FLING is off to Melbourne for the Australian Youth Dance Festival 2022
- The Beagle
- Jun 29, 2022
- 2 min read
This July, eleven young performers from FLING Physical Theatre, Bega’s own Youth Dance Company, will be performing in Melbourne as part of the Australian Youth Dance Festival (AYDF).
This year’s festival will see 30 professional dance artists come together with hundreds of young dancers from around Australia at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) in the heart of Melbourne’s vibrant arts precinct. The Festival is made up of a week-long dynamic workshop program, with performances showcasing the work of the companies in attendance at the festival.
The trip to AYDF will provide extraordinary creative development opportunities for the FLING company.
FLING Co Artistic Director Gabrielle Rose says “AYDF is a wonderful opportunity for young dancers to meet like-minded people, to make connections, to work with professional artists from across the country and to build relationships that can feed their professional futures.”
The AYDF Organisers work with a team of Youth Ambassadors, drawn from Youth Companies around Australia, who contribute to the design of the festival. FLING’S Youth Ambassadors to AYDF 2022 are long-time FLING Company performers Ebony Ryan-Miners and MayaRae Navarette.
Ebony says “I’m excited to go to AYDF for the second time and experience it as a senior FLING Company performer, and to be able to support and encourage the rest of the company- most of whom are going for the first time.
Attending the 2019 festival opened my eyes up to things that I didn’t even know were possible. I got to work with different choreographers and experience different dance styles, and connect with like-minded people that have the same passion as I do.
Dance can give you instant connection to someone you have never met before- you can go into a workshop together and come out of it feeling like you have known each other for years.”
FLING’s Co Artistic Directors Gabrielle Rose and Rob McCredie will also attend the festival, along with Dance Development Officer Beth Lane. They will be involved in a Youth Dance Leader’s Forum program, connecting with other youth dance professionals to discuss best practice.
Australian Youth Dance Festival is presented by AUSDANCE (VIC) and runs from 3rd to 8th July 2022
Above: FLING’s Youth Ambassadors to the AYDF, Ebony Ryan-Miners and MayaRae Navarette, Photographed by Chris Sheedy