National Dance Forum

About

The National Dance Forum is a partnership of the Australia Council for the Arts and Ausdance National. It is the most significant platform for dialogue across the Australian contemporary dance sector. Kath produced the first two editions, in 2011 and 2013, and co-produced the third edition with Kristy Ayre, in 2015.

NDF2013 focused on the central question, “Why dance?”

In contemporary Australia, what compels us to create and connect with dance? Is it social and political engagement? Is it creating a strong platform for the continuation of culture? How is dance communicating, and what is it doing in the world? Who are we dancing for, and how do we know what they see?

For NDF2015, dancers, makers, researchers, writers, directors, producers, advocates and educators participated in three days of discussions and dialogue about the inherent concerns and realities affecting current professional practice in Australia. We framed this dialogue by three distinct lines of focus:
Transforming the form: changing structures and their effects
The subtleties and nuances of innovation.
Discourse: How is dance written about, spoken about and communicated?

NDF reviews & comments

The National Dance Forum webpage includes links to reviews and coverage of NDF2015 as well as a complete archive of all three events.

Read the review of NDF2013 from Susan Bendall as featured in Dance Australia

Featured on ABC’s Books and Arts Daily, featuring Garry Stewart and Elizabeth Walsh

Sophie Travers’ review of NDF2011 for Real Time is available here

Credits:
Design by Tony Yap