Alexandra Harrison
Alexandra Harrison has been engaged in the creation and performance of dance and theatre for the last twelve years. As an ensemble member with Legs on the Wall she created, performed and toured nationally and internationally with productions including Homelands, Eora Crossing, On the Case, All of Me, Clearance, Runners Up, Beyond Belief and Flying Blind. She has directed, devised and performed in three seasons of short dance theatre works for the Downstairs Belvoir St Theatre from 2001-2004 including Knots, Diffusion, Web, Together, Bubble, Krush and Imperfect. These works subsequently toured Australia. She was a performer and deviser in the transformation of three of these pieces into the award-winning dance films Together, Fallen and Shadow Play. She performed in and devised Nigel Jamieson’s award-winning Honour Bound (Sydney Opera House and Malthouse Theatre) and Branch Nebula’s Paradise City (Sydney Opera House) both of which toured nationally and internationally. Alexandra developed and performed Half Life and Aisling’s Children with Mark Murphy/NVA/National Theatre of Scotland and Bubble for the Sydney Opera House. She continues her work with Mark Murphy in the forthcoming projects Take A Deep Breath and The Fracture Path. In 2010 she premiered, her first solo work, Dark, Not Too Dark with the support of the of the Australia Council, Performance Space and Queen St Studios.She is currently devising new works Symphony and My Bicycle Loves You with Legs on the Wall, Twisting the Straight Line, with Claudia Alessi, and The Handstand choreographic research with Debra Batton. She has been supported in choreographic explorations and creations by Critical Path, Queen St Studios, Dance 4, Dancehouse and the Fling Rural Residency program and is currently developing a new work, What’s Coming for the UK Nottdance Festival 2011.
Ross McCormack
Ross’s Initial Dance interest grew from Breakdance and Gymnastics he went on to complete his full time training at the New Zealand School of Dance graduation class of 2001,Ross received 5 awards during his 3 years at the NZSD. He then went straight on to work with Douglas Wright Dance Company for the international season of Inland. Before Leaving New Zealand Ross also worked with Raewyn Hill and briefly with the Royal New Zealand Ballet. In 2002 Ross moved to Australia to take a contract with Australian Dance Theatre where he worked very closely with Garry Stewart on the creation of several works which toured the US and Europe, In his two and half years with ADT Ross was nominated for both his own works inside the ADT ignition seasons. In 2005 Ross won the Sir Robert Helpman Award for his performance in the work Held a collaboration between ADT and New York Dance Photographer Louis Greenfield. During 2004/5 Ross traveled to Europe to join Les Ballets C dela B to work with Alain Platel in the work VSPRS. Based In Belgium Ross has now been working for Les Ballets for the last 6 years. In 2007 Ross worked with Lsis Estras an Agentinian Director Choreographer inside Les Ballets for the production Patchagonia. In 2008 Ross came back to New Zealand to Create Symbiotic a graduation work at the NZSD. In 2009 he traveled back to Australia where he was commissioned to create his first full length work Nowhere Fast on Dance North. Nowhere Fast has recently completed an off shore season at the Macua festival In Hong Kong and continues to grow and tour. Also In 2009 Ross was commissioned by Foot note Dance Company to create Stealth a solo inspired by Jeremey Poi and the frameworks of Graffitti. Ross Is currently Back In Brussels working again with Alain Platel and Les Ballets C dela B Touring internationally with the new work Out Of Context a piece in dedication to the late Pina Bausch. In 2011 Ross returns to New Zealand and Australia to continue teaching creating and exploring.
Paul Selwyn-Norton
Paul Selwyn Norton 1964, an ex-pat raised in Africa and the West Indies, lives and works from a base in Amsterdam. As an autodidact he danced for Beppie Blankert, Amanda Miller/Pretty Ugly and William Forsythe’s Ballet Frankfurt. After many successful years working under the auspices of Korzo Theatre Productions, he set up no apology in 2003. This production company supported all his creative work and outreach programmes in the Netherlands. Throughout this career, he has created and restaged work on such prestigious companies as Ballet Frankfurt, Batsheva Dance, Galili Dance, Stalker Theatre and Chunky Move. He is a frequent collaborator with the Duda Paiva Company. He also teaches master class in movement and text improvisation, and has set up workshops and festivals all over the world, most notably Moscow, Sydney and Tel Aviv. When he can, he is also an avid Scuba Diver Instructor mostly in The Red Sea and Pacific Region. He is also an author of several children’s books After more that 20 years in The Netherlands, Paul will is currently in the process of immigrating to Australia, where he will begin his Doctorate Studies in Dance with QUT in Brisbane, Australia plus set up a production unit supporting his artistic endeavours.
Frances Rings
Adelaide-born Frances is a descendant of the Kokatha Tribe and is also of German descent. Frances joined Bangarra Dance Theatre in 1993 after graduating from NAISDA Dance College. In 1995 Frances studied at New York’s Alvin Ailey American Dance Centre, focusing on Martha Graham and Lester Horton techniques. Fran’s film and television credits include starring in the doc drama The Widower, which premiered at the Brisbane Film Festival (2004and presenting television shows ICAM (SBS Indigenous Current Affairs and Media program) and ABC’s Sunday Afternoon Arts Program. Most recently Frances presented ABC’s Dance 4 Film, collaboration with Channel 4 in the UK. Her career highlights include: performing at BAM as part of the Next Wave Down Under in the Festival of New York; performing Corroboree in 2001 at the Kennedy Centre in Washington D.C; interviewing Gerry Adams (leader of Sinn Fein) for ICAM; and presenting live-to-air coverage of the Corroboree Walk across the Harbour Bridge for SBS. In 2002 Frances made her main stage choreographic debut for Bangarra to outstanding critical acclaim with the Rations bill of Walkabout. Frances has followed this by creating 4 works for the company; Bush (co-choreography), Unaipon, and X300. In 2004 Bulletin Magazine named Frances in their Smart 100, following the world premiere of her work Unaipon at The Adelaide Festival of the Arts. That year she also performed with Australia’s premiere physical theatre company Legs on the Wall in Eora Crossing, directed by Wesley Enoch for the for Sydney Festival. Frances was invited to India to lead choreographic workshops at the World Dance Alliance conference in Kolkata. In 2005, Frances left Bangarra to pursue a freelance career. She was guest artist in the production of Petroglyphs, a new work by Leigh Warren and Gina Rings, which went on to win an IAF Innovation Award at the South Australian Critics Circle Awards. In 2007 Frances choreographed Debris a new work for the West Australian Ballet’s Quarry season. In early 2008 Frances along with Narelle Benjamin choreographed a double bill called INTO, for the Sydney Festival’s About an Hour program. Invited as a guest choreographer alongside Neil Ieremia from Black Grace Frances attended the 2009 International Indigenous Choreographers Residency and Summit held at the Banff Centre in Canada. Later in the year Frances was commissioned to choreograph in a double bill for Tasdance called Identity. In 2010 Frances returns to Bangarra to take up the position of Resident Choreographer for the company and present a new work titled Artefact as part of a double bill called Of Earth and Sky with Daniel Riley Mckinley. Her awards include: Best New Australian Work at the 2003 Helpmann Awards for Walkabout; the 2003 Deadly Award for Female Dancer of the Year; and the 2004 Ausdance Award for Outstanding Achievement in Choreography for Unaipon.
Michael Whaites
Michael has been performing, choreographer and teaching for the past 25 years. He was a founding member of Dance North and danced with Australian Dance Theatre before moving to New York City in 1991. Over the following four years he was a member of Twyla Tharp and Dancers and Irene Hultman Dance. He performed in the Tharp/Baryshnikov Cutting up tour throughout Mexico and North America which was the highest grossing contemporary dance tour to date. In 1995 Michael joined the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch in Germany, he made three new works with the company and toured throughout the America’s, Japan, and Europe until moving back to Australia in 2000. Michael has taught and made works on a variety of different companies and institutions across the globe. As a performer/collaborator he has worked with Company in Space, The Light Room Project, Wendy Houstoun In the Dark and Julie- Anne Longs’ The Nun’s Picnic. In 2005 he was Associate Director of Kim Carpenters’ Theatre of Image choreographing two works for the company. Michael is currently based in Perth and is the Artistic Director of LINK Dance Company and lectures at WAAPA.
