Taking the model she consolidated at pulse8 and re-naming and re-locating to Parramatta, Kay Armstrong launches youMove as an independent initiative and Sydney’s only professional youth dance company. Partnered by Western Sydney Dance Action and based at the new arts hub in the heart of Parramatta, Connect Studios, the company promises a vibrant face for youth dance in Western Sydney. Under her directorship youMove will build new dance audiences, inspire the next generation of dance artists and provide a platform where independent dance can flourish and develop. Kay is excited by what’s in store.

“Our inaugural season at Riverside Theatre is just one of the many projects planned for youMove in 2009. Bringing together fourteen of Sydney’s finest emerging dance artists with the help of Western Sydney Dance Action and building on creative relationships with choreographers from pulse8, the company will deliver an exciting production of dance in May, This Way Up, as well as school workshops, choreographic residencies, mentorships and opportunities galore for emerging dance makers and dancers and hundreds of young local school children who will attend our education programs..”

Fourteen passionate and talented young dancers and dance makers have joined the company for one year and enjoy free regular training, performance experience, industry exposure, and are given golden opportunities to shine, grow and develop as young artists. This initiative is one of a kind in Sydney, no other exists where emerging artists can be in constant dialogue with their practice in a professional environment and gain insightful knowledge about the craft of performance and choreography.

Rehearsals are well under way for their first performance season, This Way Up. A mixed bill season as part of Dance Bites 2009, the production will feature the work of acclaimed choreographer’s Anton, Vicki Van Hout, Emma Saunders and Jodie McNeilly. (6 -9 May, Riverside Theatre)

With most small burgeoning arts initiatives, the first steps are always the hardest, Kay explains, “The beginning of this year held much promise with the re-location of the company and a brand new name and a new start. However the news from state funding was sobering, to say the least, and not just for youMove but for a large sector of the independent dance community. We are all volunteering our time at youMove, from dancers to artistic director to guest choreographers; this is about a passion for the art form and its future, and a brave step towards making sure that despite the lack of financial support, the initiative still moves forwards.”

More info: youmovedance.com.au Donate to the company: tax-deductible donation to the Australia Cultural Fund, operated by the Australia Business Arts Foundation. All donations are made to the Australia Business Arts Foundation (AbaF) which considers donor preferences when allocating grants. Monies collected from this appeal, after AbaF board approval, will go towards commissioning professional guest choreographers. http://www.abaf.org.au Click on the link to Giving and Donating / Arts projects for donations / Kay Armstrong for youMove