New Co-Directors appointed to lead STRUT Dance

The Board of STRUT Dance, the National Choreographic Centre of Western Australia, is thrilled to announce that James O’Hara and Sofie Burgoyne have been appointed as Co-Directors of STRUT Dance. 

James currently holds the role of Co-Artistic Director of the New Zealand Dance Company and will bring with him 20 years of experience as a dance performer, teacher, choreographic assistant, and director. James is immersed in dance communities throughout the world. He has performed on some of the world’s biggest stages, and has worked with some of the most celebrated and influential dance artists of our time. 

Sofie is an artist and cultural worker with a background in dance and choreography who gestures towards culture and community through performance, creation, collaboration, curation, and teaching. Sofie’s choreographic work has been presented in the USA, UK and throughout Australia and she has worked internationally as a performer with choreographers such as Miguel Pereira, Eszter Salamon, Thomas ES Kelly, Theo Clinkard and Jean Claude Gallotta. 

STRUT Chair, Franklin Gaffney said, “We have taken time to identify and engage our new co-directors for STRUT because our membership and the Australian independent dance sector demands dynamic, inclusive and visionary leadership…James’ and Sofie’s appointment as co-directors brings together two individuals committed to collaborative approaches to leadership. Their appointment represents a tremendous cultural fit, with a highly engaged and thoughtful leadership style and capabilities to build upon the strong foundations laid by Paul Selwyn Norton.” 

James O’Hara said, “For those that know me – you will be well aware of my deep love, respect and admiration for Perth, and the dance community here. It has been years that I have been wanting to re-establish myself as a permanent contributor in Perth whilst maintaining and taking care of the relationships that I have formed in the international dance community. Finding the right moment to uphold this has been tricky; I am thrilled to have this opportunity with STRUT to be able to utilise all that I’ve gathered in the past twenty years…”

Sofie Burgoyne said, “James and I are so excited by the distinct qualities of the artists emerging from the Western Australian dance community and are eager to nurture, resource and champion these voices. I am particularly passionate about widening the scope of who STRUT addresses and invites to its programs and see STRUT’s future incorporating a wide expression of dance and a generous invitation to many.” 

Sofie and James said, “We stand here united with a belief in collaborative leadership, trust in its capacity to generate wide reaching care and support, and are excited by the ways it can manifest in an inspired, vibrant, and successful future for STRUT Dance. The success of our creative careers is indebted to many Western Australian organisations including Steps Youth Dance Company, the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and STRUT Dance itself.”

James and Sofie’s appointment follows an extensive search undertaken by the STRUT Board with the assistance of REĂ Consulting.  Sofie and James will join STRUT Dance on 20 June and will report to the STRUT Dance Board. The Board appreciates the significant contribution that Serena Chalker, as creative producer, made over the last 8 months, as part of the leadership team.

STRUT Dance is the National Choreographic Centre of Western Australia, providing a program of internationally benchmarked training, collaboration, and presentation opportunities unique in Australia and Asia-Pacific region. To learn more visit strutdance.org.au