ARTISTIC RATIONAL

GUTS dance exists because of and for the brave and steadfast community of Australian Independent dance makers, our desire to support and champion them, and a commitment to increasing the exposure and engagement of future generations to dance as an artform. It also exists to ensure there is an evolution in the types of organisations that steward the ongoing exposure and evolution of dance in our communities and throughout the country.

Our vision is to solidify our place within the Australian dance ecology, creating a vibrant, adequately resourced regional stronghold from which to expand and explore the boundaries and opportunities of dance, and the impacts it can have on artists and communities. We aim to contribute to the elevation of dance to a place where it is ubiquitous and celebrated. To encourage a return to the body and a connection to our communities and stories that is in action and embodied. That is felt. That is practised.

Founded by dance artists Frankie Snowdon and Madeleine Krenek, GUTS Dance // Central Australia (GUTS) exists in a unique, diverse and complex place in one of the most isolated geographies in the world. As an Alice Springs/Mparntwe-based contemporary dance organisation, we are the only platform for contemporary dance investigation, creation, training and performance within a 1500 km radius. GUTS supports experimental dance practices and production and is a hub for learning and exchange with a growing reputation in the  landscape of Australian dance organisations. With strong links in the community, GUTS is a force for cultural and social change, delivering development programs for young people alongside its contemporary performance program.

GUTS promotes work created and performed in regional and remote Australia by a diverse cross section of Independent movers, makers and thinkers to national and international audiences. We create strong networks and partnerships, building meaningful long term relationships with other artists and organisations with the aim of broadening the scope and reach of our work, and elevating the profile of regional arts practise across the country. 

Achievements

Since solidifying their place in Mparntwe, GUTS have premiered four new works.  The Perception Experiment  premiere season took place as the organisation was in development in 2017, followed by The Lost Dance Project (2018), DANCE (a short homage) (2020) and the organisation’s first commissioned work Value for Money   (2021). These works have all been made with teams of exceptionally talented and highly regarded local and national collaborators. 

In 2019, The Perception Experiment toured to Dance Massive in Melbourne, Festival Cultural de Mayo in Mexico (Guadalajara) and the Darwin Festival, achieving sell out shows across all programs before undertaking a national tour in 2020 of 7 regional venues in 5 different states and territories. As our region’s largest presentation platform, GUTS have enjoyed ongoing support from the festival and both Dance (a short homage) and Value For Money were created with investment and programming support, with sold out seasons in both 2020 and 2021. 

In 2021 GUTS undertook their first partnership project with Tasdance, helping to create and perform in Jo Lloyd’s Collision at the Unconformity Festival, as well as creating and presenting a bespoke dance festival SPRING.LOADED.DANCE (2021) in Mparntwe. SLD saw 3 days of dance events take place across Mparntwe including Alice Can Dance, a season of works from NT dance makers, a festival hub with social dance opportunities and Community Dance Day which showcased cultural and social dance practices that take place in Mparntwe as a free event hosted in the Alice Springs CBD. 2021 was also the inaugural year of the Brave Bodies program and our SPILL (your guts) residency program, which provided time, space and money to 4 independent artists to come to Mparntwe to work on their practise and choreographic explorations, with priority given to First Nations and regional and remotely based artists. 

2022 saw the creation of an evolving and ongoing relationship with Parrtjima Festival which showcased emerging Arrernte/Yankunyjatjara dance maker Toni Lord’s first indigenous contemporary work, and will create platforms for our young people and Toni to evolve their practice and skills into 2023 and beyond.  Alongside partner organisations DMC, Tasdance, Dancenorth and Tracks the DETOUR Interconnected Dance Fellowship was launched, and in partnership with Artback NT, Value For Money will tour nationally in April/May 2023. 

Alongside long time collaborator Adam Wheeler, Maddy and Frankie also founded the highly regarded  Alice Can Dance education program in 2012 - one of the foundation programs GUTS was created around. Alice Can Dance now provides dance opportunities for over 250 young people in public schools in remote Australia each year, celebrating its 10 year anniversary in 2022 (the program preceded the organisation). The delivery of this program reaches out to Ntaria community (130 kms from Alice Springs), into the youth detention facility and online to remote outstations and locations via Alice Springs School of the Air. 

Since 2020 GUTS have also run programs for underprivileged, at-risk and incarcerated youth working weekly inside the youth detention facility, on site in town camps and youth centres around Alice Springs and running programs from our studio. For our work with young people in the Central Desert region, GUTS were awarded the 2021 NT Human Rights Commission Fitzgerald award for Diversity.

Overall, from 2018 - 2022 we have employed 43 professional artists on 29 distinct projects and programs. We have toured work to 6 states and territories and internationally, and have amassed a combined audience across all projects of 17,445 people. We have engaged 1,314 young people in Central Australia in dance programs and taught in excess of 428 public dance classes for community members in Mparntwe. We’ve created 6 strategic and creative partnerships and paid 70% of our total revenue straight back into the pockets of artists - and we’ve only just begun.