A Call To Dance Comes to Arts Centre Melbourne

This summer kids are invited to have a boogie and find out what moves them in a participatory one-on-one performance workshop with acclaimed dancer and choreographer Amrita Hepi in A Call To Dance. The multifaceted work at Arts Centre Melbourne from 15 - 20 January invites children aged eight and older to collaborate on a signature dance move that expresses something personal about themselves, their community, passions and hobbies.

At the end of each day, Amrita will present a free mini-performance based on the dance moves discovered in that day's sessions. Each dance will be performed in a different location around Arts Centre Melbourne. On the final day of Amrita's residency, she will perform a new solo dance work using all the dance moves collected throughout that week. Children who take part in the workshops are invited back as part of their workshop ticket, to enjoy the final performance.

"I want to actively engage people in the creation of their own movements and rituals to reiterate the importance of dance, the idea of ownership around a dance move and, as a sub-context, the commodification of dance and its value to society,'' Amrita Hepi says.

"I'm an Indigenous woman with a deep love for dance and movement, traditional cultural practice and popular culture, which all influence my practice greatly."

Amrita Hepi is an award-winning First Nations choreographer and dancer from Bundjalung (Aus) and Ngapuhi (NZ) territories. Her mission is to push the barriers of intersectionality and probe ideas of authenticity, the perpetuation of culture, tradition, and a 'decolonial imagination'. In 2018, Amrita was the recipient of the People's Choice Award at the Keir Choreographic Awards and named one of Forbes Asia's '30 under 30'. Amrita has been commissioned by ASOS to create and choreograph film works and has been featured globally in magazines, Vogue USA, Teen Vogue USA, InStyle, Harper's BAZAAR and PAPER.

She has exhibited and performed at the Banff Centre (Canada), Art Central (Hong Kong), Museum of Contemporary Art (Sydney) Danse Arena Nord (Norway), Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (Melbourne), TEDxSydney and performed with companies including Marrugeku, Force Majeure, Victoria Chiu and Melanie Lane.

The workshop sessions are designed to be experienced one-on-one with Amrita. However for children who might be a bit shy, a second ticket (also $25.00) can be purchased for a sibling or friend.