Melbourne's new classical troupe, JACK Productions, is combining with the chamber music group Ensemble Liaison for its next production.

Lionsgate, a US global entertainment company, has announced it will produce a remake of the 1987 film, 'Dirty Dancing'.

Vertical Shadows, the Melbourne-based contemporary jazz company, is presenting a new work called Release the Stars in St Kilda from August 17-21.

A new Melbourne dance theatre company, called Ignite the Dark, is holding its first season on August 12 and 13 at Gasworks Theatre in South Melbourne.

A new book on the impact of the Ballets Russes on Australia dance is being launched in Adelaide on Wednesday August 9.

Choreographer Martin del Amo is joining forces with footballer-turned-performance-maker Ahilan Ratnamohan for a new work called Mountains Never Meet. This energetic dance work explores where sport and dance connect - what dance can be and who can be a dancer.

Fresh from its triumph at the Australian Dance Awards, Expressions Dance Company has received another honour. The Brisbane contemporary company won the "Best Ballet or Dance Work" category at the recent Helpmann Awards for Where the Heart is, choreographed by artistic director Natalie Weir.

The funeral will be held on Wednesday August 3 for Harold Collins, the former artistic director of the Queensland Ballet. Collins was born in Armidale, NSW, in 1942, and was a principal dancer with the Queensland Ballet before being appointed director in 1979.

Sixteen-year-old Courtney Macmillan, of Reedy Creek, Qld, has been named the outright winner of the $18,000 Sydney Eisteddfod McDonald's Ballet Scholarship.

The winners of the 14th Australian Dance Awards were announced last night in front of a warm and enthusiastic audience at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre.

The Fast+Fresh dance festival is calling for entries for its 2011 season. Following the success of its knockout 2009 season, Fast+Fresh Dance is returning in November to thrill audiences and showcase short dance works choreographed and performed by Sydney's finest young talent.

Ausdance has announced that this year's Australian Dance Award for Lifetime Achievement will be presented this coming weekend to Robina Beard, OAM.

Netherlands Dance Theatre performed to a packed out State Theatre in Melbourne last week, for an all-too-brief season from July 13-17. Not only was it the first time the company had appeared in Australia in 14 years, it was also the first time it had performed here without its former director, the great choreographer Jiri Kylian.

"We look for many qualities in dancers during the audition process and it is always a case-by-case encounter," Jim Vincent says. "A uniquely distinguishable presence is critical, not just in the dancer's technique and look, but in everything about them."

Hofesh Shechter is once again being featured in this year’s Melbourne Festival, following his successful appearance at the festival in 2009. This time he is performing his first full-length work, the critically acclaimed Political Mother.

Dancehouse, the centre for independent contemporary dance based in Melbourne, has appointed Angela Conquet as its new artistic director and chief executive officer.