Entries are now open for Stage 2 in a world-first composition and choreography initiative, MadeBy, developed by OneMusic Australia and the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) Australia.
MadeBy highlights the business of music and dance, artistic currency and interconnectivity. It provides a $15,000 prize pool to Australian music composers and choreographers and the valuable opportunity to create collaborative ‘works’ and integrate the two cultural sectors, an activity characteristic of a broader push toward artistic partnership and collaboration in the post-COVID arts landscape.
Stage 1 of a staggered competition was completed last month. Through OneMusic, Australian composers were offered the opportunity to submit an original composition to be considered for Stage 2 of the initiative. The winning piece was selected from a pool of over 300 entries representing a range of styles from musicians nationwide.
Blue Mountains composer Emma Greenhill’s piece entitled Regrowth is a stunning meditation on the devastation of the 2019-20 bushfires and nature’s resiliency. From today, the evocative piece will now form the inspiration for a second competition for aspiring choreographers within the RAD Membership, who will create an original dance work in response to the music.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing my piece be interpreted by another artist through a different art form,” said Greenhill. “It will also be very exciting to see my music literally come to life through the physical act of dance, something I have always been very captivated by since childhood. The opportunity to then collaborate with the chosen choreographer and give them the opportunity to tell a story of their own through my music will be an absolute privilege I am thrilled to undertake.”
In addition to the cash prizes they receive, in the final stage of the initiative, each winner will be given support to collaborate on the creation of a new work together. OneMusic and the RAD have engaged professional artists in both fields who will mentor the winning artists in a wider bid to nurture the careers of emerging artists and educate musicians and dancers on the creative process. Cat Hope (composition) and Alice Topp (choreography) will help guide Greenhill and the winning choreographer – to be announced on 31 August – through a collaborative artistic process lasting up to 12 months, with the joint outcome performed some time in 2022.
Rebecca Taylor, national director of the RAD, said, “Regrowth is a wonderful composition that I’m sure our members will be very inspired by. Congratulations to Emma Greenhill and to the other 15 shortlisted musicians introduced to the RAD through this initiative. We look forward to the possibility of working with those artists in the future also. But for now, I am excited to see what our emerging choreographers produce!”
For more information on MadeBy and details on how to enter, visit au.royalacademyofdance.org/madeby.
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