Ausdance NSW will present the Australian Youth Dance Festival 2012 at NAISDA, NSW next April. Choreographic sessions throughout the week will culminate in a site-specific dance work, with all AYDF 2012 dancers, directed by Rowan Marchingo. Dancers will also have the opportunity to work with Philip Channells, Vicki Van Hout, Kay Armstrong, and Lee Pemberton.
The Merry Widow has opened in Sydney at the Opera House for 20 performances until November 28. After an absence of over ten years, Sir Robert Helpmann and Ronald Hynd’s effervescent production returns in 2011 in celebration of The Australian Ballet’s history. As the December season of Graeme Murphy’s Romeo & Juliet is already sold out, this is the last opportunity for many to see the company in action in 2011.
An all-new Australian production of one the most successful American Broadway musicals of all time, A Chorus Line is coming to Adelaide and Melbourne for 2012. Direct from Broadway and a U.S Tour, this new Australian production is directed and re-staged by Baayork Lee, one of the original cast members and inspirations from the Tony Award® winning 1975 production.
Internationally acclaimed chamber music trio Ensemble Liaison will combine with JACK Productions for a one-off Sydney performance of El Amor Brujo, featuring Principal Artists of The Australian Ballet, Rachel Rawlins and Andrew Killian, along with Marc Cassidy and Joseph Simons at the newly opened Concert Hall on The Concourse in Chatswood, 3pm on Sunday 27 November.
One the world’s most loved dancers, Mikhail Baryshnikov, 63, has donated his personal recordings, photographs, documents, letters, scrapbooks and videotapes to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. With nearly 650 videotapes of Baryshnikov dancing, including footage of him as young as 11 dancing in Latvia where he was born, the Library now has a treasure trove that’s sure to draw dance scholars, dance teachers, students and the general public.
At the recent US finale of So You Think You Can Dance, Dance Informa asked Nigel Lythgoe if SYTYCD Australia will ever come back. Click 'read more' to see his answer.
Dancehouse Melbourne has announced the appointment of a new artistic director, Angela Conquet. “I feel tremendously privileged and honoured to have been appointed Artistic Director of Dancehouse. After six years of working with independent dance artists in France, I am extremely happy to transfer my skills and experiences in order to continue David Tyndall’s fantastic work here”, Angela said.
Eight dancers have been elevated at The Australian Ballet. Artistic Director of The Australian Ballet, David McAllister, made the welcome announcement after wrapping up the sold-out season of Graeme Murphy’s Romeo & Juliet in Melbourne. Reiko Hombo will become a senior artist, Chengwu Guo will be made a soloist and Brett Chynoweth, John-Paul Idaszak, Ako Kondo, Brooke Lockett, Karen Nanasca and Sharni Spencer are moving up to the rank of coryphée.
StageArt is the dynamic new production company created by passionate arts professionals Katherine Armstrong and Robbie Carmellotti. With large commercial producers presenting safe, proven shows, StageArt was formed to meet a need in current Australian theatre: the creation and promotion of new and original work. Both Armstrong and Carmellotti share a love of dance and talent for choreography, and this is evident in their inaugural season of not one but two new works, Mátalor and Grease 2: Live in Concert, which will play in concurrent seasons at Melbourne’s Chapel off Chapel.
Sydney's newest dance training studio will select 12 dancers for an elite, full time course in classical/contemporary. Evolved teaching techniques, outstanding results. Auditions on Sunday 6 November. Visit www.evolvedanceaustralia.com for more info and to register your interest.
Producers John Frost and Sharleen Cooper Cohen have announced principal cast members for their upcoming production of the new musical An Officer and a Gentleman. The talented cast will be led by Ben Mingay, currently starring as Tommy DeVito in Jersey Boys, and Amanda Harrison, star of the blockbuster musical Wicked. Based on the hugely successful Academy Award-winning film, this new production has been adapted for the stage by the original screen writer, Douglas Day Stewart and co-writer Sharleen Cooper Cohen, with music and lyrics by Kenny Hirsch and Robin Lerner.
Sydney’s youMove Company in collaboration with the Sydney Conservatorium of Music is offering five independent solo makers/performers the opportunity to make a new ten minute solo work with an original score. The 10 minute works will be presented in June 2012 as part of the Con’s concert series, as well as presented in a Western Sydney venue. Applications close Friday Oct 14.
