Kate Champion is an Australian

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

and

artistic director 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 ...

Biography

Champion is the incoming artistic director of

Black Swan State Theatre Company Black Swan State Theatre Company (formerly The Black Swan Theatre Company) is Western Australia's state theatre company. It runs an annual subscription season in Perth at the State Theatre Centre of Western Australia, tours its productions reg ...

. She was the founding artistic director/CEO of

Force Majeure In contract law, (from Law French: 'overwhelming force', ) is a common clause in contracts which essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of the parties, such ...

(2002–2015), an influential dance theatre company based in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. Champion has worked in theatre, dance, film, circus, opera and musical theatre with arts companies and institutes including Belvoir,

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in The Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Thea ...

State Theatre Company of South Australia The State Theatre Company of South Australia (STCSA), branded State Theatre Company South Australia, formerly the South Australian Theatre Company (SATC), is South Australia's leading professional theatre company, and a statutory corporation. It ...

Performing Lines Performing Lines is an Australian performing arts producer and presenter. It was established in 1990 as a successor to the Australian Content department of the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust, it was established by actress Wendy Blacklock ...

, The English National Opera,

Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of ...

, The Hayes Theatre,

Ensemble Ensemble may refer to: Art * Architectural ensemble * ''Ensemble'' (album), Kendji Girac 2015 album * Ensemble (band), a project of Olivier Alary * Ensemble cast (drama, comedy) * Ensemble (musical theatre), also known as the chorus * ''En ...

NIDA Nida or NIDA may refer to: People * Nida Allam (born 1993), American politician * Nida Fazli (1938–2016), Indian Hindi and Urdu poet and lyricist * Nida Eliz Üstündağ (born 1996), Turkish female swimmer * Eugene Nida (1914–2011), American l ...

NICA Nica or NICA may refer to: * Nīca, a village in Latvia * Nica, the name in some languages of Nice, a French city * Nica is an adjective which may refer to: ** Nicaragua ** Nicaraguan people * Nica Airlines, an alternate name for Nicaragüense de ...

and

National Theatre of Parramatta The National Theatre of Parramatta is a professional theatre company based in Parramatta in Western Sydney Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a ...

. Champion choreographed the original stage version of Dirty Dancing (Australia, UK, US, Europe). She has created and performed two critically acclaimed solo shows, Face Value and About Face. As artistic director of Force Majeure, Kate co-devised and directed ''Same, Same But Different, Already Elsewhere, Tenebrae, The Age I’m In, Not in a Million Years'', and ''Nothing to Lose''. Theatre directing credits include – ''Every Brilliant Thing'', ''My Brilliant Career'', ''Food'', ''That Eye the Sky'', ''A View From the Bridge'', ''Fully Committed'', ''Honour'', ''Evie May'' and ''Perfect Stranger''. Kate has been awarded Helpmann, Green Room, MO and Australian Dance Awards. Champion was a professional dancer/performer working with companies such as

DV8 Physical Theatre DV8 Physical Theatre (or Dance and Video 8) was a physical theatre company based at Artsadmin in London, United Kingdom. It was officially founded in 1986 by Lloyd Newson (1986–2015), Michelle Richecoeur (1986–1988) and Nigel Charnock (1 ...

London,

Australian Dance Theatre Australian Dance Theatre (ADT), known as Meryl Tankard Australian Dance Theatre from 1993 to 1999, is a contemporary dance company based in Adelaide, South Australia, established in 1965 by Elizabeth Cameron Dalman . The ADT was the first moder ...

, Dance North, One Extra Co and Theatre of Image, before going on to create her own work and becoming a director.

Early career

Champion travelled to Munich at age 16 working with Iwanson Dance Company. Returning to Australia Champion was a member of One Extra Dance Company before moving to New York to study, and then returning to Australia becoming a foundation member of Dance North. In 1992 she travelled to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where she spent time with Lloyd Newson's

, first as production assistant and then as a performer in ''Strange Fish'', both the stage and BBC film versions. In 1998 she returned to DV8 as rehearsal director for a European tour of '' Enter Achilles'' and as a collaborator and performer in ''The Happiest Day of My Life''. In 1996, Champion was awarded the

Robert Helpmann Sir Robert Murray Helpmann CBE ( Helpman, 9 April 1909 – 28 September 1986) was an Australian ballet dancer, actor, director, and choreographer. After early work in Australia he moved to Britain in 1932, where he joined the Vic-Wells Ballet (n ...

Scholarship for Choreographic Excellence enabling her to create her first solo work ''Face Value'' which was awarded a 1998

Green Room Award The Green Room Awards are peer awards which recognise excellence in cabaret, dance, drama, fringe theatre, musical theatre and opera in Melbourne. The awards were started in 1982 when Blair Edgar and Steven Tandy formed the Green Room Awards A ...

and a MO Award. In 2001 she created a second solo show ''About Face''. In 1997 Champion begin collaborating with theatre director

Neil Armfield Neil Geoffrey Armfield (born 22 April 1955) is an Australian director of theatre, film and opera. Biography Born in Sydney, Armfield is the third and youngest son of Len, a factory worker at the nearby Arnott's Biscuits factory and Nita Armf ...

and choreographed ''

Cloudstreet ''Cloudstreet'' is a novel by Australian writer Tim Winton published in 1991. It chronicles the lives of two working-class families, the Pickles and the Lambs, who come to live together in a large house called Cloudstreet in Perth, Western Aus ...

'', and directed and devised ''Under the Influence''. Champion and Lloyd Newson's

worked together in creating a devised show for the Sydney Olympic Arts festival "The Cost of Living"

Force Majeure

As artistic director of Force Majeure, Champion devised and directed: * ''Same, same, But Different'' –

Sydney Festival Sydney Festival is a major arts festival in Australia's largest city, Sydney that runs for three weeks every January, since it was established in 1977. The festival program features in excess of 100 events from local and international artists an ...

Brisbane Festival Brisbane Festival is one of Australia's leading international arts festivals, and is held each September in Brisbane, Australia. Its presence dominates the city for three weeks in September and its line-up of classical and contemporary music, ...

Melbourne Festival Melbourne International Arts Festival, formerly Spoleto Festival Melbourne – Festival of the Three Worlds, then Melbourne International Festival of the Arts, becoming commonly known as Melbourne Festival, was a major international arts festi ...

(2002) * ''Already Elsewhere'' – Sydney Festival (2005), Biennale de la Danse, Lyon (2006) * ''The Age I'm In''– Sydney Festival,

Adelaide Festival The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...

(2008),

Dublin Theatre Festival The Dublin Theatre Festival is Europe's oldest specialised theatre festival. It was founded by theatre impresario Brendan Smith in 1957 and has, with the exception of two years, produced a season of international and Irish theatre each autumn. ...

, Seoul Performing Arts Festival, Montreal

Place des Arts Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government * "Place", a type of street or road name ** Often ...

(2009), national tour (2010) * ''Not in a Million Years'' –

Carriageworks Carriageworks is a multi-arts urban cultural precinct located at the former Eveleigh Railway Workshops in Redfern, Sydney, Australia. Carriageworks showcases contemporary art and performing arts, as well as being used for filming, festivals, fa ...

(2010), Dance Massive Festival (2011) * ''Never Did Me Any Harm'' – a coproduction with

, Sydney Festival, Adelaide Festival, Melbourne Festival (2012), national tour (2016) * ''Food'' – a coproduction with Belvoir (2012), metropolitan tour (2013), national tour (2014) * ''Nothing to Lose'' – Sydney Festival,

Malthouse Theatre Malthouse Theatre is the resident theatre company of The Malthouse building in Southbank, part of the Melbourne Arts Precinct. In the 1980s it was known as the Playbox Theatre Company and was housed in the Playbox Theatre in Melbourne's CBD. ...

(2015)

Other work

In 2004 Champion choreographed the world premiere of ''

Dirty Dancing ''Dirty Dancing'' is a 1987 American romantic drama dance film written by Eleanor Bergstein, produced by Linda Gottlieb, and directed by Emile Ardolino. Starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, it tells the story of Frances "Baby" Houseman ...

'', the stage show based on the popular film. Her choreography has been included in the European, West-End, North American, South African and Asian versions of this box-office-record-holding production. In 2010 she choreographed

's ''Bliss'', which also toured to the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...

, and ''Spring Awakening'' for

. Continuing her collaborative relationship with

, Champion took on the role of associate director of

's 2013 production (and 2016 remount) of Wagner's ''

Ring Cycle (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the ''Nibelung ...

'', directed by Armfield. In 2016 she directed ''Swallow'', written by Stef Smith – the inaugural production of National Theatre of Parramatta. In 2018 Champion directed ''That Eye the Sky'', adapted from the novel by

Tim Winton Timothy John Winton (born 4 August 1960) is an Australian writer. He has written novels, children's books, non-fiction books, and short stories. In 1997, he was named a Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia, and has won the Miles ...

for

, and the world premiere of the musical ''Evie May'' for Hayes Theatre. 2019 productions included ''Every Brilliant Thing'' for

Belvoir Theatre Belvoir is an Australian theatre company based at the Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney, Australia, originally known as Company B. Since 2016 and its artistic director is Eamon Flack. The theatre contains a 330-seat Upstairs Theatre and a 80-seat D ...

, ''Meat Eaters'' and ''Perfect Strangers'' for NIDA, ''A View From the Bridge'' for State Theatre Company of Australia and ''Fully Committed'' and ''Honour'' for Ensemble Theatre. Champion choreographed the movement sequences in the film ''

Somersault A somersault (also ''flip'', ''heli'', and in gymnastics ''salto'') is an acrobatic exercise in which a person's body rotates 360° around a horizontal axis with the feet passing over the head. A somersault can be performed forwards, backwards ...

'' (starring

Abbie Cornish Abbie Cornish (born 7 August 1982) is an Australian actress. Cornish is best known for her film roles as Heidi in ''Somersault'' (2004), Fanny Brawne in '' Bright Star'' (2009), Sweet Pea in ''Sucker Punch'' (2011), Lindy in '' Limitless'' (201 ...

and

Sam Worthington Samuel Henry John Worthington (born 2 August 1976) is an Australian actor. He is best known for playing Jake Sully in ''Avatar'' and its sequel, ''Avatar: The Way of Water''; Marcus Wright in ''Terminator Salvation'', and Perseus in '' Clash o ...

), and most recently ''RED''. In 2022, Champion was appointed artistic director of

Awards

Australian Dance Awards

The Australian Dance Awards. (wins only) , - , 2005 , Kate Champion – ''Already Elsewhere'' , Outstanding Performance by a Company , , - , 2009 , Kate Champion – ''The Age I'm In'' , Outstanding Performance by a Company , , -

Helpmann Award

The Helpmann Awards. (wins only) , - , rowspan="2", 2002n , Kate Champion – ''About Face'' , Best Female Dance , , - , Kate Champion – ''Same, Same But Different'' , Best Visual or Physical Theatre Production , , - , 2011 , Kate Champion – ''Not in a Million Years'' , Best Visual or Physical Theatre Production , , -

Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the

Mo Awards The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards) were an annual Australian entertainment industry award, that where established in 1975, to recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia. They were l ...

), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. (wins only) , - , 1998 , Kate Champion , Female Dance Performance of the Year , , -

Other Awards

* ''Nothing to Lose'' – 2016 FBi Radio SMAC Award for Best on Stage * ''Face Value'' – 1998 Greenroom Award for Best Female Dancer,

References

External links

* * Champion is represented b
HLA management

Force Majeure

RealTime TV interview on the set of ''Never Did Me Any Harm''
*

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

�
Champion, Kate (1961–) – People and organisations
* Celebrating 40 years of

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Sydney Festival

"The Evolution of Dance Theatre", by Jo Litson

''Bodies of Thought'', by Dr Erin Brannigan
* ABC Radio
Sunday Brunch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Champion, Kate Australian female dancers Australian directors Australian choreographers Contemporary dancers Helpmann Award winners Living people 1961 births