DanceLife Blog

Hey Guys!

It's that time of year .....Helpmann time!
Last night the Helpmann Awards were held at the Lyric Theatre at Star City. All were frocked and freezing coming in from the wintery July chill, but it was a star studded turnout. I love that we get to celebrate and recognise all of those who create live Australian Theatre.

Last year I won a ‘Bobbie' for best choreography for Hugh Jackman's ‘The Boy From Oz'...this year I had the pleasure along with Jason Coleman, my mate from ‘So You Think You Can Dance', of presenting the best Male and Female dancer award in a dance or Physical Theatre Production.

I always feel that we can really appreciate dance on Television, but there is nothing like seeing dance ‘live' and feeling the energy hit you in the chest.
Paul White won best Male for his work in ‘Construct' presented by the Sydney Festival, and Sara Black won best Female for ‘Glow' by Chunky Move and the Melbourne International Arts Festival.
‘Best Choreography in a Musical' went to Peter Darling for his work in Billy Elliot {which also took out best musical of the evening}, and ‘Best Choreography in a Dance or Physical Theatre Production' went to Tanja Liedtke which was just fantastic.

As this is an abundant year in theatre there were lots of performances from the big musicals that are running at the moment. We got to see numbers from shows like ‘Guys and Dolls', ‘Rocky Horror Show', ‘Billy Elliot' and Raphael Bonachella's new work for Sydney Dance Company called ‘360 degrees'.

Highlights for me were an incredible performance by Vanessi Amarosi that had me sitting forward in my seat, and the Umbilical Brothers entertaining the live audience between commercial breaks! They were so much fun! Our host Jonathan Biggins had great wit and our pre broadcast host was the fabulous Julia Zemiro{who you would know from the ABC's ‘Rock Quiz' and ‘Eurobeat'} who was just hilarious!

Anyway it was a fantastic evening and afterwards all the glitz and glamour sasheyed into the after party for lots of theatre lovey mwah's and bubbly! My regular Choreographic Assistant, Leanne Cherny and I, did a few laps of the party and bumped shoulders with the likes of Cate Blanchett and Kate Cebrano. Then it came time to face the cold taxi queue......boo!

The Helpmann's....Our Tony's..............over for another year. I can't wait to see what the next year brings in fine ‘live' entertainment.

I am so proud to be involved in our Australian Live Theatre family...........but I really shouldn't have worn those stilettos......my feet hurt!

KELLEY X

Photo: Jason Coleman, Kelley Abbey and 'Best Male Danncer Winner' Paul White.

Hey folks,
I have just come from Melbourne where I just taught a Master Class at Jason Coleman's new studios called "Ministry of Dance". This place truly is dancer heaven and a fantastic new facility for Melbourne.

I got up close and personal with the Melbourne dancers and also had the beautiful Caleb Bartolo {who you'd remember from So You Think You Can Dance} participate in a Hip Hop/Jazz Master Class. It is so great to work with new people and teach them a new style.

I always parallel the fear and ‘unsafe' factor of learning a new style, to buying and wearing a new pair of jeans....when you wear new jeans, they feel a little stiff and uncomfortable.......then they wear in at the knees and the booty, and they become your jeans! And so it goes with a new style. You have to allow yourself to be uncomfortable for a little......before the new style becomes yours.

The dancers were wearing in their ‘jeans' and we had a blast together! I think the greatest thing about dancing is that you get to share with others, via dance, without really knowing them very well. Dance is truly a universal language!

I truly recommend taking master classes with different choreographers and extending your dance vocabulary. This makes for an adaptable and therefore more employable dancer.

Make sure you check out ‘Ministry of Dance' if you're in Melbourne. It will inspire you to Dance......... even if you're not a dancer.

Kelley xx

Hey Guys,

Just wanting to share some tips with those of you who are in training to audition for the next series of channel Ten's hugely successful TV show "So You Think You Can Dance".

Make sure you take class in as many different genres as you can, so you are able to adapt to any flavour that is given to you. This will also help you fine tune your short term memory in order to ‘pick up quickly' which is one of the demands of the TV show.

When you create your solo for your audition, make sure you invest all of your strengths, tricks, personality and fuse some genres together to show your potential for adaptability. If you don't have this adaptability but shine at one genre, just invest in that and let your soul and spirit radiate through.

It really is a personality/dance competition so your ability to be confident in sharing yourself is important. I am also a firm believer that watching dance without this sharing of spirit is like watching body origami. Mindless steps with no spirit is hardly engaging.

Don't waste time in your solo by strutting around the space doing almost nothing. That 45 seconds to show the judges what you've got should be jam packed with your utmost best.

Chooka's ....................and feel the beat!

Kelley Abbey

DanceLife Blogger and Choreographer Extraordinaire Kelley Abbey is taking on a new project - HEDWIG and the ANGRY INCH. Kelley will be the choreographer for the new season of this popular musical.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch was originally presented at the Westbeth Theatre Centre on 27 February 1997. It opened off-Broadway at the Jane Street Theatre on 14 February 1998. The show was an instant hit, honoured at the OBIE (off-Broadway) awards, and nominated for 4 Drama Desk awards, including Outstanding Musical, Music, Lyrics, and Actor (John Cameron Mitchell). The cast recording was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Musical Show Album. This production closed on 9 April 2000 - a three-year run.

Hedwig toured extensively in the USA (LA Production was produced by David Bowie) as well as productions in Canada, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Philippines, and the UK (UK national tour is still running!).

Hedwig and the Angry Inch tells the story of Hedwig Schmidt, the unfortunate victim of a gruesomely botched sex-change operation, and an "internationally ignored song-stylist". Her journey to find true love, "her other half", is a rock and roll odyssey which leads her across the Berlin Wall, across the world, and from man to woman.

Hedwig begins her journey as Hansel, a young boy growing up in Germany under a Stalinesque regime, and the equally strict regime of his mother. He finds what he believes to be an escape from his dreary existence in the form of a handsome "sugar daddy" - an American G.I. named Luther, who promises to take him away from Germany. The caveat, however, is that Luther can only take a bride back to America. Desperate to escape his situation, Hansel willingly agrees to a sex-change operation - an operation which is botched, leaving Hedwig with a one-inch reminder of her past.

Abandoned by her husband, living a down-and-out existence in America, Hedwig's journey to find her other half seems to have ground to a halt. Having fallen in love again, this time with Tommy Gnosis, who leaves her when he becomes a Rock and Roll Superstar, Hedwig takes stock of her situation and forms her own band: The Angry Inch.

"The first rock musical that truly rocks" Rolling Stone Magazine

Director: CRAIG ILOTT
Musical Director: TINA HARRIS
Set and Costume design: NICK DARE
Lighting Design: STEPHEN HAWKER

Tickets are on Sale now for a special SNEAK PEAK performance on Tuesday 16 September.

http://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=HEDWIGAN08
http://www.hedwig.com.au/

Kelley Abbey will be choreographing a special number for the finale of this year's Australian Idol.

Kelley is selecting 20 of our best dancers to perform in this routine. The dancers will be rehearsing for 3 days before performing it live at the Opera House.

Last year at the finale Kelley choreographed a piece with some of the top 100 dancers that were from this year's SYTYCD. I'm still sure there will be some association with the show as Ten would be keen to keep up viewer numbers for Season 2 which will premiere in February 2009.

Hi Guys

I know, I know ........a long time between blogs!!

The end of the year has been manic to say the least. After finishing up with the fabulous Michael Falzon on "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," I went on the audition tour for "So You Think You Can Dance." In every city I took the callback audition and was witness to some great dancers strutting their stuff and some dancers falling in a heap overwhelmed by nerves! I was also involved with the top 100 week and put the dancers through a Broadway Jazz challenge.

I also choreographed the idol grand final with 20 dancers, 200 choir, 12 contestants and pyrotechnics! It was terrible rainy weather that day, and I was on my hands and knees mopping the stage seconds before they went on.

I also choreographed a special tribute concert for the famous TV producer Reg Grundy (see picture to the left). He produced shows like Neighbours, Prisoner, Son's and Daughters, Sale of The Century, Wheel of Fortune...to name a few. I used 10 dancers and Nick Twiney of ‘Billy Elliot' fame to celebrate the story of Reg's career in dance and music.

My most exciting news is I am the Australian Judge on Nigel Lythgoe's and Simon Fuller's new series called ‘Superstars of Dance.' It is a professional dance competition with 9 countries from around the world competing. Like a Dance Olympics!! I am leaving for the US tomorrow and am so excited to see the world dance!! Will keep you updated on the dance of the world!!!

In January 2009 I am teaching at the Musical Theatre Workshop being run by Leslie Bell down at Sydney Dance Company. There are two workshops, one for students and one for professionals. So if you get bored and want to work off that xmas pudding, come and see us!!

Merry xmas to you all.............

Love and peace
Kelley x

The MTV Awards are on tomorrow night and even though the event is being scaled back due to the fact that no one has any money there will be some very hot dance routines on stage. Adam Williams (pictured) has choreographed the opening number with Pete Wentz and Kelley Abbey has choreographed the routine for Jessica Mauboy's performance. I'm really looking forward to seeing both of these performances. Both choreographers are known for their creative and amazing work so I'm sure it will be worth tuning into. MTV Awards will be on MTV from 7.30pm tomorrow night.

The MTV awards were on Friday night and did one little lady rock the stage. Jessica Mauboy looked very Beyonce like when she came out on stage to do a stripped back snippet of Running Back before launching into a hot performance of Been Waiting. Jessica has worked with a few choreographers including Project Moda but Kelley Abbey was the choreographer of choice for this performance and did it rock or what! From the awesome costumes to the strong dancers, the stage was on fire. While it was great to see some familiar faces including Kate Wormald (SYTYCD 2008) who also performed in Adam Williams opening number with Camilla (SYTYCD 2008) it was great to see a new, fresh face Joel Rasmussen (Jesse's SYTYCD 2009 Brother), who has been dancing for years and is awesome as you can see from the video above. Hands up if you're just loving Jessica Mauboy right now!?

DanceLife hosted our first ‘A Night With' event last night with the inspirational Kelley Abbey. Although the rain did stop us from enjoying the courtyard it didn't stop the conversation flowing well into the evening. We had a great mixture of dance teachers from different backgrounds and areas of Sydney, one even travelled from Newcastle... Now that's commitment. We spoke about a number of topics including choreography, agents, advice for students, improving the systems at your dance studio as well as Kelley talking about her experiences on Happy Feet. SYTYCD, the musicals she has worked on and what she has planned for the future. Make sure you keep your eyes on the newsletter for our next ‘A Night With...' event. Thank you to everyone who came and I hope you all enjoyed the night as much as Kelley and I did.

It was a big night last night at the SYTYCD Grand Finale. I'm sure you were all watching the show that saw Talia become the first female winner of SYTYCD Australia. The night kicked off with a great routine choreographed by SYTYCD favourite Kelley Abbey to the theme song of the series. It was electric and very fun, just what an opening should be. Natalie and the judges were all in their Sunday best looking fabulous and then the show started. I actually thought there would be way more ad breaks and packages shown throughout the show. Surprisingly the show didn't seem to drag on which is a usual thing for any television show finale.

I could feel the atmosphere in the room from my television (no surround sound or anything! ;)). The dancers were all having a ball on stage and everyone was so much more relaxed. There were a few great performances last night from the Top 10 and of course the cast of Chicago and what about the absolute control and strength of the dancers from Pilobolous... Woah! One performance that I was in two minds about was Kill Bill. Although I loved the choreographers dancing in this routine I thought that there would be a few parents who wouldn't have been too happy with some of the "action" choreography.

Channel Ten had a few issues with broadcasting on the night as the show was black in some parts but at least I could still hear the sound. This continued throughout Rove. There must have been quite a few people watching. Actually I can tell you exactly how many people... 1,432,000 saw Talia be titled Australia's Favourite Dancer while an average of 1,342,000 watched the whole program. Overall #4 and #7 for the nights top rating shows. Enough people that the show will be returning for a 3rd season. I know they struggled to get big numbers at the auditions this year but DanceLife encourages all of you fabulous dancers who maybe tried the first year and got cut and thought "why should I bother". If you have a huge amount of self belief and want a bit of profile AUDITION for this show!

Congratulations to the Top 4, actually the Top 20. You all did so well to get to where you are and good luck on your future endeavours! A big congrats goes to Talia for winning the competition. DanceLife looks forward to supporting you all and seeing where you end up. One thing that I was a little disappointed in was the fact that no one thanked their dance teachers! Yes, sure thank the production team and judges who have been doing their job for the last 3 months but what about your dance teachers that have probably work on you for up to 20 years making you the dancer you are today...

Season 2 down.... Bring on Season 3!

The 51st TV WEEK Logie Awards will be held on Sunday, May 3, at the Crown Entertainment Complex in Melbourne and televised on the Nine Network. Although everyone is stripping back their event budgets we can be assured that we will not be disappointed in terms of performances on the night.

The musical stage is set to soar with stunning soulstress Jessica Mauboy now also confirmed to perform. Jessica makes her Logies debut in a year where her album Been Waiting (clap clap) has spawned three smash hit singles. She is without a doubt one of the hottest talents in the country.

Jessica is just one of three celebrated divas performing at this yearÌs event. The night also features an exclusive live performance by international sensation Annie Lennox, and Gold Logie nominee Natalie Bassingthwaighte. Apparently Kelley Abbey is the Creative Director for Natalie's performance of 1000 Stars.

The TV WEEK Logie Awards also welcomes the return of John Foreman as musical director. Best known for his work on Australian Idol and Carols By Candlelight, John is one of the most respected musical talents in the country and has performed with some of the world's greats.

Let's hope they haven't cut the budget on the dancers. We will find out on Sunday night!

Coming from Perth Marko Panzic knows what it was like growing up in a place where there was really no dance workshops around. Since making his appearance as a contestant on SYTYCD 1 and a choreographer on the second season Marko has been getting a group of amazing teachers to travel to Perth to give up and coming dancing an amazing experience. Above is a photo with students from "The Perth Workshop" Which was run on the weekend of the 16th & 17th of May. Featuring Marko Panzic, Reed Luplau, Jack Chambers and the amazing Kelley Abbey. They sold out event with over 200 students attending the workshop. In August Marko will be bring Amy, Timomatic, Penny and Charlie from SYTYCD over to Perth. It's great for Perth as there is such a need for more exposure and opportunities.

The Australian Dance Awards are on this Sunday night at The Arts Centre, Melbourne. An extraordinary line up has just got bigger with Talia Fowler and Ben Veitch, winner and finalist from the hit TV series So You Think You Can Dance Australia, confirmed to perform their smouldering tango choreographed by Melbournian Fabio Robles and, in an exciting exclusive for the Australian Dance Awards, Jason Coleman's Ministry of Dance will present the opening performance of the Awards gala with a restaging of one of David Atkins' most renowned works, Dancin' Man, joined on stage by SYTYCD regulars Kelly Aykers and Kelly Abbey and other original cast members.

They're additions to an already incredible list of performances including The Australian Ballet with an excerpt from Graeme Murphy's Nutcracker; Sydney Dance Company performing Rafael Bonachela's We Unfold; Australian Dance Theatre presenting a sneak preview of Garry Stewart's forthcoming work Be Your Self; BalletLab with an excerpt from Amplification, in celebration of its tenth anniversary; Launceston's Stompin performing Tales From a Small City choreographed by Stephanie Lake and Antony Hamilton; and the highly energetic West African drum and dance ensemble Asanti Dance Theatre with an explosive, vibrant celebration of dance and music choreographed and directed by Melbourne's Appiah Annan.

For tickets click HERE! Good luck to all the nominees!

MyMutation is an international online dance competition that will take place in the lead up to Spring Dance, a festival celebrating Australian dance at Sydney Opera House from August 27 - September 27.

Acclaimed choreographer Kelley Abbey - who has created the dance magic on So You Think You Can Dance, George Miller's Happy Feet and The Boy from Oz - has choreographed a dance solo that will be posted on Sydney Opera House's new YouTube channel www.youtube.com/sydneyoperahouse.

Participants from across the globe are invited to respond by uploading their own short dance videos which must begin with their own unique re-interpretation of the "Starter Solo" then continue with a further 20 seconds of their own original choreography, set to original music composed by Nick Wales from CODA.

An elimination competition will ensue online with the overall winner being invited to perform a solo piece choreographed by Kelley Abbey, at MyMutation Live! at The Studio at Sydney Opera House in September.

We now have an update on our blog below about the dance competition ran by The Opera House, Sony and YouTube - MyMutation.

See Kelley Abbey's intro below about the comp then head over to the YouTube Channel to check out the examples. Very fun indeed and exciting! Remember it's your interpretation and anyone can get involved from your grandma to your little cousin! If you have a love of dance and choreography this comp is for you!

Kelley Abbey has taken the next step within the world of SYTYCD and jetted over to the US to choreograph for the American Season of SYTYCD. They are currently down to their final 6. Nigel Lythgoe has loved Kelley since he saw her work when he came out here for our Top 100 week. Keep your eye out on DanceLife for the routine that Kelley choreographs! Catch SYTYCD America on Friday Nights - Channel 10!

Photo: SYTYCD Australia Top 100 Week

The deadline for entries to the Sydney Opera House online dance competition MyMutation close in just over a week on Monday August 10. The competition gives aspiring dancers across the globe the opportunity to perform live at Sydney Opera House and work with acclaimed choreographer, Kelley Abbey (Happy Feet & So You Think You Can Dance, Australia).

Part of Spring Dance - an inaugural dance celebration at Sydney Opera House (27 August - 27 September) - MyMutation is open to dancers at all levels from across the globe. The exciting new competition aims to create an explosion of creativity in cyberspace, exploring the way dance moves mutate as they are passed on, body to body.

Acclaimed choreographer Kelley Abbey (So You Think You Can Dance Australia) has created a dance solo performed by one of Australia's hottest dance talents Reed Luplau. Posted on Sydney Opera House's new YouTube channel www.youtube.com/sydneyoperahouse everyone is encouraged to reinterpret Kelley's choreography set to music composed by CODA's Nick Wales.

Kelley and a panel of judges will select 10 finalists to move into the elimination rounds. The public will then decide who will win the ultimate prize of working with Kelley Abbey to bring their unique performance to life at a very special club night on September 26 & 27 - MyMutation Live! in The Studio, Sydney Opera House.
Winner Prize:

Expenses paid trip to Sydney
Perform live at Sydney Opera House and work with Kelley Abbey
$2,000 cash
HD Handycam from Sony
Cyber-shot Digital Still Camera from Sony
VAIO Notebook from Sony

How to enter:
Step 1: Watch the 'Starter Solo' www.youtube.com/sydneyoperahouse
Step 2 : Create your own version of the Starter Solo to the beginning of the music (20 sec) and then add more of you own dance moves at the end (20 sec)
Step 3: Download our Music (click the button below)
Step 4: Film your full 40 sec Mutation piece and enter on the submit tab.

10 finalists move forward to an elimination round
Entry Closing Date: Monday 10 August

MyMutation is the first project of an exciting new agreement between YouTube and Sydney Opera House that will see a new level of engagement with the community through a dedicated online channel www.youtube.com/sydneyoperahouse.

On 14 July, Sydney Opera House in association with YouTube and Sony launched MyMutation: a global online dance competition.

MyMutation video was posted on Sydney Opera House's new branded channel, www.youtube.com/sydneyoperahouse and aspiring dancers from around the world hit the site in record numbers. Over 97,000 visits from more than 100 countries and territories registered on the new Sydney Opera House YouTube platform. 91,000 of those visitors clicked through to the competition video. Highlighting the universal appeal of dance, in the first round, 75 entries were received from as far afield as India, Brazil, Germany, Italy , Mexico, Hawaii, UK, Canada, Russia, Malta, USA, Estonia, South Africa, New Zealand, Portugal and of course, Australia.

The winners of the first round are: Chaz Cummings(Aus), Courtney Hale (NZ), Ellie Swiatkiwsky (Aus), Emma Watkins(Aus), Erica Fletcher(Aus), Kay Armstrong(UK), Kristyn Bilson(Aus), Leigh Beard(UK), Morgan Holt(Aus), Sally Hillier(Aus), Sarah McCreanor(Aus), Nobel Lakave ( Aus) and Simone Chivas (Aus). Go to www.youtube.com/sydneyoperahouse to check out their winning round one entry and video blog. Hopeful entries included some seriously talented individuals. An Englishman, replete with bowler hat and tails, danced on a crowded corner in London during shopping hours, a young ballet dancer flaunted her incredible ‘Sylvie Guillem' extensions, an Indian engineer begged a friend to lend him his studio and posted his entry just in the nick of time whilst the shawl of a flamenco dancer seemed to have a heartbeat of its own, so adept was the technique. Showcasing the diversity of the artform, belly dancing, Irish jigs, hip-hop, children, animals and tributes to Michael Jackson were all featured!

Renowned choreographer, Kelley Abbey judged the first round and chose 14 finalists who will go through to the second round. Abbey said, "I was so thrilled to see all the entries that came in from across the globe. A mutating global cyber dance conversation! I've loved seeing the interpretations of the first solo and also the diverse styles that came to the mutation dance floor. I'm also amazed at the creativity and the effort that people have gone to with their presentation. The bravery of the English businessman free forming in a busy London street, the fun of an
Indian child dancing in her lounge room, the ‘Fosse' dancer cutting a shape in front of a white studio wall. It's all been fantastic fun and great to see everyone's individual expression. I can't wait to see what people will do next." The 14 finalists have a week to choreograph another solo and submit back to Sydney Opera House by 24 August, when the public are invited to vote for their favourite dancer. Voting opens on the 24 August and closes on the 30th. Five finalists will be selected to compete in the final round. To vote, go to the ‘vote tab' on the YouTube website. Everyone who votes can enter a prize draw to win a Handycam camcorder from Sony.

In addition to the thrill of performing their own work live at Sydney Opera House, the winner will receive $2000 in cash and a prize pack from Sony including a Handycam camcorder, Cyber-shot camera and a VAIO notebook. MyMutation is part of Spring Dance - an inaugural dance celebration at Sydney Opera House (27 Aug - 27 Sept).

MyMutation, the worldwide online dance sensation from Sydney Opera House is now into its second Round.

So far it has been a huge success. They have had lots of great entrants from across the world performing in a range of styles from hip-hop to ballet, rivedance to flamenco, latin to contemporary and everything in between.

Click here to see the finalist's Round 2 entries and vote for your favourite. Everyone who votes can enter the draw to win a HD Handycam from Sony.

Voting for Round 2 ends 30th Aug 2009 so get in quick and help us choose a top 5 from our 15 fantastic finalists.

What Happens Next
The top 5 dancers from Round 2 will move on to the final round and compete for a chance to perform LIVE at Sydney Opera House as well as $2000 cash and a swag of goodies from Sony!

The Opera House would like to take this oppertunity to extend a huge thanks everyone who supported and took part in their online dance competition, MyMutation. It is because of people like you that they are able to create great events like this and will be able to do so in the future.

SYTYCD America are pumping out season after season of this show due to the high demand from the public wanting more DANCE. After a very strong season SYTYCD is about to head into its 6th Season of the show as we start auditioning for our 3rd.

EXCLUSIVE NEWS
You heard it here first on DanceLife! Kelley Abbey will choreograph the opening routine for the US SYTYCD Top 20 which will kick off the first live show for the season. Kelley was meant to choreograph a group routine for Season 5 but due to a few Visa issues wasn't able to get there. It will be great to see Kelley working her magic on what I'm sure will be an awesome American Top 20. Congrats Kelley!