VICKI VAN HOUT - INDIGENOUS CONTEMPORARY DANCE MAKING

WHO
Vicki Van Hout

WHAT
Working for over thirty years as an independent dancer and choreographer, Vicki Van Hout is renowned for her idiosyncratic movement language, whilst employing a decidedly comedic and surrealist choreographic approach in her contemporary Indigenous dance theatre works.

Her extensive experience straddles both a ‘traditional’ grassroots community context and two of Australia's ground-breaking Indigenous dance companies, Bangarra Dance Theatre and the Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre.

Vicki Van Hout will lead a five-day workshop, designed to give the participants insight into the activities and subjectivities that Indigenous dance makers engage with when creating contemporary choreographies.

Vicki's workshop will offer an interdisciplinary approach incorporating storytelling, song cycling and craft making skills. Drawing upon her knowledge of kinship practices, which include concepts of reciprocity, of mapping and tracking country, she will illustrate how these become tools for generating new movement vocabularies.

Beginning the day with a technique class including excerpts from her award-winning body of repertoire, the workshop will unfold a deeper understanding of the dance language which underpins all of Vicki’s creative practice.

This workshop is open to First Nations and Non-Indigenous performing artists.

WHEN
6 Days, Aug 26 – 31 / 09:00-15:30

WHERE
Brand X City of Sydney Studios – 119 Bathurst St, Sydney

SKILLS / ACCESS
Contemporary Dance, Physical Theatre, Contemporary Circus.

COST
$300AU

PATHWAYS
To maximise your IDEA’24 journey and experience, you can combine this workshop with:

• Hofesh Shechter 1 and/or 2
• Crystal Pite 2
• Maxine Doyle + Gabrielle Nankivell

LINKS
@vickivanhout

BIO
Vicki Van Hout is an Indigenous performance maker and teacher who works in both Indigenous communities and within the contemporary dance, theatre and visual arts sectors.

Vicki Van Hout is an established Indigenous independent artist with over 20 years’ experience. A graduate of NAISDA Dance College and the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance in New York, she went on to perform with major Indigenous dance companies, Bangarra Dance Theatre and the Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre, before joining forces with Marilyn Miller as a founding member of Fresh Dancers. With Marilyn, Vicki performed Dear Carrie for One extra Dance and Quinkin for the Adelaide Fringe Festival.

Her show “Briwyant” was the first ever show by an independent Indigenous choreographer to tour nationally and was nominated for an Australian Dance Award for Best Achievement in Independent Dance.

Vicki was awarded the 2014 NSW Dance Fellowship for established and mid-career artists – the first Indigenous winner of the Fellowship. She completed her Masters in Dance (2018, Macquarie University) and was the recipient of The Australia Council Dance Award in 2019 for her multi award winning solo performance “plenty serious TALK TALK”, presented by FORM Dance Projects. Vicki is currently completing a PhD in dance.

*By booking this workshop you acknowledge and agree that:

• You are over 18yrs of age and have the demonstrated skills to satisfy this program. If your skills prove unsuitable FORM Dance Projects will do their best to place you in another workshop program. Gently noting that there will be no refund for this workshop
• All IDEA spaces are safe spaces, and we will not tolerate any inappropriate behaviour on the basis of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity or religion
• FORM Dance Projects is neither responsible nor liable for injury to your person nor the loss or damage to personal belongings during your time in this workshop or in the identified venue

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The program is made possible by the generous support of Vicki Van Hout, Brand X and Create NSW.

Images: Vicki Van Hout - Photo by Margie Medlin, plenty serious TALK TALK - Photos by Heidrun Löhr