Australian Youth Dance Festival

2004 Australian Youth Dance Festival

City: Armidale NSW
Date: 10–15 April 2004
Venue: University of New England and Apsley Falls, Oxley Wild Rivers National Park

Management team

Project curators: Julie Dyson and Rachael Jennings
Project manager: Rachael Jennings
Administrative assistant: Sophie Gerard Dance

Project team

Armidale Project cultural advisor: Fay Ball
AYDF facilitator: Andrew Morrish
Choreographic advisers: Tim Newth and David McMicken
Choreographic mentors: Gerard Veltre, Morganics, Michael Hennessy, Jeanette Fabila, Darren Green, Bernie Bernard, Mariaa Randall, Bec Reid, Ruth Osborne and Kylie Ball.
Tutors: Sandi Rapson, Sandi Woo.
Documentor: local film maker Lazlo Szabo

Welcome to country

By Anaiwian elder Steve Widders and local Indigenous performer Shannon Smith.

Launch: Cr Brian Chetwynd, Mayor of Armidale and square dancing with the Armidale Eights Square Dance Club.

Special features

Choreographic development project – Stories and Environment

This festival was designed around a choreographic development project linking AYDF tutors/choreographers, participants and the Armidale community, and reflecting the region’s stories and environment.

The process began with a site visit to Aspley Falls National Park, guided by Indigenous educator Fay Ball and National Parks guides, who passed on the Indigenous history of this site.

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Festival participants and choreographers met together each day over the five days of the festival to investigate ways of making performance that celebrated various aspects of place and environment. The process included discussion,workshops in storytelling, performance making and Indigenous protocols.

The project team worked with festival participants to reflect those stories and the environment through the creation of a dance piece, assisting them to identify with their own places and environments, whether they were urban, regional or remote.

Structure

Prior to arriving at the festival, participants selected a tutor/mentor to work with for 2.5 hours each morning. Day one involved a site visit by all participants to Apsley Falls.

Each day included a morning forum followed by work on the choreographic development project. This creative development time was sequential and worked towards an outdoor group presentation on the final evening of the festival.

The afternoon forum focused on the project, with discussion and group showings.

The afternoon tasters classes encouraged participants to try techniques that they were not familiar with.

Each day ended with evening performances.

National participants

About 240 students participated from all over Australia and included: Extensions YDC (Qld), John Curtin College of the Arts (WA), Quantum Leap YCE (ACT), Dance West (Cowra), Clontarf Beach SHS (QLD), SA Academy of Performing Arts, Rossmoyne Senior HS (WA), Safety Bay Senior HS (WA), Bodymoves Dance Studio (Armidale), Cowra Ballet School.

Funding

Festivals Australia for the Choreographic Development project and the Australia Council Dance Board.