The Mill Adelaide has been working in collaboration with the Helpmann Academy, ilDance (Sweden) and the Adelaide College of the Arts over the past 3 years to deliver the annual dance award for a young eligible AC Arts dance graduate.
The Award
The ilAward is awarded to one young AC Arts graduate each year. It provides them with the financial support required to participate in ilDance’s ilYoung program.
The ilYoung program occurs over three months between June & September each year in Sweden, with touring taking place around Sweden & Europe. ilYoung is ilDance’s project based junior dance company. Lee Brummer & Israel Aloni established ilYoung in 2012 with the ambition to structure a platform which would offer professional experience to young dancers who are still enrolled in a dance education. ilDance, initiated and operate ilYoung with the wish to prepare young dancers upon graduation, for the professional contemporary dance sector both in Sweden and abroad.
Every year ilDance conducts an audition process from which ten dancers are selected to join a full time creation process of 5-6 weeks in a professional setting in Europe. During the creation process, the dancers meet the directors of ilDance, international guest choreographers & teachers as well as guest mentors. The creation process is hosted in residencies across Sweden where the cast, choreographers and the creative team interact and engage with the local community in various satellite activities. Following the creation period, ilYoung tours with the new production across Sweden and to other European countries.
This year’s audition for the ilAward is to be held at AC Arts in November, 2017.
““The experience that the dancers gain in ilYoung enhances their individuality and encourages them to unfold their potential to the fullest in a way that gives them the tools and confidence that are necessary to launch a professional career in an ever changing and progressing field such as the contemporary dance field. ilDance’s directors, Brummer & Aloni continue to guide and support the young dancers who participate in ilYoung, also at later stages of their evolvement and of their professional careers””
Selection
The young AC Arts dancer is selected by the Artistic Directors of ilDance, Lee Brummer and Israel Aloni, with the support and advice of a panel consisting of:
A member of the AC Arts Dance Faculty
A Mill representative
Lee and Israel conduct the audition in Adelaide at the end of the university year and decisions are announced at the beginning of the following year. As the selected dancer joins a cast of dancers in Sweden, the artistic choice will ultimately be the choice of the directors, and panel will ensure that the selected dancer meets the criteria and is a suitable selection.
"For the last six weeks I have been involved in a beautiful, creative and intense project dancing in Sweden with Ilyoung, a youth company developed and directed by Lee Brummer and Israel Aloni. The company consists of ten dancers and together we worked with Lee and Israel on the creation of two separate works, The Solution is Temporary and #Ghetto, over the course of three residencies, each occurring in different Swedish cities; Linking, Harnosand and Gislaved. IlYoung also created opportunities for practicing artists to do residencies for their own work and exploration in the time we weren't using studio space. Because of this we had some fantastic classes and workshops with a range of different artists who shared with us their unique style and practice.
Being constantly exposed to new methods and approaches to movement everyday has been so invigorating and inspiring. I feel as though this process has introduced to me many different facets of the art form and of myself, widening my perspective of dance and performance and what may be available to explore beyond this experience.
I am very excited about touring these works soon. We will tour to five cities in Sweden. I am looking forward to seeing how the works continue to develop over the course of the tour."
Quote from 2017 ilAward Winner Mieke Kriegesvelt Aug 12, 2017