Ausdance revives two of dance’s most treasured fellowships

As the nation awaits its next National Cultural Policy — built around the principle of the centrality of the artist — Ausdance is putting that principle into practice, announcing the resumption of the Peggy van Praagh Choreographic Fellowship and the Keith Bain Choreographic Travel Fellowship.

Paused during the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two fellowships return in 2026 with $10,000 each on offer to early and mid-career Australian choreographers working in any dance genre. Applications are now open and close on Friday 31 July 2026.

The announcement lands at a pivotal moment for Australia’s artists. Submissions to the Federal Government’s consultation on the successor to Revive closed in May and are now under review, with the sector calling loudly for long-term, sustainable career structures for artists. Meanwhile, demand for support continues to far outstrip supply: Creative Australia’s most recent International Travel Fund round attracted 135 eligible applications, of which only 31 could be funded.

“These fellowships exist because two extraordinary artists — Dame Peggy van Praagh and Keith Bain — chose to invest in the choreographers who would come after them,” said Ausdance President Julie Englefield.

“At a time when the whole sector is asking how we build sustainable careers for Australian artists, these bequests are a reminder that targeted, artist-centred investment changes lives. Normal, dance-loving individuals, can change lives. Ten thousand dollars at the right moment in a choreographer’s development can be the difference between an idea and a body of work.”

The fellowships are made possible by generous bequests from Dame Peggy van Praagh, founding artistic director of The Australian Ballet, and Keith Bain OAM, former Bodenwieser dancer and long-serving movement director at NIDA. Both were lifelong champions of Australian choreography, and the fellowships continue their legacy of practical, direct support for dance-makers. Ausdance National welcomes future bequests.

The Peggy van Praagh Choreographic Fellowship supports the creative development of Australian choreographers, while the Keith Bain Choreographic Travel Fellowship supports national and international travel for choreographic research and professional development — an increasingly vital lifeline as competition for travel funding intensifies.

For more information on the Ausdance Peggy van Praagh Choreographic Fellowship and Keith Bain Choreographic Travel Fellowship, including eligibility guidelines and application details, visit ausdance.org.au. Applications for both $10,000 fellowships are open to Australian choreographers working across all dance genres and close on Friday, 31 July 2026.

Keith Bain (top photos) L: with Coralie Hinkley in Bodenwieser’s ‘Central Australian Suite’, 1957. Photo: Maxwell Hynes. R: with dance partner Joyce Lofts. (photographer unknown). Bottom photo: Peggy van Praagh at the Bryan Lawrence School of Ballet in Canberra with student Kathy Hourigan. Photo by Don Gallagher, courtesy of Ausdance.