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.
They have partnered with WollCon to run a 3-day workshop (29th Sept.-1st Oct.) for all styles of dance (ballet, contemporary, jazz, musical theatre and conditioning) and included new music composed by WollCon alumni Datu Begley.
“We were 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 was 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 included 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.”
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.”
The piece was performed at the BWA workshop in Wollongong to the local community. Datu’s composition has been brought to life by Ksuci piano trio headed by Jack Mao (our Piano Program Lead at WollCon).
We thank Laura Bailey & Jewel Photography (Julie Phillips-Lewis) for use of images on this web page.
