Dancenorth

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Dancenorth is a contemporary dance company based in Townsville, North Queensland, Australia. Founded as the North Queensland Ballet Company in 1969, Dancenorth performs for regional, national and international audiences. Dancenorth has presented work in over 35 International Arts Festivals and venues in Australia and the world. .[1]

The company[]

Dancenorth is a non-profit organization managed by a board of directors. The company's home is the School of Arts building located in the Townsville City Centre. When in Townsville, the building acts as Dancenorth's rehearsal space and 190-seat theatre.

People[]

Artistic Directors and General Managers[]

{DANCE NORTH (1985 – PRESENT )

ARTISTIC DIRECTORS

2014 – present Kyle Page

2010 – 2014 Raewyn Hill

2005 – 2008 Gavin Webber

1998 – 2005 Jane Pirani

1997 Graeme Watson

1995 & 1996 Wendy Wallace

1985 – 1994 Cheryl Stock (first director of professional company)

GENERAL MANAGERS

2018–Present Hillary Coyne (Executive Director, Co-CEO)

2015 – 2018 Deanna Smart (Co-CEO)

2012 -2015 Trevor Keeling

2011 -2012 Peter Helft

2007-2010 Jo Fisher

2005 – 2006 Trevor Keeling

2000 – 2004 Henry Laska

1997 – 1999 Joanne Keune

1996 – 1997 Leanne Gunnelson/Alix Rhodes

1985 – 1995 Lorna Hempstead (first general manager of professional company)

Dancers[]

The Company currently employs seven full-time dancers.[citation needed]

History[]

North Queensland Ballet Company[]

Ann Roberts, Principle of the Ann Roberts School of Dancing, and parents in Townsville, were concerned by the lack of opportunities for young ballet dancers in North Queensland, organised a public meeting to assess public interest in forming a North Queensland ballet company.[2]

The North Queensland Ballet and Dance Company was established 17 July 1969. From the first audition, 41 students were accepted.[2]

Between 1970 and 1982, the North Queensland Ballet Company presented:[2]

  • 24 original ballets created especially for the company
  • 3 productions with excerpts from full-length ballets
  • 3 full-length ballets re-created for the company
  • 2 historical ballets created especially for the company
  • 10 one-act ballets created or re-created for the company.

From 1983 to 1984, 16 new works were created for the new profession/amateur company.[3]

Dance North[]

In 1985 the Company became fully professional and changed its name to Dance North becoming a contemporary dance institute with "a policy of all new Australian works"[4] which primarily trains and performs in Townsville region but tours extensively both nationally and internationally.[4]

1998 saw the première of Luuli, a collaboration between Dancenorth and which fused traditional Aboriginal dance with contemporary western dance and was seen by over 30,000 people nationally and internationally over several years.[4]

dancenorth-australia[]

Dance North became dancenorth-australia in 2006. In 2007, dancenorth took to the streets in between productions to raise awareness of dance through their participation in local Townsville community events. On 15 February 2007, the then Governor of Queensland, Quentin Bryce AC accepted dancenorth's invitation to become the company's patron for the duration of her appointment as Governor.

Dancenorth[]

In 2008, Dancenorth-Australia changed its name to Dancenorth.

Productions[]

References[]

  1. ^ [Dance North : programs and related material collected by the National Library of Australia]. Australian performing arts programs and ephemera (PROMPT) collection; Record 3527461. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c "The early years". dancenorth-australia official website. 15 November 2007. Archived from the original on 15 November 2007. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
  3. ^ "The pro-am years". dancenorth-australia official website. 15 November 2007. Archived from the original on 15 November 2007. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c "The professional years". dancenorth-australia official website. 15 November 2007. Archived from the original on 15 November 2007. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
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