Clear your calendars babies. On May 12, for one night only, Sydney therapists Vanessa Marian and Amy Zhang are bringing Groove Therapy to beautiful Canberra for 75 mins of street dance in the usual no mirrors, judgement free format.
This is the movement experience for anyone who has ever felt like they’ve missed the boat on a dance class but felt too intimidated to walk into a studio. We are bringing you a night of practical dance-floor moves and legit hip hop technique to thumping bass and dimmed lights.
Go on baby, join us.
Location: Ralph Wilson Theatre at Gorman Arts Centre
Date: May 12
Time: 6:45pm – 8pm
Cost: $25.00
Booking link: https://tinyurl.com/lhufylm
Vanessa Marian
Training across New York, Paris, Berlin, London, Tokyo, Brazil and regional Australia, Vanessa is particularly fascinated with street dance and the way it is born outside of the dance studio context, often by an oppressed people in reaction to political and socio-economic turmoil. in 2016 Vanessa founded Groove Therapy, aimed at making dance accessible to all walks of life. The program has brought dance to at-risk youth, Indigenous communities, dementia sufferers, refugee girls and the every-day person, using the political and healing foundations that these street dance styles are built upon and mindfully appropriating it in new communities to help spark global conversation and cultural understanding.
Upon founding Groove Therapy, Vanessa has been named as one of Westpac’s ‘Unstoppable Millennials’, winning a grant to further pursue her dreams and implement more community-based projects. She is also one of the six 2016/17 artists to be placed in the City of Sydney Creative Live/Work Space residencies where she has worked with mentors to build on the business side of Groove Therapy.
Since launching in 2016, Groove Therapy has gone on to feature in documentaries, facilitate workshops and choreograph for the likes of MTV, Vice, Frankie Magazine, Oyster Magazine and commercials for Samsung, Nike, ASOS and Mercedes Benz Fashion week.
Amy Zhang
Amy Zhang is an Australian-born dancer who has completely immersed herself in the global street dance scene by working, teaching, choreographing and performing both nationally and internationally.
Amy moved to Sydney to train under Brent Street’s full time course and caught the eye of many, gaining roles as a feature dancer for the likes of Nike and Paces. She toured through L.A with Bust a Move Dance Company, performing at the Special Olympics World Games and the annual Dizzy Feet Gala.
She is known in Sydney for her versatility, rocking her groove when she jumps into hip hop and other street styles whilst also being trained in ballet, contemporary and jazz styles. Amy’s extensive dance vocabulary is no accident, as she has been mentored by and performed for some of the biggest international choreographers, including Dana Foglia and Rob Rich.
Despite all of this, Amy just wants you to fall in love with dance as much as she has, because it’s not about the skill set if you’re not having fun!
Image: Jenn Poon
