Young performers from Fling Physical Theatre are flying off to Melbourne next month to take part in the Australian Youth Dance Festival 2022.
From July 3-8, 11 performers from Bega's youth dance company will join hundreds of young dancers from around Australia at the Victorian College of the Arts in the heart of Melbourne's vibrant arts precinct.
This year's festival will see 30 professional dance artists lead a week-long dynamic workshop program, with performances showcasing the work of the companies in attendance at the festival.
Fling co-artistic director Gabrielle Rose said the trip to AYDF would provide extraordinary creative development opportunities for the company.
"AYDF is a wonderful opportunity for young dancers to meet like-minded people, to make connections, to work with professional artists from across the country and to build relationships that can feed their professional futures," Ms Rose said.
The AYDF organisers work with a team of youth ambassadors, drawn from youth companies around Australia, who contribute to the design of the festival.
Fling's youth ambassadors to AYDF 2022 are long-time company performers Ebony Ryan-Miners and MayaRae Navarette.
"I'm excited to go to AYDF for the second time and experience it as a senior Fling Company performer, and to be able to support and encourage the rest of the company- most of whom are going for the first time," Ebony said.
"Attending the 2019 festival opened my eyes up to things that I didn't even know were possible. I got to work with different choreographers and experience different dance styles, and connect with like-minded people that have the same passion as I do.
"Dance can give you instant connection to someone you have never met before - you can go into a workshop together and come out of it feeling like you have known each other for years."
Fling's co-artistic directors Gabrielle Rose and Rob McCredie will also attend the festival, along with dance development officer Beth Lane.
They will be involved in a youth dance leader's forum program, connecting with other youth dance professionals to discuss best practice.
Australian Youth Dance Festival is presented by Ausdance (Victoria) and runs from July 3-8.
