Melbourne, Australia: Dancehouse, The Keir Foundation and Carriageworks today announced the eight artists who have been selected for the 2018 Keir Choreographic Award, Australia’s first major choreographic award, supported by the Australia Council for the Arts.
The artists were selected by a high-profile international jury to take part in the biennial competition, dedicated to the commissioning, presentation, promotion and dissemination of new Australian choreography. The selected artists are:
AMRITA HEPI
BHENJI RA
BRANCH NEBULA (LEE WILSON & MIRABELLE WOUTERS)
LILIAN STEINER
LUKE GEORGE
MELANIE LANE
NANA BILUŠ ABAFFY
PRUE LANG
Launched in 2014, the Keir Choreographic Award looks to identify and illuminate experimental choreographic practices occurring in the Australian context today. For the third edition of the Award, the eight finalists will present their new work at Melbourne’s Dancehouse from 6 – 10 March 2018, with four chosen to go on to a season at Carriageworks in Sydney from 15 – 17 March 2018 to compete for the accolade of the $30,000 Award and the $10,000 Audience Choice Award.
KEY DATES & DETAILS
SEMI FINALS: DANCEHOUSE, MELBOURNE, 6 – 10 MARCH 2018
FINALS: CARRIAGEWORKS, SYDNEY, 15 – 17 March 2018
The entry requirements for the Award called for professional artists with an established practice to enter by submitting a five-minute video pitch for a choreographic idea of 20 minutes in duration. The Keir Choreographic Award jury assessed the initial video applications and the eight short-listed works are provided with commissioning funds to realise their idea.
Each of the eight new works created for the 2018 Keir Choreographic Award will be presented at Dancehouse where the jury will then select four works to be presented at Carriageworks. The jury will deliberate for a second time having viewed the final works in a new space. The recipient of the 2018 Keir Choreographic Award will be announced along with the Audience Choice Award on the closing night of the Carriageworks season on 17 March 2018.
The Keir Choreographic Award was presented to Melbourne-based artist Atlanta Eke in 2014 and to Sydney-based Torres Strait Islander choreographer and performer, Ghenoa Gela, in 2016.
