2018 Keir Choreo Award

Call Out for Entrants into 2018 Keir Choreographic Award & Jury Announced Closes 11 August Dancehouse, in conjunction with The Keir Foundation, Carriageworks and Australia Council for the Arts, have opened the call for entries and announced the high-profile international jury for the third edition of the the Keir Choreographic Award (KCA). KCA has assumed a significant and dynamic place in the Australian dance landscape. It offers eight artists the time and space to create and present a fully funded new work, a remarkable context in which to engage with international perspectives and an opportunity to connect with new and ever expanding audiences for dance in Australia.

The biennial competition, dedicated to the commissioning, presentation, promotion and dissemination of new Australian choreography, will accept entries until 11 August 2017 for the third edition of the Keir Choreographic Award, to be presented in March 2018. The Keir Choreographic Award looks to identify and illuminate experimental choreographic practices occurring in the Australian context today. The 2018 Jury that will decide which artists will be offered one of 8 new commissions consists of: ANNA CY CHAN - Head of Dance, Performing Arts of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, Hong Kong LUCY GUERIN - Choreographer, pedagogue, Lucy Guerin Inc., Melbourne ISHMAEL HOUSTON-JONES - US choreographer, author, performer, and curator ESZTER SALAMON- choreographer, dancer and performer, France/Belgium/Germany CHRISTOPHE SLAGMUYLDER - Artistic Director of Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Brussels MEG STUART - American choreographer and dancer, Damaged Goods, Belgium/Germany

Eight finalists will once again be selected by the jury to present their work at Melbourne’s Dancehouse from 6 – 10 March 2018, with four chosen to go on to a season at Carriageworks in Sydney from 15 – 17 March 2018 to compete for the Award. The chosen eight artists for 2018 will compete for the accolade of the $30,000 Award and the $10,000 Audience Choice Award. The first winner of The Keir Choreographic Award was Melbourne-based artist Atlanta Eke in 2014, and then Sydney-based Torres Strait Islander choreographer and performer Ghenoa Gela in 2016. The entry requirements for the Award call for professional artists with an established practice to enter by submitting a five-minute video pitch for a choreographic idea of 20 minutes in duration. The Keir Choreographic Award jury will assess the initial video applications and the eight short-listed works will be provided with commissioning funds to realise their idea. Each of the eight new works will be presented at Dancehouse where the jury will then select four works to go on and be presented at Carriageworks. The jury will deliberate for a second time having viewed the final works in a new space. The recipient of the 2018 Keir Choreographic Award will be announced along with the Audience Award on the closing night of the Carriageworks season.

KEIR CHOREOGRAPHIC AWARD Submissions Close: 11 August 2017 Commissioned Choreographers Announced: 2 October 2017 New Works Developed: October - February Semi Finals: Dancehouse, Melbourne, 5-10 March 2018 Finals: Carriageworks, Sydney. 15-17 March 2018 Participants can enter the competition by downloading and reading the full application, with regulations available at www.carriageworks.com.au or www.dancehouse.com.au . Entrants will be judged by a jury of international and national peers. https://vimeo.com/165206846