WAAPA dancers get ready to soar

WAAPA’s final dance season for 2021 celebrates its graduating dance students in a stunning program of classical ballet and contemporary dance.

Verge, which runsfrom12-18 November in The Geoff Gibbs Theatre, lets WAAPA’s ballet students shine in highlights from famous classical ballets, while the contemporary dancers take centre stage in two freshly-minted dance works.

Moonlight Soiree, created by WAAPA’s Coordinator of Classical Ballet Kim McCarthy in collaboration with guest artist Leanne Stojmenov, features 2nd and 3rd Year ballet students in iconic classical roles.

The award-winning Stojmenov danced with the Australian Ballet for 18 years, where as principal artist she garnered critical acclaim for her outstanding performance in the title role ofAlexei Ratmansky’s production of Cinderella.

McCarthy:

It’s a real honour for us to have Leanne back in her home-town of Perth, We have cherry-picked the best roles from the most beloved classical ballets for our students and, with a dancer of the calibre of Leanne as a mentor, these performances are going to absolutely delight our audiences.

The program also features two new contemporary pieces choreographed on the 2nd and 3rd Year Contemporary Dance students by WAAPA lecturer Adelina Larsson Mendoza and guest artist Sam Coren.

Larsson-Mendoza is a Swedish/Mexican choreographer, performer and educator who trained in the Netherlands and moved to Australia in 2007. In 2020, she was awarded the Australian Dance Award for Outstanding Achievement in Independent Dance.

Coren, who trained at the London Contemporary Dance School, is an award-winning dancer and choreographer whose work encompasses both stage and screen. In the UK he has collaborated with high-profile names including HofeshShechteer Company, English National Ballet, Antony Gormley, Chemical Brothers, FKA Twigs, among many others, while his international work has taken him to New Zealand, Canada, Spain and – luckily for WAAPA – Australia.

With both ballet and contemporary dance on the program, Verge is the perfect show for all lovers of dance. So come celebrate the technique, artistry and passion of WAAPA’s graduating dancers, as they take their final bow before embarking on their professional careers.

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Season Details

Venue: Geoff Gibbs Theatre
Date: 15-18 Nov 2021