Dr Cathy Adamek Ausdance ACT
Appointed to the role in late September, Ausdance ACT director Dr Cathy Adamek has hit the ground running since relocating to Canberra from Adelaide. Photos: Kerrie Brewer.

In late September, Ausdance ACT appointed Dr Cathy Adamek from South Australia as the organisationโ€™s new director.

Adamek steps into the Canberra role with a breadth of experience and knowledge, having formerly been president of Ausdance South Australia in a voluntary capacity.

โ€œI started at board level as secretary and then became president,โ€ she said.

โ€œThis job came up in the network and when I saw it, I thought โ€˜I could do this full-time and also be paid for itโ€™.

โ€œEach Ausdance is quite different depending on which state youโ€™re in; it was a huge asset being able to understand the broad remit of Ausdance as a peak body and as an organisational body too.

โ€œIt came in the COVID time too when there was a lot of uncertainty for artists.โ€

Having worked as aโ€ฏperformer, choreographer, director andโ€ฏcreativeโ€ฏproducerโ€ฏacross theatre, film, TV and radio, Adamekโ€™s credits also include a PhD she completed in 2017.

Her thesis, entitled Adelaide Dance Music Culture: Late 1980sโ€“Early 1990s, covered how the culture moved from new wave into acid house into rave, a movement she was deeply intertwined with.

Her experience at Ausdance SA means Adamek is well versed in the peak bodyโ€™s role as an advocacy group; she is keen to promote dance practice โ€œin all its formsโ€.

โ€œOut of all physical activities, dance is number three in Australia but it doesnโ€™t always seem to receive the attention alongside sport,โ€ she said.

โ€œOne of the roles of Ausdance is to promote effectively the incredible diaspora of dance that goes on, but also here being able to run programs as well.โ€

Dr Cathy Adamek Ausdance ACT
Dr Adamek steps into the Canberra role with a breadth of experience and knowledge, having formerly been president of Ausdance SA.

Since arriving in September, Adamek said sheโ€™s enjoyed getting a feel for the lay of the land here in the capital.

โ€œIโ€™ve really had to hit the ground running with it, effectively they havenโ€™t had a manager since 2014-15,โ€ she said.

โ€œEvery place has their own local colour, and what those grassroots things that have often been developing for decades are, and so thatโ€™s always exciting, nothingโ€™s ever the same in any two places.

โ€œI can see there are opportunities to harvest some really interesting, innovative and high-quality work.

โ€œThereโ€™s quite a lot of site-specific work and performance art, and I love all that work โ€ฆ thatโ€™s bubbling along really well.

โ€œThereโ€™s also the potential to develop really great theatre work that moves out of the contemporary European style genre a little bit and challenges people a little bit more.

โ€œThereโ€™s a massive groundswell of local artists here who are about to step up to that next level; Iโ€™m here to be able to help facilitate that.โ€

Adamek has also had to familiarise herself with Canberra more broadly since arriving.

โ€œThe only time Iโ€™d ever come to Canberra was on the way to the snow in the โ€˜90s,โ€ she smiled.

โ€œI love going to different places โ€ฆ It was another opportunity to explore a new place and meet more people.โ€

Despite making a smooth move interstate, Adamek said sheโ€™s missed her son who will be moving to Canberra next year.


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