Introducing Amrita Hepi, a recipient of The Corner Dance Lab – Indigenous Residency Scholarship made possible through support from Arts Northern Rivers.

Hepi joins fellow scholarship recipient, Tyrel Dulvarie in a 9-day dance residency being held at Jasper Corner, Federal from 15 – 23 January 2016. Situated in the NSW Northern Rivers region just 30 minutes inland from Byron Bay, the annual event is led by Philip Channells (Dance Integrated Australia) and Gavin Webber (The Farm Company) with guest artists from the local area, across Australia and the UK.

The Corner Dance Lab is a regional NSW annual event designed to connect local and metropolitan-based dance artists and to enliven and support the development of dance in the local region. It also provides professional development opportunities for participants to engage with some of the countries best talent and create pathways for new creative investigations.

I’m wanting to focus on how to make work that’s more broadly accessible and compelling. Working with the other amazing artists and teachers that are involved in The Corner will help realise this. Amrita Hepi

To access the Expression of Interest form, click here.

For more information about The Corner Dance Lab, email Project Manager Sean Campbell on seanwcampbell68@gmail.com or text telephone +61 432 714 534.

This project is supported by the NSW Government through Arts NSW and Arts Northern Rivers through the Ministry for the Arts (IVAIS program). Dance Integrated Australia is an Associate Organisation of Ausdance NSW 2016 – 2018.

Biography

Amrita Hepi is an emerging independent choreographer and performance artist descending from the Ngapuhi tribe in Northern New Zealand and the Bundjulung people in Northern New South Wales, Australia.

She completed her R.A.D. ballet training at her local dance school in Avalon and was a member of the NSW State Dance Ensemble from 2004 – 2007. She then went to Macquarie University where she undertook a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Dance and attended NAISDA in 2014 before travelling abroad to train independently in New York at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and Broadway Dance Centre.

In 2015 Amrita participated in the Indigenous Dance Residency at The Banff Centre, Canada where she worked alongside six other artists from first nations countries to create Trace choreographed by Thomas Fonua (Australian Dance Theater), Jock Soto (American Ballet Theatre) and Lina Cruz (Fila 13 Dance Company). She also completed a secondment with Lucy Guerin Inc. for the development of Motion Picture. In 2014 she worked with the Sydney Festival undertaking a Programing Internship (Theatre and Dance) with a focus on indigenous engagement.

She has exhibited and performed at the Museum of Contemporary Arts alongside Tony Albert and Richard Bell for Blak Christmas; choreographed Play for VIVID Festival 2013 and collaborated with artist Jimmy Pike and Sydney-based iconic fashion label Desert Designs to create Together Towards the Water at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia (MBFWA) 2014.

Photo: Lester Jones

This film is courtesy of I DIG YOUR SOUL MAN