March Dance Takes Over Sydney Next Month

A new month-long contemporary dance festival, March Dance will take over Sydney from the 1st to 31st March 2019, 75 dance events in 31 days, 77 artists and 9 companies.

A remarkable collection of independent dance artists and organisations will present new works at venues across Sydney for the month of March. In addition to performances, dancers and enthusiasts alike, have the chance to engage in workshops, classes, residencies, sharings, forums and talks throughout the month of March.

March Dance is an initiative of Critical Path, DirtyFeet and ReadyMade Works (Independent Dance Alliance) who have joined forces to deliver this exciting new festival.

"March Dance has something for everyone" says festival manager Anthea Doropoulos. "Our aim is to increase the awareness of contemporary dance in Sydney, and to share the amazing work being done by Sydney artists. NSW is the only state without a dance festival, for a city that is so vibrant and rich in culture the dance sector has been missing out "

Amongst the many performances on offer in March Dance is Recital, a unique double-act, direct- ed by the highly acclaimed Melbourne choreographer/director Gideon Obarzanek, presented by Form Dance Projects and Riverside Theatre. It is an unforgettable performance by three time APRA Art Music Award winning percussionist Claire Edwardes, and Helpmann Award winning contemporary dancer, Richard Cilli.

Independent artists Omer Backley-Astrachan, Imogen Kelly, Callum Mooney and Patricia Wood are presenting new dance works with the support of The Flying Nun by Brand X at East Sydney Community and Arts Centre over the month of March. These artists will share works about the landscape, love, death, time, dreaming and tragedy.

Happy Hour is back and will feature three short works presented by ReadyMade Works at their Ultimo studio. It promises a unique hour of dance that celebrates the vibrancy of dance taking place in Sydney, curated by ReadyMade Work's new caretakers, Patricia Wood, Adelina Larsson and Rhiannon Newton.

DirtyFeet Alumni artists Emma Harrison, Brianna Kell, Rhiannon Newton and Ivey Wawn will share new solos in development at the East Sydney Community and Arts Centre in Darlinghurst.

PACT Salons curated by Carla Zimbler is a one-night mini-festival which will be held at PACT's Erskineville headquarters, showcasing new works by Sydney's most compelling early career performance, visual and media artists.

Return to The River will extend the March Dance audience far and wide to Cootamundra. Produced by Murmuration, The Arts Centre Cootamundra presents a new performance work by Angela French, that explores the effects artificial environments have on our human psyche. Spanning the globe, from Dubai to the Murrumbidgee river in NSW, the work navigates contrasting environments, scale, space, and ultimately a longing for home.

Critical Path will be hosting residencies with UK artist Pepa Ubera. Partnerships between First Nations artists are a focus of two workshop projects with CP: Amrita Hepi (AUS) and Jahra Wassasala (NZ) and Eric Avery (AUS) and Cathy Livemore (NZ). Julie-Anne Long will be leading CP's Women's Work gathering for senior female creatives.

In Talking Bodies three favourite Sydney dance artists, Julie-Anne Long, Latai Taumoepeau and Ivey Wawn share lecture/performances at the Surry Hills Library. Trace connections between real-life stories, and the big topics of our time the artists offer new insight into how dance is made.

DirtyFeet will be hosting workshops at Erskineville Town Hall, led by Martin del Amo who will present a workshop for those interested in fusing spoken text with dance. Rhiannon will offer a workshop focusing on improvisation and how the things we care about in the world can manifest in choreographic thinking and practice.

Legs on the Wall will offer residencies during their Spark program at their Lilyfield headquarters, giving artists an opportunity to practice their craft and test ideas, without the pressure of outcomes.

In a special one-off event composer Megan Alice Clune (Alaska Orchestra) will release the soundtrack for Rhiannon Newton's new work We Make Each Other Up, in a live music and film screening night at Verge Gallery.

De Quincy Co will be presenting Impro-Exchange at Glebe Town Hall, exploring the nature of improvisation between artists from different backgrounds, ages and traditions, generating dialogue, exchange and discussion around strategies and processes of improvisation.

ReadyMade Works offers engaging opportunities to get in the studio to train and engage in creative practice with Independent Dance Classes (IDC) and Constant Relay. Now in its fifth year,IDC are weekly contemporary dance taught by leading industry professionals. Constant Re- lay offers artists the chance to work in the studio and share practice through a structured program that provides opportunities to exchange and share ideas with their peers.

Contemporary dance workshops for people with and without disability will be offered in free sessions by DirtyFeet as part of their The Right Foot program at Redfern Town Hall lead by Melinda Tyquin, Elle Evangelista and Chris Bunton.

March Dance Tickets and full program details marchdance.com Tickets on sale Monday 21 January.

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