Inside the Contemporary Dance Pathway
Written by Jessica Poulter
Transit Dance Alumni performing in Stephanie Lake’s COLOSSUS. Photo Credit: Mark Gambino
Transit Dance is renowned for its pre-professional Contemporary full time course, offering unparalleled training to young artists who dream of being a professional dancer.
Transit is one of the few tertiary establishments that purely focus on contemporary repertoire. Layered with foundations of technical training, this course flows through the subject areas of choreography, improvisation, partner work, creative practices and production rehearsals.
“We are a contemporary course that is catered to the needs of every individual student who desires to enter the professional arena,” said head of Transit’s Contemporary course, Paul Malek.
Transit celebrates an exceptional lineup of teachers who come from all realms of contemporary dance and are of the highest calibre.
Artistic Director and Head of Contemporary Paul Malek has had an illustrious career as a contemporary dancer. A notable television choreographer (So You Think You Can Dance Australia / Dancing With The Stars Australia) and dance entrepreneur, Paul also provides expert knowledge about the business side of dance—an area often neglected in many tertiary dance courses.
Other core faculty members include Jayden Hicks, Lachlan Hall, Chimene Steele Prior, Kayla Douglas and Geraldine Lett among guest teachers such as Deanne Butterworth, Alice Dixon, Benjamin Hurley, Kimball Wong and Samantha Hines.
With only 25 places available per class, students receive personalised learning that best equips them to achieve their ambitions.
“Each individual student carries a different idea of what type of artist they wish to be. Some want to be choreographers, others want to be independent artists and some want to be company dancers. In the course, we offer a guide to do all these things, which allows the students to harness their processes and realise their goals and the direction they are heading,” said Paul.
Pre-Professional students perform in Scattered Earth choreographed by Lachlan Hall (2020). Photo: Paul Malek
Auditions are open four times a year and attracts a high volume of applications worldwide. The audition starts with a classical ballet class followed by a contemporary class and finishes with a choreographic piece. At the end of the audition, the panel holds individual interviews to get to know the person behind the dancer.
“Transit Dance gave me a space to feel at home and accepted. It gave my artistic voice a platform to be supported and take risks, while providing me with the confidence in my self to continue to practice everyday as an artist,” said Transit graduate, Adrien Tucker.
Transit graduates have secured contracts with the likes of Stephanie Lake Company, Chunky Move, DanceNorth, TasDance, Matthew Bourne Company, Shaun Parker and Company, Metamorphosis Dance as well a raft of success across the globe as independent choreographers and creators. Graduates across all courses have also secured full time contracts with Opera Australia, cruise ship companies such as Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Disney and more.
