove Therapy, will present a Voguing Masterclass led by Jaycee Tanuvasa (New Zealand) at Dancing Under The Influence (DUTI) Studios on May 1. NSW artist Bhenji Ra will assist Tanuvasa.

 

Ausdance WA

 

Presented by Ausdance WA, Act-Belong Commit and MRA, and supported by The City of Perth, Dance Day will serve as the official launch event of Australian Dance Week in WA. Set for April 29 at James Street Amphitheatre in the Perth Cultural Centre, Dance Day will present live dance performances from 3 to 5 p.m. before Trigger from 5 to 9 p.m. Trigger, essentially an outdoor dance-karaoke jam, let’s you nominate the playlist and use interactive software to project your grooving body live onto the LED screen in a variety of animated forms.

 

Ausdance QLD

 

One event for teachers to get excited about is the Ausdance Educators Queensland 2017 Conference, which will be held on Friday, May 5 and Saturday, May 6 in the studios of Queensland Ballet at the Thomas Dixon Centre in West End, Brisbane. Friday will feature a Secondary School focus with a keynote presentation on “Dance Education for the Future” while Saturday will include sessions for both Primary and Secondary educators.

 

Ausdance SA

 

Finsart Inc. Studio is planning Adelaide Flash Mobs for April 29. Lots of different sites are involved. Sign up and get involved at finsart.com.au.

 

Up in the Northern Territory? Check this out!

 

Tracks Dance Company invites Darwin to take part in the Nightcliff Seabreeze Festival on Saturday, May 6. Participants of all ages and abilities are welcome. Learn more at www.tracksdance.com.au.

 

Image: Ausdance ACT Escalate performer Hikma Aroub for Australian Dance Week. Photo by Lorna Sim. Graphic design by Andrea McCuaig.