‘Sharp Short Dance’ registrations open

Registration is now open to dancers and choreographers aged 21 years and under to take part in the eighth annual Sharp Short Dance, a dance festival to be presented by FORM Dance Projects on November 15-19. 

Since its launch, Sharp Short Dance has received hundreds of entries from young performers, many returning each year, to strive for their own artistic excellence, develop their choreographic and performance skills, meet like-minded artists, and network with peers and industry experts.

A number of former Sharp Short Dance performers have continued on dance industry pathways since participating in the festival, including Lauren Seymour (the 2014 runner-up on So You Think You Can Dance Australia), Sean Marcs (dancer for DV8 in London in 2015 and Shaun Parker & Company in Sydney in 2014), Billy Keohavong (apprentice for T.H.E. Dance Company in Singapore; dancer in Puncture at Sydney Festival 2015), Emma Jarman (soloist in Opera Australia and Gordon Frost Organisation’s The King and I), Brandon Atoui (dancer for Marko Panzic’s The Dream Dance Company), and Abuzar Abdelrahim and Susan Abau (leaders of Afro-Contemporary Youth Dance.)

The MC of this year’s festival and 2011 Sharp Short Dance awards-winner, Joshua O’Grady, said, “Winning the Audience Choice and Best New Talent awards gave me the confidence I needed to move forward with my professional dance career. I am thrilled to return to MC and see what Sydney’s new generation of dancers have in store!”

This year, Sharp Short Dance will include an impressive panel of judges, including Jesse Rasmussen (of The Tap Pack and So You Think You Can Dance Australia), Juliette Verne (choreographer for Bonnie Lythgoe Productions’ The Lion King), Miranda Wheen (of Dance Makers Collective), Will Sanches (Beat the Streets and Australia’s Got Talent), Marko Panzic (founder of The Dream Dance Company) and Tiana Canterbury (Your Hip Hop Class and So You Think You Can Dance.)

“I am very excited to be appointed as one of the judges of Sharp Short Dance,” said Canterbury. “The festival is a unique opportunity for young dancers to push their limits with choreography, concepts and execution, and to have a lot of fun doing so!” 

To download a 2016 application form, visit form.org.au. Registration concludes October 17, with Heats One to Three from November 15-17 and the Final on November 19.

Photo: Maddison Faye Weiley in Sharp Short Dance. Photo by Dom O’Donnell.