Sharp Short Dance

Rebecca Varidel
28th Oct 2019

FORM Dance Projects’ annual dance festival Sharp Short Dance returns to Riverside Theatres from 12 to 16 November, giving young dancers and choreographers the opportunity to present their own works in front of industry professionals.

Now in its 12th year, Sharp Short Dance will see dancers and choreographers aged 21 years and under vie for highly sought after industry secondments with major professional dance companies such as Sydney Dance Company Pre-Professional Year, Catapult Dance, Stalker Theatre and Dance Makers Collective.

Multiple awards are also up for grabs including Outstanding Male and Female Performers; Most Innovative Choreography; Outstanding Solo, Duet and Ensemble Performances; and the Audience Choice Award. There are also cash prizes, gifts and vouchers to be awarded from sponsors like Bloch, Capezio and Energetiks.

The 2019 judging panel features some of the industry’s most respected names including Tara Robertson (former Bangarra Dance Theatre dancer), Omer Backley-Astrachan (choreographer and Sydney Dance Company Pre-Professional Year Course Coordinator), Marlo Benjamin (Chunky Move company dancer), Jamie Winbank (Creative Director of Ausdance ACT’s Youth Dance Festival), Cadi McCarthy (Catapult Dance Artistic Director), and Jane McKernan (Fondue Set co-founder and former lecturer at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds, UK).

Sharp Short Dance celebrates the sheer joy of dance in all its forms – from tap, Bollywood and indigenous to hip hop, classical and contemporary. Many participants return each year to strive for artistic excellence, develop their choreographic and performance skills, meet like-minded artists, and network with peers and industry experts.

Sharp Short Dance Artistic Producer Maya Gavish said, “We’ve had dancers from all across the state register for this year’s event, eager to showcase their choreographic and performance skills as part of Sydney’s most colourful and diverse celebration of dance. It’s always an uplifting experience to witness their creativity as it unfolds during the heats and final, and we can’t wait to see what these enthusiastic young performers have in store for us this year.”

Sharp Short Dance
12 to 16 November 2019
Heat One: 7.15pm on Tuesday 12 November
Heat Two: 7.15pm on Wednesday 13 November
Heat Three: 7.15pm on Thursday 14 November
Final: 7:15pm on Saturday 16 November
Riverside Theatres – Corner of Church and Market Streets, Parramatta

www.form.org.au/sharp-short-dance-2019