Big Year Ahead for Australian Dance Theatre
New Home, International Touring & Launch of Adelaide Dance Festival
Adelaide-based Australian Dance Theatre (ADT) have launched their 2018 program which is set to be a landmark year for the iconic company established 52 years ago. The company will remain under the creative stewardship of Garry Stewart as artistic director, a position he has held since 1999, and establishing ADT as one of the leading contemporary dance groups in the world.
Firstly, ADT will move into their new premises at the Odeon Theatre, Norwood. This new space will accommodate 2 rehearsal rooms including a 220 seat flexible theatre. The venue will provide opportunities for the presentation of new, small-medium scale works – not only those created by the company but also developed by the independent dance sector in Adelaide and interstate.
As part of ADT’s commitment to supporting local dance makers, ADT will launch ADT Presents at The Odeon in 2018 – 4 performance seasons across the year open to independent artists and other dance companies which will be subsidised by ADT, building on the long-term success of ADT’s Ignition, Rough Draft and Enhancement professional development programs.
Secondly, in 2018 ADT will officially launch its International Centre for Choreography (ICC), that will facilitate support for local, interstate and international dance artists in the creation of dance through workshops, exchanges and residencies, and professional development initiatives. ADT has had a long history of encouraging and nurturing the creativity of its dancers and independent artists, as well as providing the means to create. The ICC will afford the company and the wider Adelaide dance sector with opportunities for cultural exchange, knowledge sharing and enhanced artistic endeavour on an international scale. A central aim of the ICC is to uplift and support local choreographic practice and to create multiple opportunities for national and international collaborations.
The season’s works will consist of Construct by the late Tanja Liedtke which will tour to Germany in March; with the company’s centrepiece being new work The Beginning of Nature which will tour Europe as well as nationally throughout the year. Established annual program Rough Draft will take place in September and October, which provides an opportunity for Adelaide’s independent dance and physical theatre makers to present their work to an audience in the early stages of its creative development and showcases up to 10 new works.
Perhaps the biggest news for ADT is the launch of the inaugural Adelaide Dance Festival over 2 weeks in July. In what will be an annual event, the Adelaide Dance Festival aims to create an ecosystem of diverse dance experiences that will take Adelaide audiences on a journey through the vast expanse of what is possible in the art form of dance today.
Established by ADT’s Artistic Director and internationally-renowned choreographer Garry Stewart, the 2018 Festival will include performances, workshops, installations, talks and masterclasses with both free and ticketed events.
From 8 – 21 July 2018, the Festival will see a wide variety of dance represented, from classical ballet to contemporary dance and break-dancing.
With a vision to be a national and international leader in dance, and to push the boundaries of the art form through ambitious collaborations and interconnections, ADT will, through producing the Adelaide Dance Festival, create, support and promote new opportunities for dance in South Australia.
The Festival program will include The Australian Ballet’s The Sleeping Beauty, The Beginning of Nature by Australian Dance Theatre, the world premiere of Lina Limosani’s The Spinners, and the Australian heats of the international breaking competition Freestyle Session.
The first week of the Festival will also include activities associated with Panpapanpalya, the Second Joint Congress of daCi (dance and the Child international) and WDA (World Dance Alliance) Global Education and Training Network that is being held in Adelaide 8 – 13 July 2018.
Click here to visit the new website of the Adelaide Dance Festival for the full program of events when it is released in March 2018.
The ADT will also continue to run its successful dance education program in schools, Youth Ensemble and Secondment Week for 30 eligible dance students.
www.adt.org.au
