Forty-five young dancers from QL2 Centre for Youth Dance were working hard last school holidays to create a new contemporary dance work, Hard Yards. The dancers, aged eight to eighteen transformed the iconic Yarralumla Woolshed over two nights.

QL2 Artistic Director, Ruth Osborne worked with the ensemble to develop the skills they needed to work with professional choreographers, and selected those choreographers specifically for their ability to bring out the best in young dancers.

Choreographers Liz Lea and Dean Cross drew on the personal stories and movement that had been developed by the dancers. 14 year-old dancer Ryan Stone described the piece as "an abstract view of working hard, which asks whether or not we work as hard or as long as people used to."

The work drew comparisons between heavy physical labour and the work that goes into learning and growing up. Hard Yards was performed in the rustic and charming Yarralumla woolshed, a vestige of Canberra's rural history. Lea identifies the value of taking a work out of the theatre and into a space with such a rich Australian history, adding character and meaning to the experience for both dancers and audience (who had to wend their way around sheep pens to access the main hall!)

"Dancers from Torsion Youth Choreographic Ensemble in Cowra are a wonderful addition to this year's ensemble," said Ruth Osborne. 

"They have travelled long distances to work with the ACT group, bringing their country NSW viewpoint to the work. And although Hard Yards focuses on hard work, the choreographic process has engaged and extended the young dancers, who have come to the conclusion that working hard can be great fun!"

The project is an entry point for new dancers to work and develop with QL2 Centre for Youth Dance, in preparation of joining the Centre's Quantum Leap youth dance ensemble, and also for more experienced dancers to develop leadership skills. It provides an introduction to working with a choreographer and moving beyond just "learning the steps."

Quantum Leap has produced innovative work for young performers and helped them along the path to becoming professional dance artists. It introduces young dancers to the process of creating new full-length dance works and the process of choreography.

Want to know more? Visit the QL2 website.