The Keir Foundation, Carriageworks, Dancehouse and the Australia Council for the Arts have announced the eight artists and collectives who have been commissioned to make new works for the Keir Choreographic Award in March 2020. The winner of the prestigious Award will be chosen by a jury of five internationally renowned leaders in contemporary dance and receive a cash prize of $50,000. The eight new commissions will be presented at Dancehouse, Melbourne from 3 – 7 March, and four semi-finalists will be chosen by the jury to present at Carriageworks, Sydney from 12 – 14 March. The jury will announce the recipients of the 2020 Keir Choreographic Award and the $10,000 Audience Award on 14 March.
The 2020 artist selection represents a mix of early-career to established practitioners, from states and cities across Australia, with diverse perspectives on and approaches to contemporary dance. The eight selected choreographers plan to explore politically and socially engaged themes – from Indigenous sovereignty and Blak feminism, to Queer diasporas on colonised land, to living with a disability and life in the age of climate change. Presenting work in March are Alison Currie, Angela Goh, Riana Head-Toussaint, Amrita Hepi, Jo Lloyd, Zachary Lopez, Lewis Major and The Farm.
The 2020 Keir Choreographic Award jury tasked with the responsibility of selecting the eight new commissions and to decide the recipient of the Award are Paola Balla (Wemba Wemba and Gunditjmara, AUS), Claudia La Rocco (USA), Mette Edvardsen (NO), Serge Laurent (FR) and Takao Kawaguchi (JP). The Australia Council for Arts, the Keir Foundation, Carriageworks and Dancehouse have confirmed their continued support for the next three editions of the Keir Choreographic Award, ensuring the longevity of this commissioning program.
In making the announcement, Keir Choreographic Award Founder Phillip Keir said, “I am thrilled that our eminent jury has assembled such an interesting group of artists for the 2020 award. The wonderful diversity of this group of artists reflects the great strength of contemporary choreography in Australia. It will be fascinating to see the outcomes of these choreographic ideas as they are worked into eight fully formed works. I very much look forward to the presentations at Dancehouse and Carriageworks in March.”
Carriageworks CEO Blair French said, “Supporting artists in the development of new ideas and work is central to Carriageworks’ mission. We are excited to again be partnering with Dancehouse, the Australia Council for the Arts and the Keir Foundation to support experimentation in Australian choreography and look forward to presenting a selection of the new works to Sydney audiences at Carriageworks in March.”
Dancehouse Artistic Director Angela Conquet said, “It is extremely rewarding to see such great diversity – of practice, of career spectrum and of geographical provenance. I am truly looking forward to seeing how these urgent and timely interrogations that are about to be seeded with these upcoming eight new works will unfold in March. We are also looking forward to working with the exceptional jury and bringing to Australian audiences a multi-faceted and accessible public program, which will complement the competition in both Melbourne and Sydney.”
Australia Council for the Arts CEO Adrian Collette said, “After the success of previous editions, we are delighted to once again support the Keir Choreographic Award with partner organisations the Keir Foundation, Dancehouse and Carriageworks. We are looking forward to connecting even more Australian audiences to contemporary dance experiences through the compelling works of these talented artists.”
For tickets and more information, visit www.dancehouse.com.au and carriageworks.com.au.
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