WHO

LEAD DANCE ARTIST & Emerging Producers in Community recipient

AIMEE SMITH

Aimee’s love for the arts came through her obsession with dance. Since graduating from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (BA Honours 2004), Aimee has been chasing dance opportunities around the world. Most recently Aimee has performed in the 2006 Tanz Im August International Dance Festival in Berlin, participated in the World Urban EARTH Festival in Vancouver, Canada (2006), and premiered her performance installation Press Play at the Next Wave Festival in Melbourne, Australia (2006).
Back in her home town of Perth, Aimee is an active member of STRUT; has been commissioned to create works for BUZZ Dance Theatre and WAAPA; and in 2006 premiered her first full length work 53’ at The Blue Room.
2007 sees Aimee with her feet firmly planted in WA, discovering the magic and beauty of her homeland through her work as lead artist for AWESOME Arts 2007 Creative Challenge, Make Your Move.

LEAD SOUND ARTIST

BEN TAAFFE

CC Artists

LUKE DAVEY

After a few years skulking the city in masks made from building waste and hanging out on rooftops, Luke found focus and commenced studies in architecture at Curtin University in Perth and completed them at Newcastle University NSW in 2003. However, the corporate world proved too enticing and Luke worked as an architectural researcher for Mirvac Fini in Perth for two years, and now supervises on site work. Outside work, Luke knocks around with his robotics and runs a design studio, talem, with his wife in Perth.

Luke has traveled widely around Australia, especially in the north-west and east coast and there is nothing he likes better than going bush. Luke has a strong interest in community and space, and the way people move and experience where they are and all that is happening around them.

NIKKI ASHBY

Indigenous woman Nikki Ashby, descendant of the Narrunga and Kaurna nations in South Australia, has an outstanding professional background as a dancer, choreographer, director and performer. She has performed and worked with dynamic Australia companies including Bangarra Dance Theatre and ADT, and carries with her a diversity of dance styles including contemporary indigenous, hip hop, latin, african and jazz. Leader, role model, director, choreographer, and cultural educator, Nikki has worked with and performed for young people in remote communities around Australia and hosted hip hop master classes for dance companies and community youth groups throughout the country. Currently Nikki is director for ‘The Movement hip hop crew’ dance theatre, based in Melbourne.

BONNIE DAVIES

Bonnie has a festival, music and contemporary arts background with a strong community focus.
She has worked for AWESOME, Big Day Out, WAM Association and Blast Theory (UK) as well as initiating 'Square One' a youth arts magazine at the age of 15 and 'On the Edge' a multimedia workshop for young people. After gaining radio experience in the UK, Bonnie kick-started a podcast called 'Internet Saved The Radio Star’ which is currently under development.
Bonnie is dedicated to community development and has an addiction to boundary-breaking artforms – which makes the Creative Challenge a great project to get stuck into.

AISLING (ASH) DONOVAN

Aisling is currently an independent Perth-based dance artist. As well as working with other independent Perth artists, such as Aimee Smith and Alice Holland, she is also currently teaching students contemporary dance and constantly working on her own projects and feeding her own interests. Her passion for dance has led her to travel throughout Australia and to various parts of the world including Canada, Singapore, Taipei, Vienna and Berlin. She graduated from WAAPA in 2004 with Honours and has since been experimenting with mixed media. Aisling is extremely excited about being a part of the Creative Challenge project and sees it as a great opportunity to collaborate and create with enthusiastic young members of the community.

AMANDA BARRETT HAYES

New to Perth, Amanda has recently arrived from the UK. She holds an M.A. in Movement Studies from Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She has worked as a Movement Tutor within Central and also at Guilford School of Acting. Originally from the US, Amanda is trained in classical and contemporary dance and choreography, and holds a B.A. in Theatre Performance from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She currently works as a movement director and tutor for the WA Opera’s Young Artist Program, as well as teaching Black Swan Theatre Company’s Thrills and Skills Series. She is looking forward to working with AWESOME as an artist on this upcoming Creative Challenge project.

MICHELLE ANDERSON

Michelle Robin Anderson is a performer and collaborator. She trained in Contemporary Performance at Edith Cowan University. Previous productions include ‘The Mary Surefoot Shoe Collection’ with Spare Parts Puppet Theatre, ‘The Laramie Project” with Black Swan Theatre Company, ‘Hope is the Saddest’ as part of the Artrage Festival, ‘The Velveteen Rabbit’ with Spare Parts Puppet Theatre, ‘Accidents and Alchemies’ at the Performance Space in Sydney, ‘Motor City Blues’ at the Adelaide Fringe Festival, ‘The Proscenium’ at WAAPA, ‘The Visit’ at Rechabites, and ‘Red Lashes’, a site-specific collaborative performance in a 200-metre train yard. Michelle has also worked extensively with Pact Youth Theatre in Sydney, performing in ‘Wide Open Road’ (2002), ‘Handle With Care’ (2005) and ‘I Feel Like Dancing’ (2006).

RACHEL ARIANNE OGLE

A graduate of the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Rachel has performed with Melbourne company BalletLab, Hong Kong’s City Contemporary Dance Company, and Perth’s Buzz Dance Theatre and Kompany Kido. In 2005, she received the Australian danceWEB scholarship to participate in the Impulstanz Festival workshop program in Vienna, and in 2006 was an international guest artist at the Dance Meets Danse Festival in Lagos, Nigeria.

Rachel has facilitated dance workshops for a wide range of communities, including several remote indigenous communities in the Pilbara and Central Australia, Christmas Island, Alice Springs, and with DADAA (WA) in the field of arts and disability. Additionally, Rachel lectures at WAAPA in dance and theatre.

Additional to her residency for the AWESOME Festival, 2007 sees Rachel undertake an international tour with BalletLab, and return to Nigeria as artist-in residence.

SETE TELE

Independent dance artist Sete Tele has performed with various Australian dance companies including Skadada, Company Loaded, Australian Dancers' Company, Fieldworks Performance Group, ID339 Dance Group and 2 Dance Plus (now Buzz Dance Theatre). In 1999, he also formed a dance theatre group Kompany Kido whose work is informed by the Japanese martial art Aikido.
Sete has facilitated dance workshops and has created dance works for a number of clients such as Ausdance, West Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Disabled in the Arts Disadvantaged in the Arts Australia (WA), Fieldworks Performance Group, Steps Youth Dance Company, Dancers are Space Eaters Festival, Putting on an Act Festival, Artrage Festival, Perth Theatre Company, STRUT Dance and InCite Youth Arts in Alice Springs.
Sete’s favourite activities outside of dance include sleeping, eating, music appreciation, body-boarding and acquiring computer-related skills such as video editing.

NATALIE CURSIO

Natalie Cursio has been prolific in her contribution to Australian dance. Her choreographic work has been presented in Tokyo, Seoul, Busan, Taipei, Hong Kong, Singapore and around Australia. Natalie has just completed a collaborative tour (Melbourne, Hong Kong, Taiwan) with Homeless Dance Co, a nomadic company of artists from five countries. Earlier in 2007, Natalie presented her solo work Cindy and Polly Talk Dance in Japan. In 2006 Natalie made Anonymous, for Korea’s Dance Theatre CcadoO and she curated, choreographed for and performed in the highly acclaimed With a Bullet - The Album Project. Natalie has been nominated for an Australian Dance Award (2005, for dance film) and for a Green Room Award [2007, for Concept and Realisation]. www.natcursio.com

DEBORAH ROBERTSON

Deborah Robertson works with movement and dance through the mediums of live performance and film. Originally from Canberra, Deborah graduated from the WA Academy of Performing Arts in 2002, completing her honours year in 2003 as a member of Link Dance Company under the artistic direction of Chrissie Parrott. She has worked with Compagnie Felix Ruckert (Berlin), Strut Dance Inc, First Wave (supported by residencies at The Australian Choreographic Centre, Canberra), Tall Concrete Collective and Artrage.

In 2006, Deborah was accepted to the Spark Mentorship Program with Tracie Mitchell as her chosen mentor.
In 2007, Deborah performed her solo “The Deconstruction” at Gasworks Art Park, Melbourne and The Blue Room, Perth. She will work as assistant on Tracie Mitchell’s new film “Under The Weather” and undertake two collaborative residencies with Bianca Martin at the Australian Choreographic Centre, Canberra and the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts.

MOLLY TIPPING

Molly Tipping has a BA (Dance) from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA). Artists she has worked with include Bill Handley, Rosalind Crisp, Sally Richardson, Daksha Seth and David Pye. Molly has received grants from the Australia Council for the Arts and ArtsWA including a Youth Creative Fellowship. Molly currently co-directs a performance company called something in common with Jennifer Jamieson. Their last work Shop Till You Drop was performed as part of the 2006 Artrage Festival. something in common is currently a permanent company-in-residence at the newly formed CIA Studios – a hybrid arts initiative between the Department of Culture and the Arts and pvi collective. Molly also spends her time being a mum, teaching pilates and is in her second year of the Feldenkrais training.

TAMARA SEARLE

Tamara Searle is a performer, theatre maker and educator with diverse experience and training in theatre, dance, film and television. She originally trained at The Australian Ballet School, The National Theatre Drama School, Chunky Move, V.C.A Centre for Ideas, and with numerous independent practitioners. In 1998, Tamara was a co-founder of The Wodonga Dancer’s Company for young dancers. In 2003, she facilitated and directed Wanderlust with marginalised young women at the Melbourne Fringe Festival which returned for a season at the CUB Malthouse in 2004. She has also worked extensively as a principal performer in a variety of productions across theatre, TV and film.
Tamara has taught acting and performance making at Charles Sturt University and movement at Swinburne University. She is currently working on an adaptation of an Australian short story to theatre and is the recipient of a 2007 Asialink Performing arts grant in which she will travel to Northern Thailand to work with Makhampom Theatre.

DAVID HYAMS

David Hyams is one of Western Australia's most accomplished composers, producers, and multi - instrumentalists. Playing acoustic, electric and steel guitars, as well as mandolin, bass and bouzouki, he has performed in a wide range of musical styles, from blues, rock and country to the progressive folk of popular WA acts Devils on Horseback, The Press Gang and his own seven piece Miles To Go band. David emerged as a composer and artist in his own right with the release of his critically acclaimed debut "Miles To Go". David has composed for documentary and feature film, with his music being aired on numerous TV soundtracks.
David has had a long involvement with WA indigenous musicians, including Peter Brandy from Kununurra, Kerriane Cox and the Young Guns (Wyndham). He has worked on a number of projects with Aboriginal and regional communities, most recently as a co-ordinator of a community music project in the Central Desert community of Jameson (Mantamaru) in 2005 and 2006.
www.milestogo.com.au

LIZ RANDOLPH

Liz is a young(ish) person passionate about the arts and empowering young people to be active in their communities. She has worked in the arts since graduating from a Bachelor of Musical Arts in 2002, and has since completed studies in Arts Management.
Liz has been involved in various youth arts projects and has experience working with different communities. Liz is currently a project officer at DADAA WA and is working with young people with and without disabilities to assist them in getting their voice heard and connecting with their communities.

In her spare time, Liz loves to sing and play the violin, as well as listen to contemporary alternative music, walk in the bush, discuss social justice issues and contemplate innovative (and sometimes crazy) ideas about anything and everything! 

NAT BATES

Nat has directed Australia's premiere festival of sound arts, Liquid Architecture, annually since its inception in 2000. He has lectured in sound art from the National Gallery in Canberra to Melbourne's RMIT University.
Since the late 90s, Nat has produced and performed experimental music and composed sound design for videos and animations. He has produced interactive sound works for the web, CD-Rom and installation and has curated and coordinated group shows of CD-Rom, music-video and sound art.

Nat's current projects include the experimental rock outfit Machina Aux Rock, and Film§coria, a series of soundtracks for appropriated video pieces. Nat also teaches sound to multimedia students at RMIT University and is doing a PhD in sound art.