Dance Australia was saddened to learn of the passing of Dr Maggi Phillips this week. A teacher, researcher and academic, Maggi will be remembered for the enormous contribution she made to the Australian dance sector.
Amongst those mourning the loss of Maggi are the staff, students and alumni of the dance department at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, where she held the position of Associate Professor and the Coordinator of Research and Creative Practice. Maggi’s absolute passion for dance, in combination with the incredible depth of her knowledge ensured that she inspired generations of students. A maverick herself, she impressed upon her students the importance of originality, always encouraging them to be intellectually brave.
In addition to her role at WAAPA, Maggi was involved in numerous dance projects and organisations, including the World Dance Alliance and the Australian Learning and Teaching Council project, Dancing between Diversity and Consistency: Refining Assessment in Post Graduate Degrees in Dance. She was an avid writer and contributed to many dance and arts publications. From 2013 she was the editor of Brolga – an Australian journal about dance. In 2010, Maggi received the Australian Dance Award for Services to Dance Education.
We will be publishing a full article to honour Maggi in the coming weeks. In the meantime we offer our condolences to her family, friends, colleagues and students past and present. Maggi will be sorely missed.
- Nina Levy
Nina has been teaching with Maggi Phillips at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts since 2011, and was also one of Maggi's dance history students from 1998-2000.