Chunky Move announces $80,000 Choreographer In Residence

Chunky Move in partnership with the Tanja Liedtke Foundation have opened applications for their new Choreographer In Residence initiative. Set to commence in 2021, the initiative will see the successful applicant undertake an $80,000 two-year residency with Melbourne’s leading dance company.
The introduction of this major new initiative extends Chunky Move’s commitment to supporting established independent choreographers to develop their careers while furthering the company’s ambition to drive the artform of dance forward in Australia, and beyond.

The residency is designed to provide Australian choreographic artists with extensive support to develop and present new work, further their artistic practice, gain organisational knowledge, extend their professional networks and build a meaningful ongoing connection with Chunky Move.

Antony Hamilton, Artistic Director and CEO of Chunky Move said:

Our Choreographer In Residence initiative will allow creativity to take full flight – acknowledging the important and time-honoured dialogue between artist, institution and benefactor. We look forward to welcoming a new artistic voice into the company and to imagining and building a new creative path together.

Chunky Move, in partnership with the Tanja Liedtke Foundation, is now calling for applications for next year’s inaugural Choreographer In Residence appointment. A public expression-of-interest process will be open for the next month, closing on Friday 2 October.

The residency is intended to create a structure that balances creative flexibility with clear outcomes across the tenured two-year period. Rather than being a fellowship or direct commissioning opportunity, the program will encourage the incumbent to integrate their work with Chunky Move as an expansion of their own practice.

The Tanja Liedtke Foundation said of the inaugural initiative:

We are fully dedicated to fostering the artistic development of young Australian choreographers. We trust that this project will provide an opportunity for an upcoming artist to find their voice under the well-proven guidance of Artistic Director Antony Hamilton, who was the first fellow of the Tanja Liedtke Foundation. We are convinced that the successful applicant will benefit from the financial stability of this initiative to develop their creativity and talent over a sustained period of time. We are thankful to be part of this extraordinary program, which will pave the way for a promising future for the chosen artist, and we wish the artist all the best with their inspiration and energy in the choreographic progression.

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Header image credit: Derek Swalwell. Image Courtesy of Australian Centre for Contemporary Art