Australian Youth Dance Festival Celebrates 10th Anniversary With An Empowering Program & International Collaborations!

The biennial Australian Youth Dance Festival is delighted to announce a dynamic program of workshops, performances and panels for its 10th Festival taking place in Melbourne from 7 - 12 July. Over five exhilarating days young dancers from Ghana, Denmark, the UK, Scotland and India will work with their peers from across Australia in a program that places young dancers at the forefront as artistic collaborators, provocateurs and future leaders.

"It's brilliant to be hosting this international Festival in Melbourne," says Artistic Director Alice Lee Holland, one of Australia's leading directors and choreographers, and a multi award winner whose many achievements include roles as Artistic Director of STEPS Youth Dance Company, Resident Director of the world renowned Circa Contemporary Circus, and with Chunky Move. "We will welcome young dancers from around Australia and across the world - and while they are a diverse group, they are united in their experience of dance through youth dance companies, where they are at the centre of the experience as young artists."

The 2019 Festival theme - REVOLUTIONS PER MINUTE - refers to change, speed and our increasingly global community. "The program is underpinned by contemporary dance as a rebellious art form committed to innovation; a form that's unafraid to ask questions, and bravely seek out the answers," says Holland.

Core to the Festival is the Leaders Think Tank program for dance leaders, educators and professional and emerging artists interested in youth dance/arts practice. Featuring interactive discussions, case studies and practical dance workshops, it offers an opportunity to engage with a range of national and international guests, youth companies, artists, leaders, policy makers and the next generation - https://www.ausdancevic.org.au/aydf-tt

AYDF offers an opportunity to see incredible work by youth companies in the Revolutions Per Minute gala performances. Taking place over two days at Melbourne's Meat Market, the exceptional and diverse line-up of companies performing, includes:

• QL2 Dance (Australia)
• Wagana and DUST Youth Dancers (Australia)
• fLiNG Physical Theatre (Australia)
• Stompin (Australia)
• Yellow Wheel (Australia)
• The Flipside Project - Catapult dance Choreographic Hub (Australia)
• Origins Dance Company (Australia)
• Rutherford Dance Company Youth (UK)
• Dansebryggeriet (Denmark)
• YDance /National Youth Dance of Scotland (UK)
• High Kicks (India)
• Hurja Piruetti (Finland)
• CSF Traditional Music & Dance Ensemble (Ghana)

Says Holland: "It is exciting to anticipate the swell of physical and creative energy these dancers will create as they meet and work with each other, and the way that through their Festival experience, they will reimagine the future of dance, and our world."

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Australian Youth Dance Festival

Dates
Opening Ceremony - 4pm, Sunday 7 July
Main Festival program - 8-12 July
RPM Gala Performances - Wed 10 & Thurs 11 July

Venues
Festival workshops - Transit Dance, Brunswick
Gala Performances - Meat Market, Nth Melbourne

Bookings and information
www.ausdancevic.org.au/aydfy

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