Susan started her dance training in Sydney where she attained R.A.D. Solo Seal.

She was accepted into the Australian Ballet School 1975/76 & then did further classical training with Madam Marika Bresobasova in Monte Carlo, France.

Her first dance contract was with The Koblenz Opera Theatre in 1977.

Susan joined the Sydney Dance Company in late 1978 – she danced many principal roles in works created by Graeme Murphy, notably Sherherazade, Rumours, Poppy, Viridian, Wilderness, An Evening. Other significant roles include dance works by Ohad Naharin, Arbus & Tabula Rasa, & Ralph Lemon’s Happy Trails.

She was a Guest Artist with Queensland Ballet 1987/88.

In 1993 Susan completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Movement Studies from the National Institute of Dramatic Arts, under the direction of Keith Bain.  She was Movement Director on various productions through the 90’s, notably Kafka Dances for the Griffin Theatre/ STC & Emma at Belvoir Street Theatre. Susan worked as a movement teacher for NSW Drama workshops as well as The Actor’s Centre and The Australian Opera.

She taught contemporary dance to many dance schools throughout Sydney, as well as SDC Open Program & was a dance tutor for Ausdance, travelling throughout Sydney & regional NSW.

Susan was a performer in the first “Bodies” season in Sydney at the Newtown Theatre 1996, & subsequently she choreographed, In Defence of the Bush & Kiss for the next 2 seasons of Bodies.

Norman Hall invited Susan to be one of the dance artists in 4 Generations. A work that had its premiere at The Performance Space in Sydney 1994.  In 1996, 4 Generations toured to Melbourne for The Green Mill Dance Festival and then Taiwan.

And from that special project was born Australian Dance Artists.

Since moving to regional NSW in 2011, she has continued to choreograph and teach dance. Susan, choreographed and performed in ‘The Cement Bag Dress Project’ which was created for The Cementa Arts Festival in Kandos, 2019.

In her most recent project ‘Elemental Voyeurism,’ which was performed in December 2021 at Kandos Art Projects NSW. Artist Leo Cremonese invited Susan to create a dance/movement piece to be performed within his exhibition.

BA (Hons), Contemporary Dance (University of Kent, UK)

MDA Movement Studies (National Institute of Dramatic Art, Sydney, Australia)

Anca Frankenhaeuser performed with London Contemporary Dance Theatre for fifteen years touring extensively throughout Europe, USA, Canada and Asia. She also took on the role of rehearsal director, choreographed and taught dance throughout that time.

Since moving to Australia in 1990 she has taught contemporary dance extensively in dance schools, colleges and tertiary institutions, has worked with Opera Australia and on a variety of plays as well as co-creating and performing independent work with likeminded dancers, actors, singers, musicians and visual artists (Open House, Independent Dance Collection, Bodies, Canberra Dance Theatre).

Moving Earth (2001) was her first production with Australian Dance Artists.

In 2005 she graduated from NIDA with a Master of Dramatic Art, Movement Studies, writing her thesis about Keith Bain.

She now works as a director/choreographer/performer, as well as lecturer/tutor of movement for actors, contemporary dance & choreography. Presently teaches at AIM – Dramatic Arts (formerly AADA) and Wesley Institute for the Arts.

She has devised and directed physical theatre works Falling or Falling (Aug 2014) at AIM-DA, Lock & Key (2013), Between Lines (2012), Fire & Ice (2011), Papercut (2010) at AADA, and at NIDA Knot Alone (2006), steppingstone (2005) and Packing Room Eight (2004).

Patrick Harding-Irmer was a student at Sydney University when he started dancing at the age of 24 with Keith Bain at the Bodenwieser Dance Centre. In 1970 he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Philosophy and German, gained a Diploma in Education, and then taught high school for a year, hoping however to make his career in dance.

 In 1972 he travelled to Europe and was asked by Robert Cohan, Artistic Director of London Contemporary Dance Theatre, to join his Company. He remained with LCDT for 17 years as dancer, teacher, choreographer, and on two occasions, Acting Artistic Director.

 In 1985 he was voted best modern dancer in Britain by ‘Dance and Dancers’ magazine and also in that year he graduated with Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Class 1 in Contemporary Dance from the University of Kent, having completed the degree while maintaining a full-time performing schedule.

 He toured constantly throughout Britain and around the world including two Olympic Arts Festivals, Los Angeles ’84 and Seoul ’88. The company never performed in Australia.

 Since returning to Sydney he has been teaching Martha Graham contemporary dance technique extensively around the country, has choreographed for several companies and tertiary dance programmes and has continued performing on a freelance basis in companies and independent productions.

 For the 1991 Melbourne International Festival he danced Vesalii Icones, a 45-minute solo choreographed for him (and a two metre water-python!) by Jonathan Taylor, which gained a nomination for a Victorian Green Room Award in the category of ‘best performance by a male dancer in a leading role’. He recreated this role in 1998 with Music Theatre Sydney and was nominated for a MO Award.

 He has danced in six separate seasons with the One Extra Co. in Sydney: People Like Us for Kai Tai Chan; Cats Step Softly, Blossoms and Wrinkles, Everything But and Tent of Miracles for Graeme Watson; and Body of Evidence for Julie-Anne Long. 

 He has also performed with Cheryl Stock’s Dance North, Stephanie Burridge’s Canberra Dance Theatre, Graeme Murphy’s Sydney Dance Company, the Australian Ballet in Murphy’s Nutcracker, Opera Australia in their production of Mozart’s Mitridate re di Ponto and of course all the productions of Australian Dance Artists.

BA Visual Arts University of Tasmania

Dedicated to the arts as an Australian artist since 1974

From protege of Ballet Victoria, Ross has toured the world performing from New York, Paris, London, Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Rome, Bogota, to the open theatres of Athens.

Ross considers some of his career highlights as performing in Africa with Bat Dor Dance Company of Israel and sharing the stage with Barishnikov in the earlier part of his career. In 1997 Ross was invited to be a part of the creative force that make up Australian Dance Artists and continues to contribute creatively, choreographically and as a performer.

From the late 1970’s Ross enjoyed a long association with the Sydney Dance Company, co-working and collaborating closely with Graeme Murphy. As well as designing for works including Café and Shakespeare Dancers, which included designs for, both set and costumes, many principal roles were created especially for Ross include; Some Rooms, Nearly Beloved & King Roger. These works have been considered to be among some of the finest contemporary Australian works performed. In 1992, after being engaged exclusively with the Sydney Dance Company for fifteen years, Ross left to pursue other artistic projects including studying Visual Arts at The University of Tasmania. He returned many times over the next 6 years to perform his signature roles both here in Australia and Internationally. In 2006 he accepted Graeme Murphy’s invitation to make a guest appearance in the season of Director’s Cut which celebrated the Sydney Dance Company 30 years.

Internationally, Ross worked with notable luminaries of the dance world including Alvin Ailey and John Butler, and considers his most memorable performances across a career spanning four decades as being a Royal Gala Performance representing the Sydney Dance Company and guest appearances with Bangarra Dance Theatre. Ross was the first non-indigenous artist invited to perform with Bangarra. He has also been guest artist with One Extra Dance Company and invited to guest appear with The Australian Ballet in the mid 1980’s and again in the early 2000’s.

Ross’s achievements went beyond the stage where he carved his stealth career. Notably, Ross was commissioned to choreograph ‘crowd scenes’ for the Australian Federation Parade in 2000/2001.

Nominated for the Green Room Award for his role in Nearly Beloved, Ross continues to bridge the performing arts and visual arts with a “ total “ approach. His visual art capabilities were acknowledged with a Greenpeace Art Prize and more recently, Ross’s work of art was hung in the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman as well as being selected to participate in the Sculptures by the Sea exhibition in Sydney which showcases artists from around the world.

rossdanceartist.wordpress.com

Norman Hall was originally trained in visual arts, but searching for more, morphed into performing arts. Moving from arts educator he started professionally as a choreographer and dancer with Australian Dance Theatre in Adelaide, before working with the Queensland Ballet and then forming a small independent dance collective  for several years.  Called Busybodies, it aimed at “curiosity” : exploring the combination of dance and other artforms, and was supported by the University of Sydney’s Theatre Workshop department.

The production 4 Generations in 1994, conceived and directed by Norman, was an important event in independent dance, combining the outstanding talents of iconic artists Elizabeth Cameron Dalman, Patrick Harding-Irtmer, Susan Barling and Gideon Obarzanek, and reflecting the lives of dancers.

Norman has always been involved in facilitating and showing new work of others, being responsible for initiating a national Dance Umbrella program for several years, and heading the artistic selection committee with Susan Barling  and Patrick Harding-Irmer, of  BODIES, an annual program of independent dance work from 1996-2001.

Norman always loved the work of Ken Unsworth, especially the iconic Suspended Stone Circle in the Art Gallery of NSW, and discussed the possibility of collaborative performance art. Thus in 1997 started the partnership between Unsworth and ADA with the SITE project on Lake George and the Choreographic Centre in Canberra.

This relationship, now Sydney-based, continues to this day.

Outside the professional dance scene Norman has been involved with dance education, especially the NSW Higher School Certificate Dance matriculation course, as well as serving on various Board of Studies syllabus committees over the years.

Norman also lectures at Wesley Institute’s tertiary course in Dance History and Composition.