Melbourne Dance Theatre

Schools

We are passionate about sharing the art form of dance with children and young people. Like many things in life, we believe that dance must first be understood before it can be fully appreciated. What we strive through our schools program, is to both present to students dance, and offer a glimpse at the entertainment, excitement and vehicle for communication that it facilitates.

Our schools workshop program generally takes the format of a performance of Melbourne Dance Theatre before the students. Depending on the piece chosen, the performance will be between 30 and 45mins in length. Concluding the performance, the dancers can be made available for a forum with students, to answer questions and discuss aspects of the choreography they have just experiences.

Then to take the experience into a more practical realm, we can conduct a workshop with the students. Workshops are run, tailored to the ages we are working with, and themed to explore a particular aspect of dance. We are certainly open to deliver the workshops in the direction favoured by the school, or else we can bring a workshop idea ourselves. Some workshop themes include; dance creation and choreography, dance to tell a story, teamwork and an introduction to a particular dance style. Through such workshops, our aim is to encourage students that everyone can dance and everyone can create. We believe our workshops can leave a positive impression on students as the are guided into what is often an unknown world, and discover that you don't have to have had years of training to have fun and enjoy some of the many rewards dance offers.

We have a variety of performances that we can bring to your primary or high school. Please find below a brief synopsis of some of our programs. Our repertoire is always expanding, so if you have a specific idea in mind, and you cannot find it below, please feel free to contact us, and we may just be able to present exactly what you have in mind.

Swan Lake

Swan Lake's action packed program has been specifically designed to appeal to young people. Swan Lake provides both an ideal opportunity to expose students to the artistic forum and creative expression that dance theatre facilitates. Not to mention entertainment, as the storyline humorously unfolds amid incredible drama and action, in this new take on a well-known classic. Beautiful images of Swans all dancing in white tutu's, unfolds into a scene of royalty performing a funk dance to Tchaikovsky's score - with a backbeat.

Gabriel

A story of Angels, Gabriel is beautiful work, well illustrating the capabilities of dance to transcend superficial entertainment, and become something that moves and changes you as a person. Unfolding from the vitality of a full stage of dancers traversing the space, to the breathtaking simplicity of a museful duo.

Iona

A high impact, energetic work, demonstrating the athletic physicality of dance. The stage brims with dancers weaving intricate formations with a kaleidoscope of movements. An exciting journey, Iona carries audiences from a dreamy stillness, through the undulation of an unravelling septet, and on to the break neck pace of 12 dancers defying gravity with a cacophony of shapes.