2023 Fellowship Recipient Announced...

Congratulations Jennifer Ma

Jennifer Ma is a Naarm-based Taiwanese-Australian dancer, choreographer and producer. Jennifer's collaborative dance practice sees her working with dancers across street and contemporary dance; choreographing works for live theatre and film. At its core, her projects aspire to elevate the presence of other diverse artists.

Jennifer was selected from a competitive field of 65 applications, from dance artists in every state and territory in Australia, from major cities to regional and remote parts of the country, and from artists diverse in age and practice. We were overwhelmed by the rigour and quality of responses we received and the great consideration that was taken by artists in their applications.

"I feel beyond honoured and invigorated to be awarded the inaugural Detour fellowship. At this point in my artistic career, it feels momentous to be supported in a process-driven initiative by five leading Australian dance companies. The magnitude of this fellowship to be able to connect with their communities is a challenge that feels like a tipping point for me to do something exciting. Receiving this fellowship means I can continue working on my craft without the pressure of an explicit outcome, which I believe is the sustainable way of working as an artist. I feel elated that this is my reality for next year and can’t wait for what is about to unfold."

DETOUR Interconnected Dance Fellowship 
A new and urgent opportunity, supporting an independent dance artist, to mobilise and engage in a sustained program for their personal creative development, in a spirit of reciprocity, with five Australian dance companies.

Tracks are thrilled to be partnering with Dance Makers Collective (Darug Country, Western Sydney, NSW), Dancenorth (Gurambilbarra and Yunbenun Country, Townsville, QLD), GUTS (Arrernte Country, Alice Springs, NT), Tasdance (Lutruwita Country, Launceston, TAS) to invite a dance practitioner to spend two weeks with each company, in a self-directed residency, to explore their practice, connect with new landscapes and share with the communities we serve.

The Rationale:

In a spirit of mutuality and reciprocity, five leading Australian dance companies will host an Australian dance artist through an interconnected residency program. By working together, we will provide 15-weeks of paid work for an artist to spend time with us, engage with our communities, with no explicit 'outcome' in mind; to free an artist to develop in the context of our unique environs.

The five companies will host the selected artist for two weeks each in 2023, providing space and relationships (through a Community Connector, an active artist/arts-worker trusted locally) to facilitate their visit.