dance captain

Melbourne - the interactive dance tourist

2008-05-07T08:14:00.014+10:00

I recently received an email from a dancer in the USA asking me about the dance scene in Melbourne. So I thought I would do a top level 101 on contemporary dance in Melbourne...see the bottom of the blog for the urls

Here is what I would do if i was arriving in Melbourne...

Visit Ausdance Victoria give them a call and check out their online magazine kinesis

Check out Dancehouse online for classes and rehearsal venues and performances.

Go to davidandjacob.com and check out their links to see some of the local dance artists in Melbourne.

Check out local companies (for classes and performances)
Chunky move
Kage
Lucy Guerin
Ballet Lab

And independent rehearsal studio...
Cecil street studio 03 9443 0640

Other things worth googling
Full Tilt - The Arts Centre
North Melbourne Town Hall - Arts House
Footscray Community Arts Centre
Arts Victoria
Theatre Alive
Australia Council

Its a pretty rough and ready list, and contributions from other are more than welcome. Hope it is of some help...

Cheers

Luke

A fine line...

2007-04-09T16:24:00.000+10:00

Chatting with a friend the other day, they were talking about several projects they are currently involved in. All 'incubation' type projects, and all without a fee for the artist.

With funding (in real terms) decreasing for our dance companies (and the recent loss of Danceworks) the need for other 'structures' or organisations to provide opportunities for dance artists to develop their craft has never been more important. But at what point do we insist that an artist be paid?

I am not criticising the new initiatives that we are seeing (thus the title...a fine line). People in the arts work hard. These opportunities are being squeezed out of a stone, by the passionate and the committed. But it is a fair question...and I don't expect the answer to be black and white.

When is it reasonable for a funded organisation to create unpaid opportunities for artists. Do these connections lead on to further work? Or are we just happy with being given space and time to make?

What are the boundaries...an artist should receive a fee when....

One of the best things organisations can do when they provide these opportunities is clearly articulate all of the benefits that the participants receive. This helps balance out the question of money.

However...

Bottom line is, we all want to get paid...

Cheers

Luke

I want to dance forever...

2007-02-01T08:50:00.000+11:00

Or 'the window part 2'

SCOPE - for the life of dance - is a new program being set up by Ausdance, the Australia Council for the arts, the Australian Institute of Sport and the Australian Sports Commission.

In a nut shell its a professional development program for dancers based on a model used for elite athletes. (yes it is paid for, ie its free for you to do, if you get selected)

An information session was held in Melbourne the other night, their are 25 places and they have had about 100 people register to get more information. Id like to see the number tripled!

This program is not about the dreaded 't' word (transition). This idea sends me into a bit of a tail spin. if I'm not working full time as a 'dancer' then I have to leave altogether?

The reality for most of us is that we have broad interests and ways of supporting our creative practice. What is exciting is that this program is set up to support dance artists on that journey. Some people may wish to leave the form, but most (or at least 50%, says scope) want to find ways to stay engaged with the form that they love, dance.

The SCOPE program encourages dancers to plan now for changes or shifts later so that you are skilled up and doing things that you love and are good at. It is testimony to the work of those involved, particularly Ausdance, and I think the more people who apply the more evidence that the program is needed.

I also think it can be a part of the bigger picture of keeping those who have a passion for dance engaged with dance, even if they shift in their career path (see my posting 'dancers in high places').

So how do you apply?
Apply here

Applications close Friday 16 February 2007

What are you waiting for?

Complete the circle

2006-11-09T17:41:00.000+11:00

If you are unhappy with the outcome of your grant application there are several things that you can do.
you can apply again later
you can be upset about other people who got the money
you can be disheartened and give up
the list goes on....

However...

There is one thing that you can do that has the potential to have a long term impact. You can book a meeting with your local Member of Parliament and tell them all about it.
I know it seems radical.
But you just call them and do it, it's called democracy, they have to listen you are their electorate!

So what do you say?
You need to tell them whatever your concerns are. Tell them about your project. Tell them why it matters to you, why it is important to society. Most importantly tell them that the only solution is to increase the funding for dance.

This completes the circle. The government gives funding to the arts, the artists give feedback to the government on their
funding policies.

Will it make a difference? Only if we do it. And then only maybe if lots of us do it. One thing is certain, it is more productive than being upset about not getting funded.

The goal is not to attack. The goal is to create an advocate for dance. We can do this by communicating our genuine passion, commitment and belief in what we do.

maybe...just maybe....

The Window

2006-10-20T18:27:00.000+10:00

Their is a window of time for any artist to make their work. This window seems particularly finite for dance artists. All of us are at the mercy of our mortality. As the body ages what can be asked of it changes too. This is of course ironic, as the knowledge of years of work accumulates, the facility to express that knowledge deteriorates.

This is not to say that we should buy into the cult of youth, I love watching dance artists of any age. It is just to acknowledge the facts. The window is short and we have to take advantage of that time. We have to make sure that we support our artists to produce their work, and we have to take care of them once they are finished performing.

This transition idea is a difficult one. How can we build skills in dancers that will support them throughout their career? Can these transitions happen within the dance community? Can we find areas in the broader community that need the skills that dance artists accumulate?

An oxymoron

2006-10-05T18:55:00.000+10:00

Mainstream contemporary dance

It does happen. My favourite example at the moment is the ok go film clip for "Here it goes again"

http://boss.streamos.com/qtime/capi001/okgo/
hereitgoesagain/video/hereitgoesagain_v300.mov

and “A Million Ways” Dance
http://boss.streamos.com/qtime/capi001/okgo/
amillionways/video/amillionways_v750.mov

You have to see these.

Im sure you have other examples and would love to see you post them here.

Dancers in high places

2006-09-25T18:06:00.000+10:00

We need to cultivate our 'expat' dance artists into a network of powerful voices to advocate for the form.

It is such a shame that we lose these people once they decide that dance is not the long term career they may have dreamed of. This may happen early (in their teens) or later (after graduation, several years into a career) but for some reason the connection with the form is often lost.

So how do we change this?

Alumni.

We need to create a powerful dance Alumni. We can model it on the university system. A group of people who, because of their past contact with dance (the parameters should be very broad) are invited to join the contemporary dance alumni. The 'club' would give access to shows, events, artists, workshops etc that feed the passion for the form. The pay off would be a group of passionate advocates who operate outside the dance community. Placing contemporary dance within the context of the broader community.

Double or nothing

2006-08-30T20:28:00.000+10:00

I want to invite you to participate in the 'double or nothing' initiative. The theatre board of the australia council currently receives double the applications that the dance board receives, not surprisingly it has about double the budget and twice as many people are successfull in getting funding.

You do the math!

So, simply put, we need to double the number of applications going to the dance fund at the Australia Council for the arts.

By making noise in this way you can do something positive for the long term health of dance as an artform. The application process, even if you are not sucessfull, is a fantastic way to refine your ideas and focus your practice.

The more applications you do the faster you get at them!

So apply now!

NOW!

The gauntlet

2006-08-19T18:00:00.000+10:00

Let me throw you a challenge.

You have 3 minutes to publicly declare your passion for dance, articulate the value of dance to society and predict what is exciting/instore for the artform in the coming years.

We will have a public event for you, where there is a dj, and drinks, a dance floor...and then every half hour someone is called on to face the 3 minute challenge.

Why? Because advocacy starts from within, by forcing ourselves to articulate the benefits we arm ourselves with the discussions we will have with the broader community.

It is fundamental that the people who are the leaders in our field are our strongest advocates. By accepting the government grants to create work we take on the responsibility to be a powerful voice for the form.

well that's what I think anyway...

Bums on seats

2006-07-27T14:28:00.000+10:00

So where are they? The audiences I mean.

It is a commonly held belief that dance isnt appealing to the masses. Is this more a self imposed image crisis (does this dress make my....) or is it based on fact?

The evidence seems to suggest that art in general holds great appeal (see the satchi and satchi report created for the australia council a couple of years ago), but the language is a bit of a barrier. Without the language people can find it hard to access the arts.

I think people love dance, but we have a bit of an image crisis. We mis interprit the need to better communicate the language/ettiquette around contemporary dance with a dumbing down of what we do. Its not about changing the form, its about changing the way the form is communicated to the general public.

My observations are subjective of course but let me highlight a couple of tangible events that confirm Australia's love of contemporary dance.

Melbourne Festivals focus on Dance in 2003 (bal Moderne, dancing in the streets)
Dancing with the stars

These two events highlight how easily the general public find it to engage with dance, we just have to be smart enough to take ownership of this and make contemporary dance the hotest ticket.