West Australian choreographer Scott Elstermann will travel to Europe this July to take part in the prestigious ATLAS choreographic training program at the 2026 ImPulsTanz – Vienna International Dance Festival.
The trip will see Elstermann complete a trifecta of international programs. In 2018, he was the youngest person and first Australian to win a Pina Bausch Fellowship for Dance and Choreography. He caught international attention again when he was one of just two emerging choreographers selected from a global callout to create a work for the 2023 Venice Biennale, mentored by acclaimed UK choreographer Wayne McGregor.
In his home town of Perth, Elstermann is known for making award-winning contemporary dance works infused with humour and clever design, from 2019’s Act 2, Scenes 1–4, which transforms iconic filmmaker Wes Anderson’s work into contemporary dance, to 2024’s Foleyvision, a gloriously surprising tribute to both 1990s TV sitcom Absolutely Fabulous and the wonderful world of Foley sound effects. More recently he gained recognition in Melbourne with Scenarios, a duet created in collaboration with Naarm/Melbourne-based choreographer Benjamin Hurley. Scenarios received a Green Room Award nomination for its 2025 premiere at Dancehouse.
Before heading to Vienna, Elstermann is choreographing a new work, Split Screen, for third year dance students at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA). It is an exciting commission, not only because he is a graduate of that program himself, but because the work will be part of the first dance season in WAAPA’s new city digs. In response, Split Screen is a recreation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 novella The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
“I’m taking something historical and retelling it through a modern lens, just as the new WAAPA building has reimagined the old Mount Lawley campus in the Perth CBD,” he explains.
On the face of it, Elstermann’s is a star that continues to rise. But in spite of his successes at home and abroad, it has not all been smooth sailing.
“Benjamin and I started making Scenarios during a 2022 STRUT Dance SEED Residency. And then in 2024 we had a development at Lucy Guerin Inc. But I think we had 13 rejected applications from different platforms and funding rounds before we received the offer to perform in Dancehouse’s annual program,” he says.
Like many Australian mid-career choreographers, Elstermann finds the current funding climate challenging. Diminishing opportunities to make work for Australian dance companies compound the situation, he says, citing the closure of Sydney Dance Company’s New Breed program as the most recent example.
“You get your project up and have a great audience response, but then it feels like you’re back to square one every time, trying to get funding to get the next work up. It’s hard to sustain a consistent and financially viable choreographic practice.”
So when Elstermann was announced as the winner of Edith Cowan University’s annual Young Alumni Award at the end of 2025, in recognition of his artistic achievements and generosity as a teacher and mentor, he felt a sense of relief as well as pride.
The award is competitive, explains Elstermann.
“Each year one graduate under the age of 35 is selected from any of ECU’s eight schools, of which WAAPA is one. It was reassuring to receive this award after many rejected applications, a confirmation that I am in the right industry, doing the right thing, making a difference.
“And it feels like a lovely full circle moment, to be invited back to WAAPA to create a new work for the graduating class, after receiving the ECU Alumni Award.”
Then, a month after the WAAPA gig, it is off to Vienna.
Designed for 25 mid-career artists, the ATLAS program gives participants five weeks’ studio space for creative development and mentorship. They also have access to all that ImPulsTanz offers, including opportunities to see new work, and attend workshops and symposia.
“I'm looking forward to being surrounded by all these amazing international dance artists for five weeks,” says Elstermann.
His ATLAS mentor is Christopher Matthews, an American-born, UK-based choreographer, performer and visual artist. That last element is relevant to Elstermann’s plans for the idea he will explore during his residency.
“My work is very interested in fusing different forms; I've used dance with film, TV, sport, literature,” he says. “Now my attention has been drawn towards comics and cartoons. So I’ll be taking contemporary dance and looking at cartoons and comic strips, and seeing if something can develop there.”
So what is next for Elstermann?
“I would love to use the work I develop in Vienna as a springboard for my next full-length ensemble work,” he says. “Ben and I are also looking to present Scenarios again. We hope to do it in Perth… or anywhere!
“And I'm always looking at different choreographic opportunities. If any companies want to reach out that would be fantastic,” he laughs and then adds seriously, “I would love to create a new work on a professional dance company. That’s the dream.”
– Nina Levy
Scott Elstermann’s new work Split Screen will premiere as part of WAAPA’s Rise program, at the new WAAPA Dance Theatre, 12–18 June. The program also features work by Rafael Bonachela, restaged by David Mack, Brooke Leeder and Claire Voss.