Ballet Workshops Australia (BWA) runs dance workshops for children and adults of all levels of ability in regional areas, with a view to providing extra opportunities and promoting dance and the arts through increased accessibility.
This year (October but TBC) they are partnering with WollCon to run a 3-day workshop for all styles of dance (ballet, contemporary, jazz, musical theatre and conditioning) will include new music composed by WollCon alumni Datu Begley.
“We are incredibly excited about the opportunity to come to Wollongong and work with the dancers and a young, up and coming composer.” Said Laura Bailey (BWA Artistic Director).
The aim of the collaboration is to create a collaborative artistic work, giving dancers, the composer and the choreographer a unique chance to build something together from the ground up.
“It is invaluable for dancers to understand the creative process and largely uncommon for them to have the opportunity to work not only directly with a choreographer but also with a composer! We are thrilled to be able to work together with Datu and WollCon to provide this amazing experience and we hope that it will be the first of an ongoing collaboration of its kind.”
The workshop will include tuition from a team of teachers including Vicki Attard, an ex-principal dancer of the Australian Ballet now a world-renowned coach who has been teaching in Australia and abroad for over 21 years.
“It is wonderful to have such experienced teachers, passionate supporters and talented musicians all eager to give back to the community and provide amazing opportunities in dance and the arts. We are thrilled to have the support of Annette Brown and Wollongong Conservatorium to make this possible and we cannot wait to see what takes shape.”
Datu Begley, an emerging composer working with the Ballet Workshops Australia team, was previously a WollCon Symphony Orchestra musician (trumpet), and is now furthering his music education at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music studying a Bachelor of Music (Composition).
He is thrilled to have been asked to create a commissioned work that will give dancers the opportunity to forge an immersive piece of movement that brings his music to life.
“With my composition work I tend to gravitate toward orchestral compositions, but I am open to and have composed with some unique sets of performance media. In the past I have created a composition to accompany a short film but I’ve never composed for any sort of dance. I have also never seen live ballet before so this will be a new, incredibly enriching experience and an amazing opportunity for me to broaden my skill set.”
A preview of the event will be performed at the BWA workshop in Wollongong with the local community welcomed to attend.
We thank Laura Bailey & Jewel Photography (Julie Phillips-Lewis) for use of images on this web page.
