Are youth dance companies choreographing the industry’s next big steps?
By Paul Ransom. “It develops artists, rather than just dancers,” says Ruth Osborne, Artistic Director of the QL2 Centre for Youth Dance in Canberra. What she’s referring to is the burgeoning but still often overlooked ‘youth dance’ sector in Australia. From her base in the nation’s capital, Osborne works tirelessly to foster not only the next generation of talent but the whole idea of specialist, serious youth dance companies. “A youth dance company can be all sorts of things to all sorts of people,” she expands. “It’s a really good base for those wanting a career in dance … For others, it gives them an opportunity to perform with other like-minded people who are willing to commit to a five or six month project together; but perhaps they’re not going to choose dance as a career. It gives those people a great opportunity to still have dance in their lives without having to take on the full commitment of a profession.” Meanwhile, tucked away in Launceston, Tasmania, another of this count
