The Backbone Ensemble is an exciting professional development initiative that has been created to provide local emerging artists with training and performance opportunities to create work at the cutting edge of contemporary theatre and performance. Backbone has a vision of Brisbane as a 21st century arts city and the Backbone Ensemble is one of the platforms it is developing towards this goal.

“ I believe it’s time Brisbane owned a greater space in the national arts psyche … we have a range of dynamic artists in all fields that call Brisbane home and I believe are close to critical mass in terms of fully realising ourselves as a 21st century arts city” – Andrew Cory (Artistic Director, Backbone Youth Arts)

The Backbone Ensemble is for emerging actors, performers, dancers, circus performers, directors, musicians, puppeteers, designers, visual artists and futurists aged between 21 and 26 years who are excited by developing new ways of creating performance. You must be an adventurer and an explorer. The Backbone Ensemble will partner with The Edge at the State Library of Queensland to deliver an exciting final show that explores live performance within a digitally interactive environment.

The Backbone Ensemble is a 12 week long, audition entry professional development and performance opportunity for emerging performers interested in investigating contemporary performance as a performance practice. Led by Backbone’s Artistic Director Andrew Cory and guest tutors Lucas Stibbard, Xanthe Beesley and Daniel Flood, the training will lead participants to develop various skills pertinent to exploring new ways of creating performance that responds to the social and technological changes in the 21st century. The training will reflect local and international innovations in live performance making. They will be given time to work on their own studio based performances.

Last year emerging performance maker Sandra Carluccio was involved in the Backbone Ensemble and had the opportunity to perform in En Route as part of the 2010 Inhabit Fiesta. She has since been invited to work with UK-based performance company Blast Theory.

“Being involved in en route has heavily shaped my future direction as an artist... the idea of audience/participatory/instruction based performance is one that I intend to pursue in the immediate future. It would be great to do more of these performance art activities – to be creating or experience them. Best opportunity I’ve had all year, and an important stepping stone in my emerging artistic career.” says Sandra.

Training will be Tuesdays and Thursdays 9-1pm, 17th May – 2nd August 2011

 For information/to book in for an audition call Backbone Youth Arts on (07) 3210 2666 or email Backbone