Dance

The 40th Anniversary performance of Duprada Dance Company at the Araluen Arts Centre will be a spectacular event showcasing the best of the best inspired from the past 40 years. Music that Moves is a story of movement, migration and music.

Kate Douglas School of Dance had their inaugural end-of-year showcase, and what a show it was! After only 10 months since the dance studio opened, over 100 dancers performed on stage to an audience of 500 spectators.

Narrandera hosted the Annual Big Country Hoedown Line Dance Competitions recently at the Narrandera Ex-servicemen’s Club, which is one of the event’s major sponsors since it transferred to Narrandera in 2017. These annual events started off with a fabulous Welcome Social at the Exies.

“SUB blends the body, sound, objects and lighting to imagine a future world where humans have burrowed underground to live. “It is an incredible work for incredible times, speculating on the future of a world transforming before our eyes.”

From the dance studio to the great outdoors, ballerina Ms Valerie Tereshchenko has proven it’s never too late to try something new. Studying, performing and mastering the art of ballet for 25 years, the Ukraine-born ballerina took on a new challenge by studying a Bachelor of Environmental Science and Management with the help of Charles Sturt University’s online study options.

Continuing her good form, Sarah Jarvis recently wrapped up her metropolitan solo campaign at the 2023 Calisthenics State Championships at The Besen Centre in Burwood. This was her fifth and final competition in the 17 Years Open Reserve Division, against dancers from all around Victoria.

Patrick Goldsmith. Celebrations have commenced to mark the 2023 Kernewek Lowender Copper Coast Cornish Festival, now in its 50th year. Locals and visitors will have the chance to soak up traditional Cornish events and displays throughout the week (Monday to Sunday, May 15-21).

330 primary school students participated in the successful hip hop dance program run by Stomp Dance Company after a $9,000 donation by cluBarham ... The program included the Cohuna, Kerang and Koondrook schools after Cohuna Consolidated School teacher Michelle Howard saw a need to bring students, families and the community back together in a fun and interactive way...

On the weekend, Sarah Jarvis was awarded first place in the 17 Years Open Reserve Graceful Calisthenics Solo competition at George Jenkins Theatre in Frankston ... Calisthenics is a form of strength training consisting of a variety of movements and participants have to perform a set of exercises in competition.

Josephine Hyes. Denmark choreographer Annette Carmichael is casting movement across 1000km, releasing an epic of hope, in her latest grand-scale community dance performance ... The odyssey begins in Margaret River and journeys to Northcliffe, Porongurup, Fitzgerald Biosphere and Kalgoorlie.

Get your calendars out and highlight these dates if you want to immerse yourself in a Sunshine Coast event like no other. Organisers have confirmed that the 2023 Horizon Festival, a 10-day showcase of culture, music, visual art, theatre, dance, comedy and creative workshops, will return in 2023 from August 25 to September 3.

The prestigious Sydney Dance Company joined forces with NORPA last week to mentor young dancers from the Northern Rivers in a week-long dance intensive held at Southern Cross University in Lismore. Working with Sydney Dance Company's Teaching Artists, 30 local dancers aged 13-18 years from across the region were taught Sydney Dance Company choreography and repertoire as well as learning how to develop and express their own experiences through contemporary dance.

Cambooya Hall is now the second venue to host classes by Kiyua, a not-for-profit organisation working with children and youth, building confidence and self-esteem through performing arts. Kiyua Kids come from all backgrounds and cultures and enjoy classes every Saturday during school term.

Narrandera High School finally celebrated NAIDOC Day, its first in three years, with the Welcome to Country and Didgeridoo welcome setting the scene for a day of inclusivity and education. The highlight of the day was the final event - the commissioning of the Stewart James mural.

The Australian Ballet’s Regional Tour returns, spreading the joy of dance across the nation. This dazzling gala program includes a beautiful selection of pas de deux and Swan Lake Variations, a tribute to the beauty of Tchaikovsky.

Tennant Creek kids were lucky enough to be able to participate in dance/hip hop workshops with artists Matty, Franceska and Michael from Indigenous Outreach Projects (IOP) this week. The week was full of workshops, run with assistance from Julalikari, culminated with a dance performance at Nyinkka Nyunyu on Saturday night.

Showcasing the best of the Barkly’s creative talents and providing memorable and exciting experiences for all ages, the Barkly Regional Arts (BRA) 33rd Desert Harmony Festival is set to be as fun and engaging as ever ... BRA will light up for an evening of poetry, music, circus and dance featuring acts by Kasey Chambers, Olive Knight and many more artists.

Chris Oldfield. Alan Phillips remembers highland dancing in public for the first time during a Naracoorte Caledonian Society function at Bool Lagoon when he was four years old. Now he is a 10-year-old State champion highland dancer, eager to compete in as many competitions as he can. But the prizes are not everything. For Alan, his greatest passion is just being able to perform, meet up with “lots of friends” and have fun.

“My father was born in London, he was a pacifist who refused to go to war. Even though he only had one eye, which prevented him from fighting, he was sent to jail for 12 months for his radical views. This totally changed the direction of my parents’ lives ... As a child, I would not stop moving. My mother would play classical music and I would dance around the big wooden table in the kitchen.

The online dance project harnesses the creativity of children across regional WA, to celebrate familial relationships. Children aged 4-7 have worked together with adults they love, to create their own dance performance through a series of games masterminded by inspirational choreographer Sandi Woo.

Lynne Mowbray. The last couple of years have proved to be a trying time for anyone attempting to hold an event and organisers of the 117th Maclean Highland Gathering, were keen to make this year’s event, a great one. Maclean Highland Gathering Chief Peter Smith said that they were expecting a particularly good gathering this year and it did not disappoint.

This year’s Rockin' on East Festival is set to be bigger and better to make amends for the last two events being cancelled due to COVID. It will be like a scene from yesteryear when rock and roll bands and dancers, dressed in 1950s attire, descend on Narrandera to create a fun, family event scheduled for the October long weekend.