Maggi Sietsma

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Maggi Sietsma AM (born 1951) is the founding artistic director of the multiple-award winning Brisbane contemporary dance company, Expressions Dance Company, and regarded as one of Australia's leading choreographers. Maggi Sietsma has choreographed multiple international dance works during her career and has contributed extensively to dance and dance education in Australia.

Order of Australia series of Australian national honours

The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, to recognise Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or meritorious service. Before the establishment of the order, Australian citizens received British honours.

An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization. The artistic director of a theatre company is the individual with the overarching artistic control of the theatre's production choices, directorial choices, and overall artistic vision. In smaller theatres, the artistic director may be the founder of the theatre and the primary director of its plays. In larger non-profit theatres, the artistic director may be appointed by the board of directors.

Brisbane capital city of Queensland, Australia

Brisbane is the capital of and the most populated city in the Australian state of Queensland, and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of 2.5 million, and the South East Queensland region, centred on Brisbane, encompasses a population of more than 3.5 million. The Brisbane central business district stands on the historic European settlement and is situated inside a peninsula of the Brisbane River, about 15 kilometres from its mouth at Moreton Bay. The metropolitan area extends in all directions along the floodplain of the Brisbane River Valley between Moreton Bay and the Great Dividing Range, sprawling across several of Australia's most populous local government areas (LGAs)—most centrally the City of Brisbane, which is by far the most populous LGA in the nation. The demonym of Brisbane is "Brisbanite" or "Brisbanian".

Contents

Career and personal history

As a child, Sietsma was inspired to dance after seeing Dame Margot Fonteyn on stage (whom she later performed with). At the age of 14, Sietsma ran her own dance studio with 200 students, who were put through Royal Academy of Dance examinations. Her studio held annual concerts and had three staff members. At the age of 16, Sietsma was granted an international dance scholarship, and later graduated from The Australian Ballet school receiving an offer to join the company. Sietsma danced as soloist for international ballet companies – the Avignon Opera Ballet (France) and the London Festival Ballet (now the English National Ballet), before beginning her career in contemporary dance.

Margot Fonteyn English ballerina

Dame Margot Fonteyn, DBE, stage name of Margaret Evelyn de Arias, was an English ballerina. She spent her entire career as a dancer with the Royal Ballet, eventually being appointed prima ballerina assoluta of the company by Queen Elizabeth II. Beginning ballet lessons at the age of four, she studied in England and China, where her father was transferred for his work. Her training in Shanghai was with George Goncharov, contributing to her continuing interest in Russian ballet. Returning to London at the age of 14, she was invited to join the Vic-Wells Ballet School by Ninette de Valois. She succeeded Alicia Markova as prima ballerina of the company in 1935. The Vic-Wells choreographer, Sir Frederick Ashton, wrote numerous parts for Fonteyn and her partner, Robert Helpmann, with whom she danced from the 1930s to the 1940s.

The Australian Ballet is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd. and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teacher, repetiteur and director Dame Peggy van Praagh as founding artistic director. Today, it is recognised as one of the world's major international ballet companies.

English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin and based at Markova House in South Kensington, London, England. Along with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Scottish Ballet, it is one of the four major ballet companies in Great Britain. English National Ballet is one of the foremost touring companies in Europe, performing in theatres throughout the UK as well as conducting international tours and performing at special events. The Company employs approximately 67 dancers and a symphony orchestra, and there is also an associate school, English National Ballet School, which is independent from the ballet company. The Company regularly performs seasons at the London Coliseum and has been noted for specially staged performances at the Royal Albert Hall. In 2014 English National Ballet became an Associate Company of Sadler's Wells. The Patron of English National Ballet is HRH The Duke of York.

While working as a classical dancer in 1972, Sietsma attended a performance by the Dutch Nederlands Dans Theater, inspiring her to undertake a new career path into contemporary dance. Sietsma joined the Theatre du Chene Noir, a French collaborative company of musicians, actors and Sietsma as the solo dancer. Sietsma redefined her relationship to the artform during her time in the Theatre du Chene Noir, as she was suddenly alone as a dancer; a "strong contrast to the hierarchical structures characteristic of classical ballet companies". [1] Sietsma furthered her contemporary dance choreography, establishing the French multi-media company Muance with her partner Abel Valls.

Nederlands Dans Theater

Nederlands Dans Theater is a Dutch contemporary dance company. NDT is headquartered at the Lucent Danstheater in The Hague. In addition to the Lucent Danstheater, NDT performs at other venues in the Netherlands, including Amsterdam's Het Muziektheater and Nijmegen's Stadsschouwburg.

In the early 1980s, Sietsma and Valls returned to Australia, where Sietsma took a position as resident choreographer at North Queensland Ballet and Dance Society where she transitioned the amateur group to professional status as North Queensland Ballet Company, now Dancenorth. Sietsma then moved to Brisbane to teach modern dance at the Brisbane College of Advanced Education (now the Queensland University of Technology), where she developed the first bachelor's degree in Dance. While working as a full-time lecturer, Sietsma and Valls set up their Brisbane based contemporary dance company, Expressions Dance Company, to create opportunities for dancers including a salary and decent work conditions. Sietsma herself was not paid a salary for the first three years, despite the dancers always receiving paid work from the company. To ensure the success of the company Sietsma and Valls:

Dancenorth is a contemporary dance company based in Townsville, North Queensland, Australia. It began as the North Queensland Ballet Company in 1969 and receives Australia Council triennial funding as one of "Australia's outstanding arts organisations". Dancenorth perform for regional, national and international audiences. Since 2002, they have toured to a multitude of regional centres and internationally, including to London's Barbican Theatre in 2007. It is one of only a handful of regional dance companies in Australia.

Queensland University of Technology university in Australia

The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public research university located in the urban coastal city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. QUT is located on two campuses in the Brisbane area: Gardens Point and Kelvin Grove. The university in its current form was founded in 1989, when the then Queensland Institute of Technology (QIT) was granted university status by the 'Queensland University of Technology Act' passed in 1988 and also by the subsequent merger of Brisbane College of Advanced Education with QUT in 1990. QUT was a member of the Australian Technology Network of universities and had withdrawn participation since 28 September 2018 onwards.

Expressions Dance Company is an Australian contemporary dance company based in the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts, in Fortitude Valley. It was founded in 1984 by Maggi Sietsma, artistic director and Abel Valls, general manager. Natalie Weir took over as Artistic Director in January 2009.

mortgaged [their] house for the first season of Expressions...gave up everything to work in Expressions and gladly...because that's where my heart was, still in the profession. (Maggi Sietsma) [1]

Expressions is now an established contemporary dance company with an international profile, employing 17 full-time staff. Under the direction of Sietsma and Valls the company has toured internationally, including the USA, Great Britain, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Macau, China, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Mexico, Israel and New Caledonia. The company has also performed in festivals including the Ludwigsburg (Stuttgart) International Festival, the Linz (Austria) Dance Festival, The Washington Shakespeare festival, the Taipei International Festival, The Beijing Modern Dance Festival, Tokyo’s Next Wave Festival and The Guangdong Modern Dance Festival (China).

Sietsma has produced a range of educational programs and forums both in Queensland and internationally, including ensuring the secondary school curriculum offers dance as a subject. Institutions Sietsma has developed programs for include: Queensland Arts Council, Queensland University of Technology, Queensland Performing Arts Trust (now QPAC), Queensland Education department, and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Sietsma has also established an extensive education program for Expressions Dance Company, providing workshops and masterclasses.

Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts tertiary arts school in Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts is a provider of tertiary education in Hong Kong. Located near the north coast of Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island, the main campus also functions as a venue for performances. Apart from the main campus in Wanchai, Bethanie, the site of the institution's Landmark Heritage Campus in Pokfulam, has housed the School of Film and Television since 2007.

In 1995, Sietsma was awarded a Master of Arts in Research by the Queensland University of Technology. In 1997, under Sietsma's direction,[Expressions Dance Company was awarded a Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award, Australia's most prestigious performing arts award. In 2002, Sietsma was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for services to dance and dance education. [2]

In 2005, Sietsma was appointed Dean of Dance at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, where she was involved in developing their first Master of Fine Arts in Dance program. She led the school through the new validation process of the Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours program and saw through the School of Dance co-hosting of the Hong Kong International Dance Festival in 2006.

Achievements and awards

Dance company affiliations

Sietsma has choreographed works for opera companies, theatre companies and various dance companies and institutions internationally:

Major choreographic Works

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References

  1. 1 2 Cranston, Neil, C. Elrich, Lisa Catherine, What is this thing called leadership? Prominent Australians tell their stories, Australian Academic Press, 2000.
  2. ↑ "Sietsma, Maggi—Member of the Order of Australia". It's an Honour. Retrieved 25 September 2008.
  3. ↑ Founding Artistic Director - Official Website of Expressions Dance Company
  4. ↑ Anderson, Jack (12 July 1999). "Dance Review – No Escape From Solitude Despite Close Encounters". New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 4 October 2008.
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