Cathy Adamek Appointed New Director of Ausdance in ACT
Expertise in Dance, Acting, Theatre, Film and Dance Music Culture
Dr Cathy Adamek has made a significant contribution to Australian dance, theatre, music and film as an independent artist and creative producer and through her research, writing and organisational leadership over the last 30 years. She is renowned for her positive approach, excellent relations and track record of achievement by her peers and colleagues.
Ausdance ACT President Lauren Honcope said: “We are immensely proud that the important fulltime role of Director attracted a very talented field of applicants from near and far. Dr Cathy Adamek brings a unique combination of strong qualifications, expansive experience and well-honed practical skills to Ausdance ACT and to the wider dance and arts community of Canberra and surrounds. We are excited and delighted about Cathy coming to work with us and we are sure that she will make a significant contribution and impact on our work for dance and dancers in the ACT.”
Cathy trained in acting at NIDA and Webber-Douglas (London), has a BA (Hons) in English Literature, a PhD on Adelaide Dance Music Culture and studied ballet with Joanne Priest and Shelia Laing to an Advanced RAD standard. Her award-winning physical theatre and dance music works have toured nationally in major venues and festivals. She presents her work on electronic dance music culture and creative practice at national and international conferences, forums and discussion panels and is published in peer-reviewed journals and books. A Peer Assessor for the Australia Council and board member for Ausdance National, she currently teaches at UniSA in Screen Writing and Professional Communication. Cathy is an Associate Artist with Dance Hub SA and teaches regular adult ballet class as part of their programs.
Most recently, her invaluable work with Ausdance SA as President has seen her lead a volunteer board to revive and reinvigorate the organisation so that it is now on a firm footing and is very highly valued by the dance sector.
Cathy has been working on the aligned interdisciplinary health science research project with Dr Jeff Meiners “How the creative process of dance teaching enables resilience and well-being across generations”. In 2019, she advocated for dance directly to state government, accelerating during the COVID outbreak, for the Safe Return to Dance Guidelines to be accepted as a measure for the easing of restrictions for dance studios.
Regarding her appointment and move to the ACT, Cathy said “I am so excited to come to Canberra and meet the dance community. I love being in and exploring new places and making creative connections and seeing how best I on behalf of Ausdance can support local artists and teachers and assist and enable their practice.”
Following her PhD, Cathy will soon be releasing a book about the birth of electronic music and dance culture in Adelaide!
Ausdance ACT thanks the ACT Government for making it possible to establish and fill this role, through COVID-19 Organisational Emergency Support Funding.
