Spotlight on
Jayden Hicks

Written by Teagan Lowe

Dancer, educator, choreographer, teacher, mentor, all round brilliant human….from the regional town of Morwell to the Sydney Opera House, and everything else in between. 

Originating from humble beginnings at Vicki’s Dancing Academy, Jayden Hicks has carved out extraordinary success in the Australian dance scene. Dancer, educator, choreographer, teacher, mentor, brilliant human; from the regional town of Morwell, to the Sydney Opera House, and everything in between.

Jayden grew up dancing with his two sisters in Gippsland, Victoria. Very quickly the whole family developed a love for the enchantment of the theatre. From his earlier years spent at Lavalla Catholic College, Jayden knew there were big things awaiting him in the city, and so pursued his dance ventures in Melbourne. Having a plethora of choice when it comes to elite dance training in the Arts capital of Australia, Jayden commenced his full time training and with each opportunity to dance, Jayden gained great insight and connections into a world he grew more curious of each day. 

Jayden’s Transit journey began back in 2015 when Transit Dance was founded, as both an instructor and dancer. Paul Malek (Artistic and Founding Director of Transit Dance) and Jayden had a long working history prior to their collaborative efforts at Transit Dance. Jayden had previously worked with Paul on other dance projects such as Project Y and Collaboration the Project. They also worked very successfully to gain a Greenroom Award nomination for the deeply passionate and impactful work, Yours Truly, in 2013. The artistic connection between the two has grown immeasurably over the many years of collaboration and shared vision. 

Being a ‘Jack of all Dance Trades’ Jayden has worn multiple hats, over many, many years in his career. When I was personally working alongside Jayden, he was not only a dancer in Graeme Murphy’s Merry Widow (Australian tour produced by Opera Australia and Opera Conference), but, also still performing all of his regular duties for Transit Dance. At that stage in his career, Jayden was Artistic Director of Origins Dance Company - Transit Dance’s Youth Performance Company, as well as, Head of Youth Development, choreographer, mentor and production guru. 

I fondly remember witnessing Jayden calling and setting lighting cues in the car on our way to rehearsals in Adelaide, whilst a Transit production was being staged at the same time in Melbourne. His ability to multitask and yet be so skilfully accurate, is unlike anything I have ever experienced. 

Since 2018, having performed for many years previously, Jayden took on the official role of Production Manager for Transit Dance, then in 2019 also added Director of Transit High School Academy to his bow. Seriously, is there anything this man cannot do? Having this love (and an obvious skill) for multitasking, Jayden enjoys the unpredictable and ever changing nature of what each day at Transit brings. He relishes in contributing to the multifaceted aspects of what makes Transit so vastly different to other full time institutions. Jayden believes that “Transit has a modern approach to education that has a big focus on individuality and developing what each student’s uniqueness can contribute to the industry.” 

From teaching, to choreographing, directing, budgeting, outreach sourcing, timetabling, conceptualising, design….the list truly does go on, Jayden’s overarching hope is that he has contributed, and will continue to contribute, to the world of dance. If all of his previous work is anything to go by, we can for certain say that the future of dance at Transit, with the touch of Jayden Hicks, is surely very lucky. 

There is always elements of curiosity, patience and loyalty that Jayden shares with those he works with and he wishes to continue finding and creating opportunities not only for dancers, but all creatives. This is apparent with the Regional Creative Project that Jayden is deeply passionate about. With Transit’s support and backing, Jayden has developed the Regional Creative Project to take the teachings of Transit Dance to more regional areas. This regional project led to an Aus Dance Award for ‘Hometown’, an opening work for Sydney Dance Company and the ability to create the all age and ability work ‘Recollection’. To see these relationships with theatres and councils around Victoria grow into strong bonds and connections is something that Jayden is immensely proud of.  

Being at the height of humility, Jayden proclaims: “My greatest accomplishment would be simply knowing that any of my work has created a treasured memory in someone’s life.” Having been to watch many of Jayden’s works, having had the privilege of sharing the Sydney Opera House stage with him, I can safely say that Jayden’s positive impact on the dance industry is just beginning.