Sharp Short Dance

FORM Dance Projects' annual dance festival Sharp Short Dance returns to Riverside Theatres from 12th to 16th November, giving young dancers and choreographers the opportunity to present their own works in front of industry professionals.

Now in its 12th year, Sharp Short Dance will see dancers and choreographers aged 21 years and under vie for highly sought after industry secondments with major professional dance companies such as Sydney Dance Company Pre-Professional Year, Catapult Dance, Stalker Theatre and Dance Makers Collective.

Multiple awards are also up for grabs including Outstanding Male and Female Performers; Most Innovative Choreography; Outstanding Solo, Duet and Ensemble Performances; and the Audience Choice Award. There are also cash prizes, gifts and vouchers to be awarded from sponsors like Bloch, Capezio and Energetiks.

The 2019 judging panel features some of the industry’s most respected names including Tara Robertson (former Bangarra Dance Theatre dancer), Omer Backley-Astrachan (choreographer and Sydney Dance Company Pre-Professional Year Course Coordinator), Marlo Benjamin (Chunky Move company dancer), Jamie Winbank (Creative Director of Ausdance ACT’s Youth Dance Festival), Cadi McCarthy (Catapult Dance Artistic Director), and Jane McKernan (Fondue Set co-founder and former lecturer at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds, UK).

Sharp Short Dance celebrates the sheer joy of dance in all its forms—from tap, Bollywood and indigenous to hip hop, classical and contemporary. Many participants return each year to strive for artistic excellence, develop their choreographic and performance skills, meet like-minded artists, and network with peers and industry experts.