Force Majeure has announced the appointment of Nick Power as its new Artistic Director and CEO, marking a significant milestone in the company’s more than 20-year history.
Power becomes the third Artistic Director to lead the organisation, following founder Kate Champion, who established the company in 2002, and Danielle Micich, whose tenure from 2015 to 2025 further expanded Force Majeure’s reputation for visceral storytelling and influential artist development programs.
Founded as a groundbreaking innovator in contemporary dance and theatre, Force Majeure has been known for redefining the relationship between movement and storytelling through seminal works including The Age I’m In and Never Did Me Any Harm.
Power is widely recognised as a pioneer of devised hip hop dance, integrating contemporary choreographic practice with street styles and bringing them into theatrical contexts. His work spans from remote Aboriginal communities to major international festivals across Europe and Asia.
Chair Julieanne Campbell said the appointment reflects both continuity and evolution for the company.
“Force Majeure has been shaped by extraordinary artistic leaders who push the boundaries of movement-based performance,” Campbell said. “Nick brings a rare combination of artistic rigour, cultural breadth and deep community-based practice. His vision aligns strongly with Force Majeure’s values while opening new possibilities for how, where and with whom the company creates work. The Board is excited by the bold, thoughtful future Nick offers for Force Majeure.”
Power’s body of work includes the influential Cypher, which brought audiences into the performance space alongside dancers and helped bridge the cultural gap between street and theatre. His intercultural duet Between Tiny Cities, created through exchange between hip hop artists from Cambodia and Australia, toured extensively throughout Australia, Asia and Europe and received Green Room and Australian Dance Award nominations. Other major works include Two Crews, featuring the all-female Parisian crew Lady Rocks and Western Sydney’s Riddim Nation, and Deejay x Dancer, which premiered at Sydney Opera House in 2022.
Among his accolades are the Sidney Myer Creative Fellowship and the Creative Australia Dance Fellowship.
Power said he was honoured to step into the role.
“I see Force Majeure as an iconic Australian company whose work has told important, vital and, at times, difficult stories,” he said. “I was inspired by Force Majeure’s early works under Kate Champion, particularly The Age I’m In, and I have deep respect for Danielle’s ten-year legacy of creating work and nurturing artists across the country. Force Majeure has held a key place in the Australian cultural landscape, producing important works grounded in the pressing issues of our time, while mentoring and platforming emerging and vital artistic voices.”
In what marks the first time a dedicated hip hop artist has led an established company of this kind in Australia, the appointment signals a broadening of the country’s dance leadership landscape.
“Hip hop culture is a great conduit for meaningful cultural exchange and connection. Hip hop is a community dance form,” Power said. “The work I create is forged through deeply collaborative, community-embedded processes, and I feel my practice aligns strongly with the values that Force Majeure holds. I look forward to respectfully building on this legacy and shaping the next chapter of the company.”
The appointment follows an open Expression of Interest process led by REA arts + culture, which attracted a diverse and competitive field of applicants. Power commenced in the role in mid-February.