Australian Dance Theatre (ADT) and the Adelaide College of the Arts have announced a partnership that is hoped will provide unique benefits to both organisations.
A press release issued by AC Arts stated that Garry Stewart, ADT's artistic director, would join the audition panel for the Bachelor of Creative Arts (Dance) 2016 intake. However the partnership will go much further than that.
“It was an idea Garry had to reinvigorate our commitment with our South Australian base,” explains Elizabeth Old, ADT's associate artistic director. "Because we are a very established company in SA there’s an awful lot we can do for SA vocational training organisations. We felt there were benefits to be had on both sides of a partnership.”
ADT is already delivering 60 hours of training, repertoire and skills to the College's 3rd year students, as well as some choreographic exchanges. The newly announced partnership would expand on these collaborations. “We’re really keen to help – [for example] we can bring students into contact with a professional dance company, take in students on secondment, and give some of their stronger students performance opportunities.”
Old also said that ADT would like to become a kind of resident company, making use of the College's well equipped theatres during school holidays. ADT's present home base is unsatisfactory as a performance venue, and other suitable Adelaide venues are expensive and often booked out. “We are very keen to have more performance opportunities in our home state,” Old says. The company could stage performances and at the same time give theatre students live performance experience.
Second round auditions are being held this weekend on December 4, and successful applicants will be offered first and second round places in December 2015 and January 2016.